Some Tips for your Senior Session

It was 1997, clothed in flannel shirts and jeans, dark lipstick and eggplant colored hair,  handmade hemp necklaces or chokers tight against my neck. A member of my school's Amnesty International, I was Winona LaDuke (VP candidate for the Green Party) in our mock election, a gymnast on our High School team. I took Art and Math at the High School and then headed over to Bowling Green State University for college classes each afternoon. I spent a lot of extra time in the art room that year. I couldn't wait to get out of my hometown and head to Athens, Ohio where I'd study at Ohio University. For me, my Senior Year couldn't go fast enough. 

A couple of my Senior Pictures from 1997

Looking back, I wish I'd soaked up the time a little bit more; been less focused on a boyfriend and enjoyed the moment a little more rather than counting down the minutes before it was over. 

Maybe that's why Senior Portraits are my favorites to shoot, I often find myself telling my Seniors to enjoy it, that real life comes so quickly after High School and the years start to fly by. I also just really enjoy this age, they  know who they are, expressing their ideas, opinions and pushing so hard into that independent stage. Yet they still turn to mom and dad quite often. 

I enjoy watching the dynamic between parents and kids during each Senior Session.  Some parents put it all in their child's hands and let them take the lead for their pictures and sometimes parents have some very definite expectations and ideas. It's in these situations that I push a bit to let my senior's voice be heard. I feel very strongly that when I present my clients with their gallery that they look at them and think, "yes, that's me, as I am, right now" 

I think I'm passionate about my capturing my clients as they are now because I'm not a huge fan of my Senior Portraits or the experience (sorry mom). I went to a local, traditional studio in my hometown. I had a few outfits, non that I loved. I remember hating my hair that day....it was usually up in a ponytail or a bandana. I had wanted my pictures outside and I can't remember why that didn't happen. But to this day, I still want them outside! I don't see the me described above in my senior pictures. I kinda wish I had one of me in my Phish T-shirt and outside in a field. So my goal is to make sure both Senior and their parents get what they want, so here's what I want you to think about when you are planning your senior session. 

An example of an Urban Location - Dillon Montana 

When it comes to location, is there a place that is special to you? Where you've spent a lot of time during your high school years?  I've photographed Seniors at their ranches with their animals, the football field, the basketball gym, the local bridge where summers are spent jumping into the river, camping spots where childhoods were spent and recently the public library.  You can also go with a specific look you'd like, whether it's an urban shoot, in the mountains, by a river or a field of wildflowers. Don't count out studio shots as well, they don't have to be the super posed and formal shots from my days of Senior portraits! 

Studio Portraits don't have to be 1997 Style

Rainbows not guaranteed. 

Go somewhere that you love. 

Another example of a Studio Shot

Don't be afraid to add accessories like hats

What to wear. This is never easy, I dread picking out outfits for myself for pictures, so I feel your pain. Again, I stress you want your pictures to be you. Don't pick outfits that you wouldn't normally wear, if it's completely out of your comfort zone it will show. I encourage you to have at least two outfits with some of my packages having 4 outfits. Ladies: mix it up; dress, jeans with a couple different shirt options, and shoe options. Pick out clothing that fits well and that the proper undergarments are worn. You won't want pictures with your bra straps showing and well, if I have to edit them out, I'm going to have to charge you more! Neither of us wants that.  

It's ok to dress it up just a bit, guys! 

Guys: I know you don't care and just want to be casual and that's ok. T-shirts are fine with me if that's you, but I'd really like you to have one more nicer shirt for at least a few shots and mom will too! 

 

A couple more tips - mostly for the ladies - make sure your nails are manicured. They don't have to be painted but if you have paint chips on them, again, I'll have to edit them out and charge you more. Accessories/jewelry - if you love jewelry and wear a lot of it, bring several options. As long as it doesn't overtake the outfit or you we'll use it! 

Make up - You can go just a tad bit heavier on the make up but not crazy. I want you to look like you. Make sure your foundation is the correct color for your skin tone. 

And this last one, yes I have to say this because it has happened. Please do not show up with your arms and hands covered in marker drawings and sayings...just please, don't! 

Finally, lets talk props. They are not a necessity to your session but if you have something you'd like to include by all means, we can! Horses, dogs, your favorite book, sports equipment, your car....I've done it all! It can be obvious or also subtle! We'll do several different poses with props. 

And to send you off, on the left is my Senior Picture, on the right, normal me as a Senior.....

The Battle I've Been Fighting

I've been a bit quiet this year, haven't been posting as much as I'd like, sharing more of my TJ Photography life or own personal life as I normally do. I feel as though it's time for an explanation.

