Trendy and Unique Urban Senior Portraits | Lydia | Iowa City

Trendy and Unique Urban Senior Portraits with Lydia

Downtown Cedar Rapids | Penningroth Barn

I have to be honest. When Lydia first reached out to me, it was through my non-business email address and I assumed it was probably a spam emailer. (I get a lot of those - lol!) But I responded anyway and realized I was talking to Lydia, the senior, and not her mom. Which happens from time-to-time, but not often. And usually my emails get lost in their junk mail, forgotten about, etc etc. To my surprise, she responded and I scheduled a phone call to chat with her mom! And the rest is history as they say.

We scheduled Lydia’s session date and I met up with them for their consultation. I learned so much about Lydia - she’s so open and inviting! We chatted about all her ideas for her session, and came up with a game plan. Her first stop - professional outfit styling with Radiant Boutique by Rhi! Lydia was SO excited about this service and I’m SO glad, too! Rhi and I started collaborating a couple months ago (when I found out she existed) and what a PERFECT service for my seniors. Lydia ended up getting ALL her outfits from Rhi. And as you’ll see, she looked AMAZING!

Fast forward to senior picture day! Lydia’s mom decided to get a quick family photo taken at the beginning of her session (it’s an add-on I offer) so she dropped off Lydia at Moxie Salon and took her sister to go find a last minute outfit during Lydia’s hair and makeup. I had Lindsey on makeup and Justine on hairstyling, and we just had a blast chatting with Lydia!

We met Lydia’s mom and sister (who was the SWEETEST by the way) back at the salon, changed outfits and off we went. We got to our first location, snapped some family pictures and they realized they had left a cell phone in the bathroom at the salon. So while mom went back to the get the phone, Lydia, her sister and I started in on Lydia’s photoshoot day!

And she was SOAKING IT UUUP!!!!

I knew she would be a model and comfortable in front of the camera for me!

We took SO many gorgeous photos! And riiiiight about here is when mom returned. Right in time for an outfit change. And we ventured further into Newbo!

This outfit on these stairs was my FAVORITE combination! STUNNING!

We were moving pretty quickly, because we were running a tiny bit behind, per usual. (ha!) But I knew from our previous conversations that Lydia’s really wanted some really good pictures showing off her pretty blue eyes. As we were heading back to the cars to head to our next stop, I spotted this door and HAD to stop. I knew it would really make her eyes pop!! So gorgeous!

Next stop was the old barn out at Indian Creek Nature Center. Our FAVORITE outfit was next and were were about to spend a good amount of time exploring this spot!

This hat was part of the styling that Rhi at Radiant Boutique styled her in and it was the PERFECT mix of trendy and natural!

I LOVE these yellow stairs! I don’t know why! Next up was the bridge - the specific reason we chose this location.

Can you tell we loved that spot!?! SO pretty!! Then off to the flower field that Lydia picked (with a pit-stop in the trees that was too nature-y for her, so we only took a few lol!!)

! I haven’t photographed this kind of flower field before so it was fun to try something new.

Can you tell we didn’t spend ANY time at this location or LOVE this outfit at alllll!?! (sarcasm, just in case you couldn’t read that through text lol.)

Our last stop and outfit was one I was really excited for because I had always wanted to try this location. And her outfit was perfect for this spot!

Since we were at such a high point in the city, the sun set more slowly and we were able to get creative and shoot a little longer. But Lydia was definitely getting tired out and we were all ready to wrap it up! What a great end to a stunning photoshoot!

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!

