Three saxes, no sunshine and a shadow...

Allison chose us a month ago and knew full well she was in the "straggler" category... but we're perfectly okay with that. The more the merrier!

So in rolls Miss Wogan and her mom, Sheri last Friday. I wondered for a minute if the entire Marshalltown High School pep band was gonna follow behind her for a second, as she toted in FIVE musical instruments with her!

Three saxophones, a flute and a trombone crossed the threshold for our viewing pleasure on this day. She assured me that she can play 'em all... so we worked 'em all in. :)

But that wasn't ALL that followed her in the door.

We were also graced with the presence of another job shadow on this day. Budding photographer, Dana Moses made the trek from Iowa City to watch Allison's big day and hopefully pick up a thing or two... and we loved having her along for the ride. Thanks to Allison and Sheri for allowing Dana to be a fly on the wall... and in reality... the extra set of eyes never hurts!

What Dana got to see was what I consider to be a blessing this time of year which is decent temps... and perhaps more importantly, overcast skies.

Much of the full and rich outdoor looks we've been doing for 6 months now have went by the wayside after several hard freezes and lots of WIND and rain. Translation... the outdoor is limited. However... having a thick layer of clouds allowed us to roam where we wanted and we avoided the full sun scenarios that are prevalent nearly everywhere on most days this late in the calendar year.

The result was we got a healthier dose of outdoor than we probably shoulda gotten in November.... which was totally awesome! All I ever want is to be able to give our clients LOTS of choices and to make it very difficult on our decision makers! Good luck, Sheri!

So, in the end, waiting to this point didn't haunt like it could have. Allison let us know what her decision to choose us came down to... and we're glad we didn't have to pull any punches for her! Thanks for your choice A-Dub! ;-)

Waitin' on the ortho pays off...

Getting sessions this late in the senior "season" happens for a variety of reasons... but one reason that's worth waiting for happens at least a couple times every year.

Braces.

Or getting them OFF, more accurately.

So, when I met Susie Petersen in mid-October as she surprised me with a unannounced visit to the studio to talk about her son's images, I told her that this was something worth waiting for.

She told me that they couldn't be FOR SURE... but they were hoping that her son Logan's braces would come off at their next visit to the orthodontist.

We talked about digital options and the fact that the window of opportunity was closing quickly on outdoor portraiture. But, we both agreed that it was something worth rolling the dice on... and as fortune would have it... the dental gods smiled down on the Petersens.

Monday the braces came off and on Thursday we were shooting. And while, like most guys... Logan liked to give me his best B.A. look... we did get our fair share of smiles as well.

In fact, by the time I actually got him in front of the camera... I think the focus had shifted to the fact that Mama Susie had really hoped that she could've convinced her son to get his hair cut shorter. After explaining that I had seen a fair share of dudes with longer locks again this year... that mini controversy seemed to fade... and in the end... it was another conversation filled session between a football player I could relate to (wide receiver/cornerback) and, whether he wants to admit it or not, a very cool mom.

Thanks for listening to all my rants, Logan and Susie... I can feel the senior season winding down... and maybe I'm trying to hang onto it as long as I can. It's been an epic year... and you guys were no exception.

Time for.... Junior Pictures?

Crystal called a couple weeks back with kind of an odd request...

Senior pictures.... for her junior.

She explained that her daughter, Lexus was a member of the junior class at South Tama County High School.... but as it turns out... it seems that she just found out that she'll graduate a year early.

So, why not be proactive and just go ahead and get this done?

And since our typical senior "busy season" is starting to wind down... we had the ability to get Lex in to our studio in short order.

So we had her in a week and a half ago on a Wednesday afternoon...

And much like the session the day before... 40 to 50 mph winds foiled any chance we had to get outdoor done. So, with a little patience, Lex came back to see us at the end of this last week, and it was BEAUTIFUL this go around.

Crystal had originally signed her girl up for a smaller session but after some arm twisting from her grandmother, Lexus was convinced to wear her grand mama's native American regalia.

We were appreciative to get this late session, from an unexpected source, no less... but after talking with Lexus' mother... it sounds like there were a couple of connections from way back

Evidently, Mama Crystal senior negatives are in our possession as she had former studio owner, John Foley do HER senior portraits back in the day (I won't tell 'em what year that was, mom, ok?) ;-)

In addition, it came up that in the early 1990s, Crystal and my wife, Tara took dental assisting courses from Marshalltown Community College. My wife finished and followed that career path for a few years until we had kids. Crystal on the other hand.... had a "visitor" named Lexus put her into a change of plans. ;-)

Funny how things come full circle sometimes! ;-) Thanks ladies!

The long road to Levi's castle...

Sometimes it's best to not rush things...

Especially when 50 mile per hour winds are involved.

Levi was our senior last Tuesday and due to the insane low pressure that we were subjected to last week in the midwest... I decided to pull executive rank and just bump back the outdoor portion of our session... so we moved it to the FOLLOWING Tuesday.

Mr. Castle had arranged in advance to have me come to his home just outside of Melbourne, but it wasn't in the cards on that day...

So LAST Tuesday we focused on indoor only... and I think I got one of my favorite images of the year in the process.

Levi is a gamer extraordinaire and he had brought along his XBox controller and wondered if there was a way that we could incorporate that.

Ask and you shall receive! Not only did we get the glow of the controller... but of course, as I'm known to do... things need to be taken a step further. The dude told me that he eventually wants to get a journalism degree (which piqued my interest, as that's where MY true training is). So, I asked him where he wanted to take that in a real world application, and he said he'd eventually like to write for Game Informer magazine! Naturally! He also mentioned that Consumer Reports would work as well... but what better way to depict a guy that always has his mind on games... than to put the game on his MIND. ;-)

Stepdad Jeff (affectionately known as "Jailor Jeff" to those that know him from his post at the Marshall County Slammer) was along for every step of the way both last Tuesday and again yesterday as I took the roadie over to the homestead just off Highway 330. Between the two fellas... I think we coulda talked for hours. Engaging guys for sure... and that seems to be rare in my experience. Normally I'M the one asking all the questions... but it was an interesting session for both sides in this case. And I think Jeff and Levi didn't mind getting my life story as well.

Levi did most all of the leg work in getting this session set up and did all the fact finding on his own. Again... rare for a senior guy to take such possession of this process. I found it refreshing and easy to want to bust my hump for. Good job outta you, Mr. Levi!