Back in August when I was working like a mad woman on getting my studio open and just a few days before my open house I had this insane inflammation, swelling and pain in my hands. I had previously discovered a dairy allergy that causes pain and inflammation in my body, so we concluded that it was a reaction to dairy in conjunction with the massive amounts of painting, hammering and usage of my hands in the studio. Since I was getting into the thick of my marathon training as well, I avoided dairy like the plague. Fall was a bit of a blur between the marathon, my grandfather's passing and it being the busiest Fall in my business yet.
But with only a minor flare up here or there I didn't notice much. But then 3 days before Christmas I dislocated my shoulder, in my sleep nonetheless. I've dislocated it once before but it healed fairly quickly, this time it did not. I spent two weeks with the pain moving all around my left shoulder area. I concluded that I had just over done it, hadn't given myself enough rest time, etc.

Come January and I was ready for 2017, ready to just slay it this year and excited. But the last three months have been anything but what I envisioned. I've endured pain that has brought me to tears (many times), exhaustion, feeling depressed and very little motivation. I have had days that I can't open my hand due to the swelling and pain in my wrist and hand. There was a morning that my husband found me crawling across the floor from the kitchen to my bedroom because my knee was so inflamed and painful that I could not walk. Days that I couldn't lift my shoulder enough to change  my shirt. This pain is exhausting, pain days are basically  lost days because of the physical and mental toll they have taken on me.  I knew this was something serious, not just a food allergy and last week it was confirmed that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). An autoimmune disease, my body is basically attacking my own joints.

I'm only in the beginning of figuring out what this means for me. RA is different for every person and I am hoping that we have caught it early enough that it hasn't started damaging my joints yet. Although I have had moments of complete devastation, especially when it comes to how, or if at all,  I will be able to incorporate running into my future, I also understand that I can live with this disease and get the pain under control and hopefully in remission. But this will not happen over night and will take time before we get to that point. My sister in law has been living with this for many years and before my official diagnosis we chatted and these words have stuck with me during some of my darker moments "even though you'll have to let go of some things that you once really enjoyed, you will find new things to enjoy and be passionate about. If anything having RA has made me slow down and appreciate a lot about life that I didn't before."

In November and December I was determined to figure out how to slow down and appreciate things more. I was tired of being so "busy".  So in a way, although I never wanted a chronic illness, I'm wondering if this was my path to help me do just those things. I've found that my plans don't always pan out because I never know how I'll wake up and feel. I've missed things that I love like Run to the Pub, runs with friends, going to the State Basketball Game because of pain and the depression that tends to come with it. I have been at my kids events in a state of fog because I'm so tired or in pain that I don't really experience it.  I've sat at my desk for a whole morning basically staring at my computer not motivated or knowing what to do next.

So I've been quiet, forced a lot of smiles, felt like a hermit and considered just closing shop. But I know that's not what I want and not who I am. The morning just a couple of weeks ago when I couldn't open my hand I just kept thinking, "what if I can't take photos anymore? What if some day my hands get so bad I cannot do what I am passionate about?" The first few months of the year are always slower for shoots, this year I've been incredibly busy with Senior orders and designing announcements. My camera also had to go in for repair and it's really occurred to me how much I love being behind the camera! So as I move forward with this new reality and as I learn to live with and manage this disease, I will not let it take these passions away from me. Not my photography at least.  (The running is quite possibly a different story and where I will have to find a new passion).

I am not 100% sure exactly this will affect my business, although I do know that I will focus primarily on my Senior Photography and Families. I will also make a point to shoot for myself, to capture my kids more often again, to take my camera on hikes and complete more personal projects.

I never know how I am going to wake up feeling, I never know where the pain may be tomorrow so I am trying to enjoy the little things more often.  With that, I'd like to challenge myself to do a photo of the day each day that I'll post on Instagram and Facebook...I will do my best to do it daily, to notice an ordinary thing of my day a little differently.

Today's photo, is this. My 4.5 year old loves to hold my hand as we walk, she's headed to Kindergarten next year and is my baby. As my oldest is turning 13 next week, I am just realizing how quickly it really goes and as I watch her exert her independence I sure like having someone that still likes to hold my hand. And also that today my hand will open to hold hers.

And this because I think of this often these days! 

Executing a Vision

For the last four years I have photographed the formal Prom pictures for Townsend. I do enjoy it, I love seeing all the dresses and helping put together the backdrops. But I've been craving some more creative prom pictures as well. I had an idea and approached Bonnie at Wildflower Designs here in Three Forks about doing a Prom photo shoot to  showcase her beautiful corsage and boutonniere designs!

