Owning Your Photo Session

Once upon a time (i.e. yesterday), there was a girl who owned her photo session.

She said yes to a planning meeting with me, in which I asked her, "What are you envisioning?"

"Flowers!" she replied. "And also, fields."

"Flowers!" I thought. "I love them too!" 

So I suggested my favorite garden, because it has all these beautiful flowers. And also an adjacent field. The best of both worlds! We scheduled it. I mentioned to her that if she happened to be a Pinterest fan, she might start a board with photos she liked and share it with me. Which she did.  It looked like this:

Not at all like the garden I recommended.  Rather, wildflowers and a lot of grasses, with glowy light. And also dogs.

I looked hard at her board, and emailed her a few photos of the flowers and fields in my mind's eye. I asked if she thought it was a good match, or whether she might like some other options to consider. And also whether she might want to bring her dog. She wisely chose to shift gears and go for another location option that better fit the vision she was showing me on her board--which called for rescheduling as well. And she did decide to bring her dog, who has been her constant COVID companion.  So he was perfect for helping tell the story of her senior year.

This is a girl who got what she wanted. As I showed her the back of my camera to see what she thought so we could adjust along the way, she said, "If Pinterest showed these to me, I would have pinned them too!"

Lessons learned:

1. Taking time to communicate--really listen, ask questions and dialogue back and forth, increases understanding and yields better results for everyone involved.

2. It's OK to ask for what you really want.

3. A picture really is worth a thousand words.

To the Class of 2020

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Dear Class of 2020,

Oh my goodness, is it ever your time.  You came into the world under the cloud of the Twin Towers, and COVID-19 blew your senior year out of the water.  As if it needed an exclamation point, it all ended with tragedy, protests, and curfews.  A time for everything indeed.

You have made this a time for so many good things too:

    

To choose community as the best realization of self.

To envision a new reality.

To dance a new dance.

You've rejected pity in favor of resilience and innovation.  I want to thank you.  I know this wasn't your reality every day or in every moment.  But you are going to take these experiences with you, and we are all going to benefit from your insight and ability to be flexible for decades to come.  

Remember, there is a time for everything.  I'm wishing you faith and hope for a bright future that right now is uncertain--so you can embrace the possibilities of every today. Go forward with courage, graduates!  You might not hear us today, but we're cheering for you!!

To the Class of 2018

Dear Class of 2018,

We go way back.

I met you the day we moved into the neighborhood, 

when you toddled across the yard to meet my tiny son.

I watched you grow up on the baseball diamond, 

from picking dandelions in the outfield to picking runners off at second.

You played whatever game was in season in our backyard with the neighborhood kids.

I watched the beginnings of your football career.

You're all smiles now, but you did have a pretty serious game face when you were on the pitcher's mound,
just learning.

When I was your age (and much younger),

 I swam with your mom.

I just met you for the first time this year, 

and I'm so thankful to know you.

Whichever it is with you, there will never be another class that graduates from high school with my firstborn.

Here's what I want you to know:

When I was your age, it never once crossed my mind that I would be a photographer. In fact, when I started my photography business four years ago, I STILL never dreamed I would be a senior photographer, and that I would love it. Instead, all along, I just kept taking the right next step, from one chapter to the next. This year when you(r mom) showed up on my doorstep, I felt so grateful to be ready for you. Just look at all the fun I had with you!

Your life will be like that. You might know exactly what you want to do. You might not have a clue. But your actual future will unfold one day at a time, and it really just comes down to taking that day's best steps.

Your college plans are not the most important thing. Your career plans aren't either. But with each new thing you do, you will meet new people and grow in new ways, and these are the things that will change you forever. So choose well for today, and tomorrow will take care of itself.

One more thing:

I think God did an amazing job on you. He made you to add beauty and richness to this world unlike anyone else. I hope you'll stay in his hands and let his light shine through you, no matter where your journey takes you.

Congratulations, Graduates!

It's Your Move

Meet the lovely Therese.
She is graduating from high school this weekend.
She is ready.

Therese has a huge heart and several loves,
but the highlight of her high school career was being
captain of the chess team.

It just made sense for us to do her photos at the depot,
among the giant chess pieces.

