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Country-Cute Vibes | Natalie | Cedar Rapids, Iowa

July 15, 2024 Lehia Erger

Country-Cute Vibes with Natalie

Marion | Central City | Wanatee Park

I started this blog a month ago (and when I say “started,” I mean I created a title), which was literally 6 weeks after Natalie’s photoshoot. So now I’m 10 weeks post-photoshoot and am going to attempt to tell the story of Natalie’s shoot, when I often have a hard time remembering what even happened yesterday. BUT I have a feeling that Natalie’s session will be easy to recall because it was CRAZY. So let’s dive in!

I did Natalie’s sister’s senior pictures a few years ago (also an unforgettable session, you can read about Emily’s session here) so I knew Natalie’s would be coming up! I had posted about a Spring Senior Photoshoot Model Call and she (or maybe it was her mom or sister - LOL) signed up so we got to planning a late spring session. Natalie didn’t care TOO much about getting photos done, so she let me plan it all. When I learned that she was a country music fan and that she was interested in a country/farm setting, I was pumped. It’s been years since I had done one and even longer before that! And it feels like going back to my roots, where it all began for me with my sister’s senior pictures on my family’s and a family friends’ farm and land - very country-esque vibes. We planned her session and with no rain in the forecast, we went forward with our session. What I hadn’t checked for, though? Wind.

This has GOT to be the windiest photoshoot I have ever done. And for a senior with long hair, nonetheless. We had our work cut out for us. I told myself, if none turned out, we would just try again another day. But we gave it our best shot - despite LOTS of frustration and patience needed - and we were all surprised at the outcome!!

Our first stop was downtown Marion. REALLY quick because it wasn’t built into our schedule but once seeing her outfit options while she was getting her hair and makeup done (Meaghan on hair and Lindsey on makeup), we felt this outfit was best suited for an urban vibe. So we made a quick stop, explored the area, fought the wind and moved on.

And this green wall was a heck of a find! It just made her eyes POP! (And blocked some wind. Win-win!)

Off to the country we went. I never know what to expect when I do photos on private property (with the owners permission of course) and just know I will make the best of whatever I find, because it’s going to look different than the last time I was there. And it was even better than we could have expected. So many “props” were out there this time- LOL. I laugh as I write that because I know that considering a cow pasture, corn stalk bales, and a livestock trailer as “props” is laughable to the average person. But we used them all. We arrived and realized that the wind was going to be MUCH worse than it was in town. We definitely got more outtakes than the average session, but we also got a lot more uniqueness with hair movement which I DO love! I wish we had some behind the scenes video or photos of Natalie’s mom trying to hold up my giant sun shade in an attempt to block the wind. She was essentially a human kite most of the time. Poor Mom!

The wind was working for us there, don’t you think?!

One idea Natalie had was to use hay bales.. and I thought “oh yeah for sure that will be easy to find,” but turns out those are seassssonal-ish. But also turns out that when I THOUGHT I was picturing hay bales, I was ACTUALLY picturing corn stalk bales. So when the farm owner regretfully said she didn’t have hay bales but sent me a photo of the corn stalk bales that we could use instead, I was like “YESSSS!!” But, ya’ll that WIND. WOULDN’T. LET. UP!! But I think we won the battle, although it didn’t feel like it in the moment!!

We even thought that breaking out a hat would help tame the wind-blown hair. And it did, but she wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of doing all of her senior photos in a hat - go figure - LOL!

Before heading out to our next location, we made a pit-stop on the gravel road to use the family truck - the same one we used for her sister’s senior photos. And AGAIN, these were some of their FAVORITE pictures from the shoot. It was decided that they could not sell the truck before all their sisters had gotten their senior pictures done with it! I think it’s such a fun idea!

Of course, after battling crazy winds all day and them finally settling down at our last location, a storm started brewing in the distance. The sunset was covered by clouds JUST as we were going to be able to start getting those gorgeous golden-hour pictures.. and it made the night end quite a bit quicker too. So now we were in crunch time. Last location was Wanatee Park, but we had a few spots we wanted to hit.