I immediately knew the boys I wanted to use for the shoot. Whenever I saw Payden and Tyson  dressed for basketball game this season, I loved their style and knew I needed them with their bow ties! I put out a model call for the girls on Facebook.  I had several girls interested, and I hate having to say no to anyone, so I went with the first two who responded and I have to say I am really glad I did because Kaylee and Brittany rocked it!

The Sacajawea Hotel is just such the perfect backdrop and location for what I had in mind. I wanted the beautiful natural light in the upstairs hallways and I also took in my strobes to get some more dramatic light on the stairs in lobby. I also had a car in mind, but wasn't sure if it would work out. I said to my friend Diane "what are you doing at 3pm tomorrow, or more importantly what is your car doing?"  When we were taking just few images on the porch, Diane pulled up in her '76 Cadillac ElDorado. The boys said "we have to take pictures in that!" and the vision I had came to life!

It's hard to put into words that feeling when you know that you are executing that perfect vision in your head! I try not to have too many expectations for shoots, I do always have a couple shots that I want, but because of lighting and weather they don't always work out perfectly. You have to be flexible and creative at every shoot!

Here's some of my favorites for this shoot! Don't forget to order your flowers from Bonnie! And if you'd like to do a more creative/stylized shoot for your prom pictures. I am doing Prom Mini Sessions. I have limited spots so contact me soon to schedule!

Mom's shouldn't always be the ones behind the camera!

We all have cameras at our fingertips today,  and I think it’s safe to say that most of us take advantage of that. Capturing so many everyday moments as we can. But other than the selfies we take with the kids, how many pictures do mom’s have with their children? If you are like me, not many. I’m even sad to say that I didn’t get one picture of myself with my third child, Elle, in the hospital.

I had the idea four years ago to do Mommy and Me portrait sessions. An opportunity for mom’s to get great images with their children. After the first sessions I held, I fell in love with them. It’s such an honor for me to be able to capture mom’s in those sweet moments with their kiddos. To know that both mom and children will forever cherish those images. I wrote a blog after that first year about why you shouldn’t wait.

A little excerpt from that blog:

“So despite the fact that 20 years from now you will all probably be enjoying a good laugh over the hairstyles and awkward phases of life you will also be treasuring these portraits, regardless of how you all looked at the time. Because it was you, then.

I will be blunt, what if something happens to you tomorrow or even a year from now. Your children won't be looking at the portraits thinking "wow, wish mom had lost 20lbs before she got these done". They will be looking at their mom and how they knew her and they'll be so  thankful they have these great images!”

I’ve continued to hold these  sessions every year and last spring just a week before my mom and me sessions were scheduled, the words I wrote in this blog; “I’ll be blunt, what if something happens to you tomorrow or even a year from now” came to a screaming reality. Not exactly how I said it, but in an even more unfathomable way. I watched a dear friend lose her daughter. Just six days before we were to have her mom and me shoot. She is also a photographer so that week we spent at the river, I kept thinking about how glad I was that she has so many pictures of Maddy,  that she had so many memories captured. I was also so thankful that we had done mom and me sessions the two previous years. There were favorite images I have of Laura & Maddy  from each of those sessions. I wish so much that our mom and me session had been a week earlier last year, but I'm glad the two previous years she didn’t make excuses, she didn't "wait" that she made sure she had those images from those shoots and I know she agrees.

As this spring has approached and it was time to set up my Mom and Me sessions, I kept putting it off. I wasn’t sure why because they are some of my favorite sessions. I realized that as the anniversary of losing Maddy approaches, it brings back a lot of emotions. The Mom and Me sessions last year were not easy for me, they brought me lots of joy as always but also the sadness of knowing that life is so short and unpredictable.

I started going through last year’s portraits for this year’s ad and the feelings of sadness quickly disappeared as I looked at the smiling faces, the kisses and hugs I captured kids giving their mom. Knowing these clients have these images and they are ones their children and grandchildren will look at years to come. And hopefully not on some digital device, but in prints that are in frames or in photo albums (but that’s whole other blog)!

That being said, take the time and get professional images taken with you and your children. Whether you come to me or another talented photographer, just do it! I promise you, it’s worth it!

Hannah's Senior Sessions

When I first started out doing photography full time, a fellow photographer told me that I would soon find out that  there was a type of session that I would love the best. I have found that session and it's Seniors! Although I do love all the photography I do, Seniors are my favorite. It is such a milestone for these kids, their senior year of high school really getting to know who they are, gaining more independence and preparing to move away from home and start college. I love getting to know each one of my seniors and following them through their Senior year and even watching them excel in College! I often think of them as "my seniors". Even my girls get excited and will watch what "my seniors" are doing.    