It was really great of her to give me a little tutorial about how the game goes.
It turns out that it's all about making the king your top priority.
Therese does that.
Jesus is her King.  She loves serving him.
She served him on a life-changing trip to Mexico last summer.
It's all been a process of learning that serving him
means receiving from him so you can pass his love along.
She reflects him quietly and beautifully.

Now it looks like she is just waiting for the train to take her to her next destination.

Therese, it's your move.
You have wonderful plans to pursue a career that will help others live a healthy, productive life.
Your college sees your heart and your potential, and they are wisely making an investment in you.
I'm so excited for you!  You do not move alone.  Your King has led the way and is going with you.
Congratulations on all you've accomplished!
I'm looking forward to hearing how the path unfolds before you
as you continue to walk with the Lord Jesus and honor him.

"Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible,
the only God,
be honor and glory
for ever and ever. Amen."
1 Timothy 1:17

To the Class of 2016

Dear Class of 2016,

Your graduation weekend has arrived.  I'm so excited for you!  You have done the work, you have made your plans, and now is the time to just savor it all.  These are moments you will remember forever.  

I am thankful that I got to share a few of these moments of anticipation with you when we did your senior sessions.  I experienced first hand how smart, talented, hard-working, adventurous and funny you are.  I've celebrated as you've made college decisions (two to my alma mater!), won awards and scholarships.  And of course I know how beautiful and handsome you are.  I'm smiling right back at you this very minute.

Can I just tell you one thing, as you head out into this big, amazing thing called life?  Not ONE of those things I just mentioned makes you a valuable human being.  

Nope.  Not one.

You were born filled with value from the top of your head (whether it had any hair or not) to the tips of you tiny toes.  You are an amazing work of art, loved like crazy by the Artist.  Always have been and always will be.  There will never be a single moment of your life when you are not thoroughly valuable and treasured.

If you remember that, you will be free.  Free to love, free to achieve, free to create beauty, free to make mistakes, free to fail, free to say I'm sorry, free to forgive, free to get back up and start again.

I wish you a life of true freedom.

Congratulations!

Tracy

Glowing

This young woman and I share a happy place in common.

Imagine my delight when Margie was eager to do her senior photos there!

She spends time there year round on the trails.

We spent a little time enjoying the exercise...

and the natural beauty.

It was such a gorgeous evening that the rest of the family couldn't resist coming along.

Even Grandma.

This is a young woman whose beauty and strength shine in everything she does.

Margie, I wish you the very best as you seek the right path into your future.

You have already learned to find pleasure in the simple beauty of life--

that's one of the most important things you will ever need to know.

Blessings to you on your way!

For Certain

Meet Megan.

She is a girl who knows who she is, what she likes, and what's most important to her.

Family, friends, faith.

We went to Megan's happy place with her friend Stacy, and her postcard collection.
Those postcards brought back the memories!

Like the time when they were little and Stacy sent her a postcard from New York
telling Megan how much she would like it there.
And then Megan went there with marching band years later
to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

There is nothing quite like a lifelong friend!

Megan loves her friends, but she is not too cool to be seen with her mom.
In fact, she loves hanging out with her family.  It's just not that simple to get all six of them together.

After the tea shop, we headed to the park where Megan's family
has attended many a community celebration and parade.
In fact, she marched in the parade there just a few days later
while the rest of the family cheered her on.

We stopped for a few minutes to let Stacy tell a funny story.

And to document the importance of pillow pets.
Especially Perry the Platypus.

And to take note of the necklace that constantly serves
as a tangible reminder that God is an ever-present companion and help.

Megan is in color guard.  I'll show you her beautiful flag in a minute,
but it's her rifle that she really loves.
She spent a minute amazing me with her twirls and tosses.

We took time to smell the flowers.

To recall Megan's dancing days.
And to hear her mom tell about the way that Megan amazes her
by her leadership and her love for God.

And finally the football players cleared out so Megan could take the field for a few minutes
and do her thing.

Megan, I've known you your whole life, and loved you since before you were born.
I've watched you be an amazing big sister, and share your love for kids with my kids,
with all the church kids, and also in your work.
I can't tell you how grateful I am for the role model and servant that you are.

One thing is for certain:
If you keep loving God and serving people the way you always have,
you are going to leave many, many lives the richer for having known you.

"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."
2 Corinthians 2:14