Meeting Lauren and her delightfully dapper oddness...

For the most part... seniors tell me that all they really want is something "different."

Reality tells me that for the most part... there couldn't be anything further from the truth. Sure, most don't want the EXACT same cookie-cutter look... but in the end... they can SAY they want different, but I think they really want to fit in.

Then you have Lauren.

When SHE said she wanted different... she MEANT it. Every now and then I get an individual like this... one that totally is comfortable in their own skin no matter what conventional wisdom or trends say. Perhaps it's a front... but after several hours with this one... I think there can be little doubt that WYSIWYG.

Sure, we had the cliche' image with the family pet dog... and we had to work in the musical instrument, but even THAT had to be uniquely Lauren.

How so? Bringing in a BASSOON was a studio first, and that began a string of odds and ends (pun intended) that the studio hadn't seen in 18 years.

Drumroll please...

1) A top hat. (everyone should own one, HELLO!)

2) A pair of shark shocks (you don't have yours?)

3) A vintage pocket watch... (1920 called... they want it back)

4) A bag full of knitting yarn and supplies (stay with me... it ain't over)

5) A director's clapboard (Hitchcock would be proud)

Somehow I wasn't surprised either that Lauren wanted to sport some bright red Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars in yet one more act of defiance against the machine.

Additionally... after photographing Lauren's brother Ryan a couple years ago... I fully expected to be entertained by a delightfully dry sense of humor, and I wasn't disappointed, to say the least.

I asked Lauren's seemingly NORMAL mother, Kelli, where in the world her kids got these personalities from... and she smiled as if to say she's heard that a time or two. While Kelli seemed to shrug off any knowledge of where the quirkiness came from... somehow, I think deep down... she may be to blame. :)

Regardless, as I enter my 40s now, the game of trying to remain relevant and somehow current and trendy becomes more and more of a challenge when you're clients are 17 and 18 years old. I feel like for the most part, I've done a decent job of trying to figure out what seniors want and what today's style is. So, if anything... someone like Lauren pushed me out of the box a bit, and I just hope that I did her justice in her own unique way.

Thanks for the breath of fresh air, Miss Lauren.