Some people are born with adventure in their souls, and this senior is one of them.  The oldest child of parents who met while getting their degrees in adventure (I mean, camp ministry and leadership development), this senior from the Class of 2023 uses every ounce of energy in him to pursue his own adventures.  His adventures include soccer, golf, hiking, camping, Jeeping (pretty sure that’s a verb), playing with his dog, and (most of all) his faith.  During his planning session, his face lit up when we started talking about including his Jeep and his dog.  Let the readers note that it is not his Jeep.  He shares it with his siblings; but I know it’s his Jeep.  I also had to “share” a Jeep with my sibling while growing up.  It was that or the mini-van, a Toyota from the 1980’s we nicknamed, “Moonbuggy”.  Google a 1980’s Toyota mini-van and you’ll understand the whimsy in the name!  The Jeep was the expression of adventure in my own soul, so I could definitely relate to this senior’s connection to “his” Jeep.

He also has a keen ear for the Lord’s voice, evidence of a sincere faith life.  During his session I was trying to provoke a reaction in him by mentioning his siblings.  “I love them,” he said sincerely.  His mom said, “He really does!”  And then shared this story with me:  When he was four years old and still the only child, his parents invited him into the prayerful conversation with God about having more children.  There was one family vacation his mom remembers poignantly.  She shared with me, “Our family was walking the beach one evening and playing in the water.  When I tucked him in that night, he said something like, ‘I had fun playing with the baby at the beach tonight.’  I asked him, ‘What baby?’ and he said,  ‘The baby in your tummy.’ I can’t remember the words he said next, but it was something to indicate ‘her’.  I found out in a couple of days that I was pregnant with my daughter.  I’m sure he had no concept of what he saying, but it meant a lot to me!”  He (and his beloved siblings) have also spoken first about hearing God’s prompting for their mom’s ministry jobs and challenging her to lay her excuses before the Lord and listen for His invitation for her.

It’s no surprise that a family this close wanted to share the portrait session with him, so we split our time in half – the first dedicated to his senior portraits, and the second reserved for family portraits.  It was especially fun for me to see his confident, go-with-the-flow, smother the dog with affection personality as an individual first, and then to watch him dive back into the family dynamics and surface some of his big brother orneriness.  I also loved discovering the other personalities in the family.  His sister is also quick to adventure and sport.  His brother, more reserved, seems to be the one that finds himself stuck in predicaments – sometimes literally.  One of the prompts I gave them while photographing them was, “Remember the time when…”  Immediately his sister said, “Remember the time when my brother got his thumb stuck in the communion cup holder at grandma’s church?”  What?!  If you know this family, I’ll let them tell you the story!

For this outdoor-loving close-knit family, Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis was the perfect location for their portrait session.  It was early spring, so the leaves were young and hopeful, the sun was warm and welcoming, and the utility buildings were oddly charming with their rustic stone structures.  We hit three or four different locations, and their dog loved being part of the attention.  She even tried climbing up in my lap to review the photos with us a week or two later!  As much as I loved the session itself, I think I had more fun working with this family to choose the images for senior graduation announcements, prints, and a fun surprise gift for Father’s Day, the popular image cube!

See more photos…