Casual Country Rustic Senior Pictures | Elisabeth | Center Point-Urbana High School

Casual Country Rustic Senior Pictures with Elisabeth

Newbo District, Cedar Rapids, IA | Center Point, Iowa

I met Elisabeth’s mom and sister several years ago when I did her sister’s senior pictures!! When her mom reached out about me doing Elisabeth’s pictures AND wanting to fill a last minute opening for me, I was SO excited!! Her mom told me how different she and her sister are, that’s she’s super low-key and doesn’t typically get dressed up/do hair and makeup. Honestly, I LOVE that! That just means that this would be an extra special experience for her!! When my client’s see “professional hair and makeup” included in my package, they tend to get a little worried. They worry that the makeup will be too much for them. The mom’s are worried the senior won’t look like herself. But that’s not the case at all!! (Then I show them all of my gorgeous seniors with their hair/makeup all done so naturally and perfect.) And that was definitely a concern for Elisabeth’s mom. We met for our consultation one night at Apple Creek Coffee and we chatted about hair, makeup, spray tans at Bare Tones, outfits and location ideas. She wanted something I hadn’t done in a while: a rustic red barn and a country vibe. Heck ya!

When photoshoot day came, our first stop was hair and makeup with Ingrid from Aurora Blush and Lindsey on makeup!

After wrapping up hair and makeup, we headed to Newbo. Side note: I had a whooooole photoshoot day itinerary all planned out. But Elisabeth sent me her outfits the day before her shoot, I changed it all. LOL. Mostly because of this ONE rock-tee outfit that I felt like needed it’s own grungy-ish vibe. There were a few favorite spots in the Newbo district that I LOVE and felt like they’d match the aesthetic well. So after a changing up the game-plan for the day, we started there!

It worked perfectly!!! I knew we were in a bit of a time crunch because of my addition of these locations to our plan, so we hit up those 2 spots and did a quick outfit change for some cute urban photos with this adorable dress!

We couldn’t stay long, but she looked so dang cute in this dress! I was gladded I had planned for her to use it more in the next location: the Cedar Valley Nature Trail in Center Point! This is one of my favorite spots to incorporate nature without going INTO it - I love the mix of city and natural aesthetic here. But also! We did some of Elisabeth’s sister’s senior pictures in this exact spot! So that’s special!!

After wrapping up in this spot (that I had only planned to spend 15 minutes at… ha! I should know myself better), we headed to a friend’s private property for the requested red barn! We got SO many cute ones here and I LOVED how the sun hit on this vine-y fenced area! Isn’t she GORGEOUS?!

And then it was off to our last stop of the night, which happens to be another favorite spot of mine in Center Point.. and another spot we did her sister’s senior pictures! Elisabeth wanted to incorporate her love for show choir so she brought her shoes and sheet music and I thought this was the best way to showcase it all - and the perfect spot!!

And the sun setting across this field is just my favorite thing! Awwww, I love me some golden light! And I LOVED this dress and hat combo on Elisabeth too! Although we were THIIIIS close to heading down to the river for more pictures (…but this time of year, brrrr!), this is how Elisabeth’s senior session ended! Perfect weather, bathed in golden light and crickets. :D

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!

Unique City Night Lights Senior Portraits | Emily | Jefferson High School

Unique City Night Lights Senior Portraits with Emily

Culvers Greenhouse | Pleasant Creek Park | Downtown Cedar Rapids

Where do I even start with a blog about Emily’s session?! I had made a post on Facebook about opening up two new August dates after my vacation plans had changed and Emily’s mom reached out immediately. They were on vacation, so communication was tricky but they for sure wanted to book my last open date and we made it happen! And I’m SO glad they did! I actually know some of Emily’s family members because I’ve photographed her aunt and uncle’s exciting events over the past few years (engagement, wedding, maternity, newborn and baby milestone pictures) so it was so fun to get to meet more of the family! When they were back from vacation, we met for a consultation and I learned that Emily has a creative side and had some non-traditional ideas for her pictures: she wanted to use a greenhouse and wanted nighttime pictures with the city lights downtown. The greenhouse has been a popular request this year, but I have never done nighttime senior pictures before - I was immediately excited… and let’s be honest, nervous.

I had an idea on how we were going to pull it off, but wasn’t sure if it would get us the results we both had in mind. A few days before Emily’s photoshoot, I went and scoped out the downtown Cedar Rapids area at night to see what locations I could find with the most lights and sent her some pictures and found some she loved.

