The Boy
Brendan is the only boy of five siblings. I have photographed his two older sisters, and some day, I will meet the younger two. This time however, I got to do the boy thing!
As I’m sure you can imagine, growing up in a house with lots of girls, Brendan tends to be on the quieter side. He’s not the big talker of the family. Though, if you get him talking about something he’s interested in, you can see the sparks in his eyes and the smiles come very naturally.
What’s Brendan interested in? Rugby! Rugby is Brendan’s sport of choice. He’s been on the Rugby team since he was a freshman, he travels around the US to play in tournaments, and even spent Spring Break last year in Ireland playing Irish teams. Brendan’s session was great, because I had a great lesson on Rugby. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I definitely know more than I did!
It’s definitely a rough and tumble sport, perfect for “the boy”!
Talking & Laughing
Even though a senior portrait session was not at the top of Adam’s list of things to do on a Thursday afternoon, Adam’s senior session was full of talking and laughing! We talked about everything from activities he did as a kid to dreams he has for his future. In between, we laughed, joked and even got some awesome expressions out of Adam.
Changing Up the Looks
It took a little while for Julianne to warm up, but once I had her smiling, she never stopped! Every once in awhile, she’d start giving me smirks and switching up the smiles and the tilt of the head…all on her own with no prompting from me!
Her most challenging expression was the serious look! It would quickly turn into a smirk or sometimes even a giggle! It became our goal, and I think we accomplished it! Lots of expressions and looks that give you a glimpse into Julianne.
Out Comes The Smile
Right away I could tell that Meredith was a smiler! From the moment she walked in the door, she was talking and smiling, just like they went hand in hand.
Though we captured lots of smiling images, I had to have some serious ones, too!! Meredith has these beautiful blue/green eyes that just glow next to her dark hair and tan skin. I knew, when she looked at me with a serious expression, that those eyes of hers were just going to shine!
But every time she closed her mouth and looked at me, it was a race to see how many clicks I could get in before that smile of hers popped out! Sometimes it was quite a few, and other times it was one or two, but there were even a few times where it was none…she just couldn’t hold in the smile!
Smirky Girl
I quickly realized that Kristen’s favorite expression was her smirk! Anytime I asked her to close her mouth, she just naturally fell into her smirk! The real question is what was going on behind that smirk! Those big brown eyes of hers do a lot of talking! Sometimes she looked like she was holding in a secret, other times I was waiting to hear the story that went along with the smirk, and other times I think she was just being smirky!
Fashionista
The difference between girl and guy senior sessions? It definitely has to be the clothes. If a guy shows up with four different shirts and four different pants, we’re doing great! Many times, I’m struggling to figure out how to combine the few pieces they brought, to give us enough variety. Girls on other hand, they walk in with their entire closet! I’m not saying this is a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great thing. It’s just so funny how different they can be!
Brooke was no different! She brought a great variety of clothes to pick from, including an entire bag of shoes and even a good variety of jewelry. Of course, when I found out that she spent the summer at Parsons School of Design in New York, I instantly understood why she looked like she was moving in!
We had a blast going through her outfits, and selecting just the right ones to give us a good variety and a fun representation of Brooke!
Last, But Definitely Not Least
Chloe is the third and final senior I have photographed from the M family. All three of them have had their own personalities and individual styles, but they all also have a great love for their family! It’s so great to see a family that, despite their differences, even through their teenage years, they can love and support each other.
Chloe and I had tons of fun during her senior session! We joked! We laughed! Chloe even had some witty remarks to my sarcastic jokes. It was quite the evening of entertainment!
By Far the Steamiest Day!
Unfortunately, Jake’s senior session fell on what I am sure has been the steamiest day this summer. The temperature wasn’t at it’s highest, but add the humidity to the 90+ temperatures, and it was like being in a sauna.
To top it off, Jake’s outfits were not exactly sweat proof! A suit, a band uniform, jeans and a long sleeve shirt…they looked good, but they were warm!
Despite all this, Jake was a great sport! He never stopped smiling, even when the sweat was pouring!
Multi-Talented
Being from a smaller town, like Great Bend, means that Ian has the opportunity to do a little bit of everything. Sports, including swimming, football and track. Music, including flute, piano, drums (I even got to hear him play a little bit of the flute, and he definitely knows what he’s doing). Even the arts, with drama club, plays and singing, he seems to do it all!
Add the fact that he has lots of interests and isn’t afraid to try something new, means he also does a little cooking, he’s getting into photography and trying to learn the guitar. Let’s just say, I thought I was busy…I have no idea how he does everything he does!
I had a blast getting to know Ian and hearing about his many talents! I know the world has big plans for Ian!
Smirky!
Bert’s first instinct, and natural expression, is the smirk! He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it! I’d tell him to close his lips and give me a serious look and within seconds the right side of his mouth would turn up, followed closely by the left side and, before I knew it, there was a full out smirk! This sent me into giggles every time! Which of course made Bert laugh, before we knew it, the serious expression was gone, replaced by some great smiles!