As we drove away for the night, it started to rain. Perfect timing and I’m so glad we ended when we did! The night ended in a bit of a rush, and Natalie had multiple ticks on her when she got home (YUCK! Ticks were particularly bad this year!), and it all just seems to fit the chaos that was Natalie’s crazy and windy senior photoshoot. Not to mention, I got a notification on my way home that I was being tracked by an air tag and I low-key was panicking that someone was tracking me. Like, when would someone have put an air tag on my car? Did they put it in my camera bag? I shouldn’t pull into my driveway, just in case! Why me? Maybe they meant it for Natalie?? Welcome to my anxiety brain. I promptly texted Natalie’s mom to warn them of the possible dangers, JUST IN CASE! Turns out, it was Natalie’s mom that had an air tag on her - LOL! Phew! But hey, I’m thankful that my phone noticed and warned me!

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2025/2026 (or a parent of an upcoming graduate) - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!

Name *
Phone *
Thank you!
In Cedar Rapids Senior Pics, Iowa Senior, Senior photographer, Senior Photography Tags senior pictures, senior pictures cedar rapids iowa, senior girl pictures, senior girl, senior girl wildflowers, senior girl with truck, senior, country, country senior photos, farm senior pics, farm senior pictures, senior pictures on farm, flower, flower field, flower senior pictures, flower field senior pictures, wildflower senior pictures, urban senior pictures, Unique senior pictures, summer senior pictures, barn senior pictures, windy senior pictures, natural senior pictures, rustic, rustic senior pictures, rustic senior pics, wanatee park

Rustic & Feminine Fall Senior Session with Megan

October 25, 2021 Lehia Erger

Rustic & Feminine Fall Senior Pictures with Megan

Central City, Iowa | Center Point, Iowa

When the time came to plan Megan’s session, I couldn’t believe how long it had been since they had booked her session! Time sure flies when the weather is nice - LOL! They had booked me in June and now it was already October! Like how?!

During our consultation (when I meet with Seniors and parent(s) for the first time to plan and get to know each other before the photoshoot) I learned that Megan’s sport was softball so incorporating that was a MUST, and she also requested fields and a farm/rustic location! I hadn’t gotten to that in so long, so I was excited for a little change of scenery!

After getting hair and makeup professionally done by Krysta at Make Me Up, Megan and her mom met me at my friend’s farm in Central City JUST as the sun decided to peek out for the first time that day! We explored the farm in her first (and “casual”) outfit, waved at the cows and swung on the fences. I could immediately tell she was a natural!

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After a change of clothes, we explored the less “rustic/farm” parts of their land and I loved how their garage/shed paired so well with this outfit! And the soft tones against the gravel road!

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I somehow convinced Megan to let me make a pit-stop on the way to our next location, because just off of the busy road was some pampas grass and I’ve been DYING to shoot in it. For like 2 years. She put on this sparkly, floral, super feminine dress and I KNEW that the aesthetic would be perfect. Although the location was NOT ideal and not easy to get to (especially in heels, right Megan?!), it was worth it. We probably spent a total of 10 minutes at this location, but we were in a hurry to get to our next stop AND it was off a busy road. So we flew through poses and magic just happened!

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We hopped back into the vehicles and headed into Center Point. Our next stop was supposed to be the CPU Softball Field, but for the first time EVER in my experience it was locked up. (Cue internal panic!) After almost getting stuck trying to turn around in the parking lot full of cars and spectators at a CPU football game, we parked and while Megan changed outfits I came up with a new game plan. After realizing there wasn’t any easy way to get into the softball field (except climbing over the fence… not happening!), I decided the next best option was Fross Park. We headed there, ran into some road blocks. had to turn around and take the long way around, but alas! We finally made it!

We don’t have many behind-the-scene pictures here because I had Mom on “dust duty” - creating us this hazy look in the background of some of Megan’s images!!

It turns out I actually liked this location more than the original spot we had chosen! It worked out PERFECTLY! She brought all of her softball jerseys and I loved using them in a few shots!

We wrapped up and headed to our last location: a gorgeous little field near the CPU High School. When Megan put on her last outfit and that hat, I was SO excited to capture her cute-little-self! That outfit + that location + that light = AHHHMAZING!