Fast forward to photoshoot day - we had Nicole at Onyx Salon doing Emily’s hair and makeup and had a blast just chatting! And then we were off to Culver’s Greenhouse (with their permission, of course!)

It was HOT in there, but it was so fun getting to try some new things and get Emily warmed up.

We changed outfits and our next stop was downtown Cedar Rapids for some more modern-looking city pictures AND pictures with her puppy, Isla!! We met with Emily’s dad and got ADORABLE pictures with her sweet pup who was verrryyyyy pregnant at the time. We moved to our second spot and it was way too sunny so we used another area close by and had fun trying out new ideas.

We wrapped up, changed outfits and headed out to Pleasant Creek State Park. I picked this location because it had a lot of things Emily wanted: willow trees, water and long grass. I’ve been here before but it turned out better than I imagined! We started in the shady road area, and Emily decided to throw on her sunglasses for a few AND use their truck for some pictures, too! SUPER cute and fun!

Then we changed outfits, and waded through the weeds and flowers to get the best lighting with the willow tree. I am OBSESSED with this light! She was a natural in front of the camera, too!

As the sun set, we headed further into the park to catch that amazing light in the long grass. And again, I was obsessed! I LOVED the light from this session so much, and Emily made my job easy.

And then we rushed back to water area, got a few on shore and then attempted to get IN the water. I had completely forgot that she had told me she actually wanted to get IN!! So we carefully tip-toed into the water and decided it would be safer to just sit down in it! hah!! So fun!

Then the sun had set and we still had the last part of the session left. But we WANTED it dark, so no more chasing the sunlight for us. We headed back to downtown Cedar Rapids, we met in the first location and got out my wayyyyyy too big 86” umbrella and lighting combo (but it’s all I’ve got). We definitely got some strange looks but that’s to be expected. And a huge shout out to Emily’s mom for carrying that huge thing around all night. We had planned to only take 30 minutes or so… but it took a lot of trial and error. We walked around, tried some funky things. And found a spot that almost impossible to light with an 86” umbrella but it was worth it! We LOVED the results and ended up wrapping up at 11pm!!! Needless to say, we were ALL tired!

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!

Special Effects Double Senior Session | Hannah | Alburnett High School

LIGHTS, MUSIC, ACTION!
split senior session with hannah

Paramount Theatre | Wanatee Park | Alburnett High School

A few years ago, I met Hannah and her family when I took her older brother, Zeb’s, senior pictures. You can see his blog HERE! Zeb’s senior pictures were taken in the month of November and we got pretty lucky with the weather, so Hannah’s mom reached out in October of 2020 to start planning hers! She knew that my schedule can book up fast AND both Hannah and her mom are BUSY people! (Hannah has many talents and interests, and her schedule is PACKED!)

We met for our consultation in March and did some planning. Hannah told me she wanted to showcase her extra-curriculars: singing, dancing and poms... and also wanted sunset photos in a flower field (my most popular, and my personal favorite, request)! We decided to split her senior session into 2 dates so she could have the sunset for her flower photos, but also on the football field for her poms photos which we hoped to turn into “Friday Night Light” photos like we did for her brothers!

So I scheduled her for hair and makeup with Nicole at Onyx Salon, made a reservation for us at the Paramount Theatre and planned the rest from there.

When Hannah hopped out of her mom’s car, I could tell that she LOVED her hair and makeup and was super excited. We started at the Paramount theatre for some awesome singing and performance shots. We played around with lights (shout out to Jason for all of the help), we tossed some sheet music and got creative. I mean, we even used a flashlight as a microphone for a few shots before finding a real one - thankfully! I LOVE how unique these images are!!!

(Behind the scenes photos, courtesy of Hannah’s mom)

We ran a little behind while at the Paramount, experimenting with lighting (and some of my lighting malfunctioning on me, of course) so we wrapped up and did a quick outfit change while heading to downtown Cedar Rapids. I LOVED this color on Hannah. I knew we had about 15-30 minutes of time to catch up on, so we stuck to some of my main spots in the area to save time and moved fast! Luckily Hannah is a PRO and we flew through different locations and poses. She kept telling me how fun it was, but she didn’t need to tell me - I could tell! We were ALL having a blast. And we had the perfect weather, too!

