Nicholas is a student at Stevens High School.  He is a football player and it was a lot of fun to incorporate the sport into his Senior portraits.  We made the most of the local scenery and even included his car in a few shots!  It's fun to personalize Senior sessions and make each one unique.  I appreciated his willingness to try a few of my ideas as well and I think we got some nice variety!  Here are some favorites of Nicholas, Class of '17!

Madeline is a Vermont Senior at Springfield High School.  I greatly enjoyed her sense of fun and spunk and her personality really showed through in her portraits.  We started out at an old churchyard in Weathersfield and ended up at the local apple orchard.  We were blessed with beautiful weather and light and ended in a fun, fall setting.  Madeline is also quite an artist, so I was thrilled to incorporate that love into the photos as well.  

Here is Madeline, Class of '17! 

It's that time of year again!  I entered (All-In) the Shoot-and-Share contest again in my favorite catagories: Senior, Children, Portrait, and Family.  The submissions were up apx. 100K this year to over 325K, so I was thrilled to see some photos still place and one make it to the Finals! (Top 2%.)  This contest in international and very wedding-based, so an even bigger honor.  Here are my top shots!  As usual, Evelyn is popular again!  But happy to see a few other faces as well. :)

This was my 2nd Sam of the season!  A homeschooled guy who we have known since he was a small boy.  It's hard to believe he is so grown up and ready to fly!  Sam and his family are very special and I was honored to take his Senior portraits.  Because they live in Plainfield, New Hampshire, we thought that St. Gauden's in Cornish was a perfect spot to capture some fun memories and iconic scenery.  He is a true New England guy!  We were lucky to get a nice view of Mt. Ascutney in a few shots as well as the famous grounds at St. Gauden's (a famous, New England artist.)  

Here are my favorites from the day!

One of the joys of having my own photography business is being able to do sessions featuring my own children.  My daughter, Maya (our 5th child,) is my stage child.  She loves to perform in many ways -- singing, dancing, acting -- even in a pageant!  Last August, she joined several young ladies to be part of the Cornish Fair King & Queen Pageant.  It's a lot of fun for her because she gets to dress up, perform, and, best of all, be with the other girls and have fun together!

This was her 2nd year participating and we've found that, part of the challenge, is finding just the right dress.  We liked last year's gown, but wanted something with a bit more flair this year.  In the past, my mother has found many of the dresses that my girls wear for our sessions, so it made sense to keep any eye out while on July vacation in Michigan where she lives.

Sure enough, we found the PERFECT gown!  It was the right color, style, and fit perfectly and for an amazing price!  We were all so excited and, you can bet, my thoughts quickly went to PHOTO SHOOT!  

After the fair, we talked about a good setting for this ensemble and settled on our little down-town area.  I like the lights and "small-town urban" feel, along with the pretty landscaping mixed with the old brick and long sidewalks along the store-fronts.  

We managed to get a perfect night, so she got into the gown and her sister helped her with hair and make-up and we headed out.  But once we got there, I felt a bit under-the-weather and lost my energy and excitement.  Tragedy!  After all the prep, I needed to make this work, but I just wasn't FEELING IT.  Thankfully, Maya is a great model and just seeing her in that setting help trigger my inspiration.  We got some stares and whistles, which made us laugh and things started to fall into place.  The light was glowing beautifully and the colors brought everything to life.  

I still wasn't sure if my vision was fulfilled, until I got home and uploaded my raw files.  Ahhh . . . SO GORGEOUS!  I'm so happy we did this and now have a wonderful keepsake of a very special time in her life.  Here is my Maya, the pageant girl! 

Sam is a student at Claremont Christian Academy in Claremont, New Hampshire.  I've known his family for years and it's been fun to watch him (the oldest of several siblings) grow up and now get ready to graduate from high school!  Wow.  Hard to believe.  I remember when he was BORN! (I feel old.)  Sam is just a great kid and very easy-going.  He wanted just a few basic photos (mostly for his mom,) but he also enjoys playing his guitar, so we had to incorporate that into a few shots.  

Here is Sam, Class of '17!