One of the last images that we took that night was a special one, inspired by a photo of Megan’s grandma that she carried in her cell phone case. Megan’s mom knew how special that photo of her grandma is to her, and so we did our best to replicate the pose for her. Simply beautiful!

I loved how Megan and her mom were up for all of my ideas and I loved getting to know them both. And I adore. EVERY. IMAGE!

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2023 or 2024 (or a parent of an upcoming graduate) - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!

Name *
Phone *
Thank you!
In Cedar Rapids Senior Pics, Iowa Senior, Senior photographer, Senior Photography Tags farm senior pictures, farm senior pics, rustic, rustic senior pics, rustic senior pictures, senior pictures on farm, senior pictures on road, gravel road senior pics, country, country senior photos, colorful senior pictures, sunset, senior, senior photos, seniors by lehia, sunset senior pictures, iowa sunset, Iowa photographer, iowa photographer, iowa photography, central city iowa, center point iowa, Center Point Photography, Center Point Photographer, center point photographer, center point iowa photographer, cedar rapids senior pics, Cedar Rapids Iowa, cedar rapids iowa, cedar rapids photographer, cedar rapids iowa photographer, cedar rapids senior photographer, cedar rapids senior photography, center point senior photographer, feminine, feminine senior pics, fall senior portraits, fall colors, fall senior pictures, senior in hat, senior pictures with hat, boho senior pictures, softball girl, softball senior pictures, softball jerseys senior pic, photographer in center point, Photographer in Center Point, senior girl

Sunset Engagement | Zach and Ana | Iowa Wedding Photographer

January 4, 2019 Lehia Erger
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ANA & ZACH’S FALL SUNSET ENGAGEMENT SESSION

Hiawatha and Brandon, Iowa | Wedding Photographer

After photographing Zach and Ana’s engagement photos this fall, I seriously cannot wait for their Friday wedding in May! Zach and Ana’s story is so cute, and I loved that they wanted to incorporate it into their engagement photos.

We started in at one of Zach’s fire stations and pulled out the truck where they first met. Ana was doing a ride-along with Zach for her job, and the rest is history!

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They wanted more of a rustic, country vibe for their photos so I took them to my hometown of Brandon, Iowa. You know, the largest frying pan?! We had a vision and I knew we would have lots of options there. It was a trek, and it was surprisingly cold, but it was sooo worth it. We found some fall color and walked around until the sun was juuuuust right.

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Ana changed into a flowy skirt, lace top and flower crown and all my dreams came to life. Our first stop was the little white church before we made our last stop of the night.

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You know that short period of time right before the sun sets when the sun turns everything golden. Yeah, that’s the golden hour. And it was epic for Zach and Ana’s session. So on top a hill in a bean field in Brandon, Iowa, they danced, twirled, dipped and laughed. And my vision for their photos came to life.

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We ended our night a little more quietly; watching as the sun went down at the end of the gravel road. Now, that’s my kind of engagement session! If you’re engaged and looking for a wedding photographer near Cedar Rapids, IA or the surrounding area for your upcoming wedding, I’d love to chat with you! Head on over to my Contact page. (No travel fees within the state of Iowa!)

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If you’re engaged and looking for a local wedding photographer near Iowa City or Eastern Iowa for your upcoming wedding, I’d love to chat with you! Head on over to my Contact page. (I travel too!)

Wedding Gallery
Name *
Thank you!
In Wedding Photography, Engagement Photography, Iowa Engagement Tags Engagement, Couple photography, sunset, Firefighter, cedar rapids wedding photographer, iowa photographer, iowa sunset, flower, flower crown, engagement ring, engagement pics, engaged, iowa photography, wedding photography, wedding photographer, iowa wedding photography, iowa wedding photographer, fire station, country, rustic, engagement pictures, engagement photos
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Lehia Erger Photography + Design | 319.310.5596 | lehia.erger@gmail.com | serving Cedar Rapids, Iowa and surrounding areas

Lehia Erger Photography + Design  |  319.310.5596  |  lehia@lehiaerger.com  |  serving Cedar Rapids, IA and surrounding areas