Emma - Ankeny Centennial Senior

I have discovered that I absolutely love photographing high school seniors, and ones like Emma, make my job especially easy. Emma's family was referred to me by a mutual friend and they threw their full trust in me and in the process. Emma is a senior at Ankeny Centennial and plans on going to Iowa State University in the fall. We started out with a late July session at Water Works Park on the South Side of Des Moines. We captured some images by the fountain, the sand hill, and Emma's absolute must have photo, the long white dress in the tall grass.

You could tell that as the session progressed, Emma was starting to open up and trust me more. I get it, it's a process. Here I am, a random stranger giving out suggestions like, "Spin" and "take your left hand and put your hair behind your ear." Throughout the session, I was showing her the back of the camera and hyping her up. Emma knew immediately what she liked and what she didn't like. She was open to suggestions though and quick to throw out things she knew she didn't like, which I respect. Even though she's seventeen, her time is still valuable, and I don't want to cull through 30 shots that I know she's going to hate!

I always like to bring a few seating options for sessions. For Emma's session I brought along a basic wood stool, a vintage quilt, a rattan chair, and a paint splatted wooden ladder. We used all of them for the shots, but the rattan chair didn't make the final cut, and I am OK with that, because they were the weakest images and the rest if her gallery was stunning.

We wound our way through Water Works at ending on the bridge. At this time, I asked her mom, Jessi, if she'd jump in a picture with Emma. Jessi was hesitant, but Emma loved having her mom there.

They mentioned doing another session in the fall with Emma's younger sister and the family Bernedoodle, Monty. We planned that session for downtown Des Moines but didn't want the murals and alleyways of downtown. I suggested the capitol, Women's Achievement Bridge, and even a parking garage if we still had time. The family was again, 100% on board!

Meeting Lyla, was so much fun. Emma and Lyla have a four year ago gap and have different features, but also the same! As a photographer, you really start analyzing people's faces and expressions during the culling and editing process, so I easily picked up on what they both share in their facial expressions and body language.

Monty was a perfect gentleman during the session as well. I joked that I was going to take him home with me, but I really wasn't joking. HAHA. My own Bernedoodle, Gordy, needs a best friend and I think Monty would have been perfect.

I loved ending the session during Blue Hour with Des Moines in the background. Meeting Emma and her family was such an incredible experience, and I know she is going to love Iowa State int he fall. GO CYCLONES!