A Girl and her Horse - KD's Senior Session

When I met KD for our pre-consultation she was pretty laid back about our upcoming session, she knew exactly what she wanted,  some shots in a field and in the river, all with Rita, her horse! I told her we had to do some with just her as well! The day of the shoot was once again beautiful and we were getting some amazing golden hour light. We started in the field where I played with the light and how it was coming through the trees, using it to get that hazy light and then changing my angle to get less haze and more direct light. There was an old shed that was perfect (remember I'm a sucker for any kind of an old building!). KD is so comfortable with her horse, its as if she completes her. Actually its like they  complete each other.  This image is one of my favorites from this session...and its not just KD's love for Rita, it's the emotion that just radiates off of Rita. It gives me the chills every time I look at it. I did add a quote to this blog version of it.

 The light was fading quickly so we had to hurry down to the river. KD spends a lot of time here with Rita so they cruised in gracefully, meanwhile  I was trying not to fall down the embankment or drop my camera into water :)! I think we got some fantastic shots and even managed a few of KD alone! My daughter Lily was my "assistant" that evening and she equally amazed me with her horse skills. When we did solo shots, Lily took over Rita...I think maybe I need to get her lessons...KD?

Family - Ashley's Senior Portraits

A day before Ashley's shoot a friend of the hers offered the use of some old buildings on some private property and we were both pretty stoked. I had driven by them the night before but because they were on private property I behaved and did not trespass (this is not always the case for me ;)). When I pulled up to location on the day of the shoot, I may or may not have squealed in pure delight, did a little dance and kept say "OMG THIS IS AWESOME!"! I was in my own little photographer heaven. I love old buildings and random old things and then to be shooting as Senior as well? Heaven! Just a few minutes later Ashley and her mom and dad pulled up and Ashley was doing the same thing...this was definitely a good match!
I could have done the entire shoot at this location, in fact I had to tell her mom to keep me in line. I tend to get lost in my shooting and lose all track of time and we needed to get to our next location before we lost the light!

Once I forced myself to stop shooting at the old homestead, we headed to the river and Williams Bridge. We got there for the perfect Golden hour light! I loved that Ashley had some definite things she wanted to do, but was also very open to suggestions I had.  As I was lying down on the bridge getting some of my shots, her dad laughed and said she does the same thing. I'm hoping she'll tag along on some shoots with me so she can start learning more and someday follow her passion as well!

Every Senior shoot is different, some Seniors want their parents there, some don't. Ashley had both her mom and dad with her and she wanted to do some shots with them as well. Family is huge for Ashley  and that was very apparent thought out the evening.
Thanks Ashley, Melissa and Ron for allowing me into your lives and to capture Ashley's beautiful spirit!
 

Finding Passion Within a Passion

This last year has been an incredible journey. It was one year ago this week that the opportunity presented itself and I took the reigns of my own destiny and dove headfirst into my photography business. I can't say it's been easy or hasn't had its ups and down.  There have been tears, frustration and moments of feeling like throwing in the towel. But it's brought more smiles, joy and feelings of accomplishment. I'm so incredibly thankful for the support of friends, family, the community and my clients!

If you follow my blog you will know that during this journey I discovered that one of my favorite subjects is Seniors.  This also reminded me that while in school one of my other favorite units was fashion photography.  I decided to dive into that a bit. So I teamed up with a friend who is a new stylist at a new salon in Bozeman, the Foxy Lady Salon. Danielle and Miranda did hair and make up for six models and I did what I do behind the camera!  I had an absolute blast and am really excited about the images we got from the shoot.

I really love how much creativity and out of the box ideas play into fashion photography. We didn't go too crazy for this shoot,  but I have some ideas in my head that I would like to execute soon. So someday soon be on the lookout for big hair, bird cages, smoky eyes, and maybe even a goat...random, weird, different...that's why I love Fashion Photography.

I have to thank my sister-in-law, Amanda Cram for being my assistant that night, holding the reflector, moving hair out of faces and fetching step stools for me. Thank you to Cindy Grooms, owner of the Foxy Lady for believing in my vision and letting me take over your salon! Thank you to Danielle and Miranda for working late that night and also believing in me! Thanks to the models for doing things that might have made you feel uncomfortable because as you can see, it was worth it! I will be calling on you for my future visions...do any of you have a goat?

And that's one thing I've loved about this past year, following my passion and finding even more passion within that passion!