“What?! I was in band, too!!!” I love it when I find connections with my clients, but this senior girl is infinitely WAY cooler than I ever was. First of all, she’s on the snare in marching band, which is the drummer responsible for keeping everyone’s March in step. I still remember our drum corp pounding it the funky beats while the rest of the band danced (#classof1995)! Secondly, she’s got her own drum set. Initially there was talk about using drumsticks as an obvious prop in her senior session, but when someone, “Wouldn’t it be cool to set up all your drums somewhere?” the planning session took on a whole new rhythm (pun definitely intended).

How did we meet? You know the principle that we are only six people removed from knowing the entire world? It’s similar to that, except I think instead there are maybe six different ways I was introduced to this one family. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. My son was classmates with her little brother, who is friends with my neighbor’s daughter, while my in-laws are great friends with her grandparents, and her dad is the brother of my friend’s husband who serves overseas with his entire family. If I pressed into it more than just 30 seconds, I may find even more connections!

The important part is, I’m glad we met. This senior is down-to-earth and just plain fun to be around. She is an excellent source of ideas and has an exceptional appreciation for creativity. She is dedicated to whoever is in her tribe (band, family, sports, et cetera), and that is evidenced by the loyal fan tribe that follows her around with tireless pride. It’s easy to see why: She is friendly, appreciative, hard working, kind, and insanely talented without losing her humility.

I always offer my seniors a separate free family session to get updated photos of the entire family. This family decided to use their free session toward a dual-season senior portrait session. We did a shorter summer session, and then waited for those gorgeous Midwest fall colors to burst onto the scene before doing her traditional fall senior session. Well, traditional in a sense… It did involve setting up a full drum set in the middle of the country and again downtown to add some personal flair to the session!

The fun didn’t stop there! I always review the images with the family before I put them on social media, and during their review sessions I couldn’t stop grinning from ear-to-ear. My cheeks seriously hurt by the end of our hour together! Her dad was so expressive in his delight over seeing his daughter featured in all these photos, and her mom has such an eye for design and composure. As someone who prefers not to be in front of the camera, though, my pleasure comes from seeing the senior admire themselves in the pictures – not in a vain or conceited way; but with new perspective that gives them a boost of confidence and appreciation for why everyone else in their world is so crazy about them.

Now to start designing her senior memory book…

See more photos…

Thanks for reading! This is just one of the ways I put a smile back in the world!