There are a few special bonds in this world when it comes to boys:  A boy and his dog, a boy and his mom, and a boy and his truck.  And for a growing number of guys, a boy and his gaming system.  This session included them all!  Even though his mom wasn’t in any of the photos, all the smiles thrown off camera were because she was there in the fan section.

How did it all come together?

Every portrait session includes a planning session.  That’s where I learn about who will be in the session and what makes them so… them!  That’s when the ideas for locations and props and outfits really start coming together.  I bring my vintage suitcase full of product samples so we can get an idea on how they will use their images (that helps me know what to get during the session), and we talk prices because I don’t want any surprises when they get to the ordering session.  I was at this senior’s house going through all this at his planning session, and I pulled out the acrylic block with the image of another senior guy and his truck.

“This photo,” this mom said, “is what made me call you!  This session made me feel like I knew who this guy was.  That’s what I want for my son.  I don’t want the traditional sports shots – that’s not who he is.”

I almost hugged her!  That’s exactly what I want people to see when they look at these sessions!  I want them to see all the great things about these people that separate them from the rest of the world.  Pinterest is great for inspiration, but if we all looked the same, why did God add us to the world?  Yes, he has a proper order for things, and yes he delights in diversity and creativity!

So this guy…  He’s the fun one of the group – the one who rallies everyone to a good idea and an epic game session.  He’s the loyal friend who will stand around in the school hallway and reminisce about the good ol’ times around the neighborhood slide. He’s the grandson that comes to life visiting his grandparents’ farm.  He’s the thinker with endless ideas on how he could improve his ride.  He’s the hard worker that already knows exactly what he wants to do for his career and has started working on it already.  And his dogs have him wrapped around their paws!

This late October session started in his home.  Homes in the Indianapolis area often have an open loft area at the top of the stairs.  This lucky kid had the whole loft set up for his game system.  He had everything – the headphones with the mic, the gamer chair, the large screen TV.  When I had asked what his natural habitat was, they laughed and said, “The loft.”  I laughed and said, “Let’s do it!” Then his mom said, “Actually, his bedroom has a really cool abstract wall that we designed together.”  They trusted me to peak in his bedroom as-is, which lead to another, “Let’s do it!” I added, “If you can clean your desk up and have your bed made…”  His mom laughed and said, “Let’s do it!”  I loved keeping his closet door open with the hooks filled with his jackets and hats for some of the shots.  I won’t go so far as to say that’s the equivalent to teenage guy jewelry… But maybe I just did… 🙂  His great dane was brought in to break in some natural smiles, and she did a superb job!

We talked about doing the next spot at a local auto mechanic’s garage to incorporate his career passion, but we opted for spending some of the two hours in the session driving out to his grandparents’ farm.  “That’s his happy place,” his mom said, happy that I was willing to go the extra mile (or miles, actually).  It was such a gorgeous fall day, and the drive out to Mooresville, IN was pretty and backed up by a good country station.  His grandfather pulled out an oldy-but-goody VW bug and had her shiny.  Another star of the day was the senior’s new-to-him pickup truck, which also found the farm to be it’s happy place.  I am very sorry to say the truck run into and totaled three days after the session, so those pictures also serve as a somber memorial to the truck. As an added surprise to me, this guy had a dog at his grandparents’ house, too!  I thought they meant he was close to their dog, but his mom corrected me.  “Nope. That’s his dog that my mom got for him.  She just lives there because we already have three dogs at our house.” So we added that dog to the session, and she also did a superb job!

We had so much fun that day.  When I downloaded the photos and started editing them, I couldn’t stop smiling myself.  I sincerely hope that whenever they walk past whichever photo they pick for the wall, they also recall the fun and it puts a smile on their faces.

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