Each year I have a group of Senior Models, this year one of my models was Hannah. We did a fun group shoot at the beginning of summer, with a of a bohemian theme.  This fall we headed out to Hannah's mom's family farm. There were so many beautiful locations there it was hard to choose where to go.  With some amazing smokey sunsets and light due to all the fires this summer, we definitely got some unique and fun shots. Hannah also knew she wanted some downtown Bozeman and snow shots as well.  It was such a blast to shoot downtown, someplace I hadn't shot before. I love getting into something I haven't done before, to push myself and do something different. I will definitely be offering more urban shoots in 2016! We even had a little fun in the studio as well. 

Here are a few of my favorites from Hannah's Shoots! 

Rachael's Senior Session

I had so much fun working with both Rachael and her mom, Susie! Their energy, enthusiasm and ideas made for a really fun and diverse total Senior experience! Susie has become quite the location scout for me now and  I love getting texts from her with ideas :) 

 Rachael is a Senior at Beaverhead County High School. I met with Susie at Wheat Montana a couple days before her shoot so we could discuss ideas and locations. Typically my seniors attend these pre consults as well, but Rachael was already golfing in a Tournament for her HS team!We looked over many pictures from Pinterest that both she and Rachael liked and we looked at several locations around Three Forks and towards Twin Bridges. We settled on Old Town road and Bridge in Three Forks and then we kept in touch over the the next two days because the smoke was THICK during this time. Luckily by Sunday it had lifted enough that we were able to go ahead with her shoot. The smoke made for some crazy, hazy and almost pink light in the evenings. Which I loved and was frustrated with at the same time! 

Susie and Rachael came with several ideas and props as well, we knew were were also going to hold a fall session so we narrowed down what we would use at each one! Since I've shared our first session on social media already, I want to share a collage of some of my favorites from our first session and then talk more about our more recent Fall Session.

This is one image that I really had fun playing with the incredibly hazy and pinkish light! 

Fast forward to October for Rachael's Fall Session, we scheduled it for a Sunday and decided the Friday before to head up to Pony where I had the aspens in mind for the majority of her pictures. Saturday night I barely slept, listening to the 20mph winds and checking the hourly weather way too often on my three weather apps! Susie and I kept in touch all day and I think we decided to reschedule twice, but we both were worried about the colors if we rescheduled so we finally said, lets do it! Since it was still windy when we got to Pony, I showed them the old school and we decided to do some there where we were more protected from the wind, before we moved up to the trees. Rachael has been playing the fiddle since she was a child so we wanted to incorporate that. I love that Susie thought to bring sheets of music as well! 

The wind did die down so we headed up the road to the Aspens! I love taking pictures of Aspens from the trunk looking up so I wanted to try getting that feel with Rachael in the frame as well. She and Susie were also inspired by a photo on Pinterest with 2016 formed with leaves so we do our version of that. About the only thing the wind interfered with was when we tried to get some leaf throwing shots, you can see they all blew off to the left of Rachael pretty quickly, but I loved her smile in this picture anyway!

Rachael's best friend, Kelcy, came along for the session and we had fun getting some best friend shots.  I think every Senior Session should have a best friend and a mom shot which we got as well! 

Learning to love yourself

Last January I had my first boudoir sessions and it was an incredible experience for me. As I wrote in last years blog about them, they were extremely liberating not only for my clients but myself as well. That being said, I didn’t really push those types of sessions over this last year. I was plenty busy with family portraits, senior sessions and sports that I didn’t try to expand my boudoir business. I almost didn’t even put together sessions for Valentine’s Day this year. But I did. And they once again had a huge impact on me.

An idea and a purpose, you might say, started to bud in the back of my head last year. After this last month’s session, it has taken root and I am excited to see exactly where it goes!             

In order to better understand why this has had such an impact on me, I feel like I need to start with my story. I was 15;  I was a gymnast, and I was anorexic. I can’t tell you when it started, or a specific trigger but I can remember going the entire day at school eating nothing but a piece of chewing gum. After school I’d go for a run and then go to gymnastics practice. One day I blacked out in the middle of a back tuck, luckily I wasn't hurt but I knew it was because of what I was doing to my body. I had a weekly ritual trip the local bagel store for a “treat”; a blueberry bagel which I would purchase. For the next hour, I would methodically tear it apart piece by piece and eat it. Then I’d go run. Once again I don’t remember the exact moment or reason but at some point I also started binging and purging. I would weigh myself, binge, weigh myself again, purge and then weigh again to make sure I was at the pre binge weight or under. Each single day began with me weighing myself.  The number on that scale dictated my mood and actions for the day.

For years, my eating disorder controlled my life. Every aspect of my life was determined by whether or not I felt fat.  I could never enjoy myself at any kind of social event because I was too busy judging all the other women in the room and beating myself up for not being skinny enough, pretty enough, or just plain good enough. I was constantly in a battle with my own thoughts about what I had eaten or what I hadn’t eaten, and if I had worked out enough.

I beat myself up constantly for not being what I thought I was supposed to be.

This crippling self doubt and resentment towards my own body kept me from doing so many things I wanted to do.

Today, I am 36 years old, with three daughters of my own. I have been dealing with my eating disorder for 21 years and I will continue to deal with it until the day I die. I am leaps and bounds from where I was even just a year ago, I am finally learning not to be scared of food, I'm more confident than I have ever been. However, this disease is similar to an alcoholic; every single day I make a conscious decision to be healthy. Every.single.day. I struggle.  But I do not want my daughters to go through this and on really bad days, thinking about what they are learning from me, makes me sit down and eat dinner with them.

You may be asking, what does this have to do with boudoir photo sessions? A lot. Everytime I advertise my boudoir sessions, I get the following from several people “I’d love to do a session, but not right now, I need to get in better shape.”

How I respond to those comments is this:

I understand, we all feel that way. We all have parts of our body that we wish were different, we all have things we would like to change. The point of a boudoir session is to accentuate the parts of our body we love, to let go a bit and let us see how someone else sees us. To learn to love the bodies we have right now, and to stop criticizing ourselves. These sessions are not about being in sexy lingerie but about being in something that makes you feel sexy. A tank top and underwear, a flannel shirt with a pretty bra poking through, an oversized shirt showing shoulders; whatever makes you feel good. Most are surprised when by the end of a session they are showing a lot more than they thought they would! My job as the photographer is to know what poses fit the best body types, how to work the light and how to make you feel comfortable and look beautiful!

This year, I decided I needed to be more than talk. I needed to know both sides of the boudoir session. I am 100% guilty of saying “oh when I lose 10 pounds, I’ll do one”. When my friend and fellow photographer Sam Tribble said she wanted hers done, I said “only if you do mine too” So I found myself not only getting ready for a weekend of shoots in January but also getting ready for my own….not an easy thing to do.

I have had three children, I gained A LOT of weight with my first pregnancy, and because of this I have stretch marks, and after 2 more pregnancies I have extra skin around my stomach. I hate it, I hate that I work out so much but still have this skin. I have found myself beating myself up mentally for it. Why? Because I’m not some celebrity who looks perfect 5 weeks after having a baby? Well I'm never going to be where I was before I had children and it's high time I start to accept that! I decided to take to heart what I tell my clients so the week before my shoot I started focusing on what I like about my body. I love my shoulders and my arms. They are strong. I love my legs from running. I communicated all of this with Sam, just as I talk to my clients about these things leading up to the shoot. We talked about poses, outfits and ideas.

I’m not all that comfortable in front of the camera with clothes on, but I have to say that by the end of my shoot, I felt more comfortable half naked in front of the camera than I ever have (with clothes on)! Sam showed  me a screenshot and I felt the tears flood to my eyes (I couldn’t believe how I looked and was so happy that I had finally done this shoot. When I viewed the edited images, I didn’t see the things I hated about myself, I saw the things I loved. I saw myself through different eyes.

Again, the boudoir sessions have sparked something in me.  We, especially women, have so many pressures we are faced with on a daily basis.  With Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest we are given these false ideas that we have to be perfect and over the top to be a successful wife, mother and woman. That’s not the case and it shouldn’t be the case.

I have this incredible feeling that I can use my photography in a way in which to help women. To help them feel beautiful, sexy and confident. We need to learn to love our bodies at every stage of our lives: when we are young, when we are at our fittest, when we are at our heaviest, when we are carrying a baby, after we have given birth, as we grow older. We must learn to love ourselves and I want to help us do that by photographing women - real women!

I am working on the beginning stages of an idea for a personal project which includes photographing women in a way in which we are embracing and celebrating both the good and the bad. I want to change our perception of beauty and perfection. I want my girls to look up to real women, not photoshopped magazine women! If you are interested in being a part of this project, please contact me!

I know this has been a long post, I hope you stuck around to read it all :)! Last but not least, I wanted to share a few of my images that Sam took. This is really out of my comfort zone, but I’m asking others to be real, so I need to put myself out there as real as well!

I haven't shared all my favorites (gotta keep some for the hubby :))