Once we wrapped up our downtown portion to Hannah’s session, we headed out to Wanatee Park for her flowers at sunset photos. Of course, the original spot I had picked out wasn’t looking as good as we’d hoped with all the rain and the flowers were pretty much non-existent. We decided to use a little spot right off the main road where a few patches of flowers were, because ALLLLL the rest were like 7 foot tall. LOL! I honestly love how they turned out. SO summery and pretty!

Hannah’s second photoshoot came up QUICK! With her and her mom’s busy schedule, we barely even had time to chat about it, but I know it always works out … and it did!! We decided to spend more time in an urban setting for this session, throw in some nature/trees since we had only down fields and flowers last time, and end our session at the football field with a “Friday Night Lights” theme similar to what we did for her brother’s senior photos. Hannah and her mom started with hair and makeup at Onyx Salon again. I wanted to use the same stylist for both of Hannah’s session and Nicole from Onyx was super sweet to help us make that happen! First stop: Newbo!

We stopped at all of my favorite spots, and threw in some extra fun and non-traditional poses along the way!

I loved the simplicity and softness of Hannah’s outfits at these locations. And I especially loved her openness to trying new poses and locations for me! LOL!

After a few outfit changes in Newbo, Hannah changed into her last minute outfit idea for our pit-stop at Wanatee Park. They have this spot with these gorgeous trees where the light filters in beautifully and I’m SO glad they let me convince them to use it. Her outfit was fun and trendy, and it was fun to try some new poses with her jean jacket! Perfect choice for fall photos, Hannah!

This park is one of the MOST popular spots for photographers, especially during the fall! So while her mom stood as the look-out for cars coming, Hannah and I did short blasts of photos in between cars while creatively working around several other people and photographers in the background. ‘Tis the season for fall family photos, ya’ll! (Even though the trees were still pretty green here!)

Then off to Alburnett High School we went! We had plenty of time before sunset so we used ALLLLL the space we could, creating some adorable images of Hannah in her POMS uniform!

Once it started to get dark, her dad showed up with his construction work lights to help us recreate some of the photos we did for her brother’s senior photos a few years ago! We were lucky enough to have someone turn on the football field lights for us and we started creating some magic. We all LOVE how fun/dramatic/gorgeous these turned out! And the colors of the sunset match her school colors - amazing!

And how about this for a good before/after shot?! (Top left: straight out of my camera, Top right: with round of edits, Below: final image)

I can’t believe Hannah’s senior photos are officially checked off of their list! We’ve been talking about and planning them for so long!!! But I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out, and Hannah and her family LOVE them too!

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!

Sweet, Classic Fall Senior Portraits with Madi

Sweet & Classic fall Senior Portrait Session with Madi

Newbo District, Cedar Rapids | Pleasant Creek State Park

When I started posting about my summer and fall availability becoming very slim, Madi’s mom reached out and booked her session ASAP! I found out that Madi goes to Center Point-Urbana High School (CPU) like I did, so that always makes it extra-special for me! So of course, we met at Apple Creek Coffee in Center Point for our consultation. I found out that Madi was referred to me from Kira, a senior from a few years ago! (You can check out her blog HERE.) We chatted about what she wanted for her session, she was up for anything (we even joked about doing some photos at Target, since shopping is her favorite past-time LOL) but in the end we decided on an open field/flowers, and something that incorporated water (since boating is her OTHER favorite past-time)!

The day of Madi’s photoshoot, we stopped at Pretty Lane in Cedar Rapids to get her makeup done, and Meghan Labs joined us to style her hair! We barely made it out the door and I was already ready to snap some photos of Madi in downtown Cedar Rapids! Suddenly, she hopped into model-mode and started striking poses! She was probably just joking around with me, but I thought she was rocking it!

We only spent a few minutes there, and then I met them down at Newbo City Market. It’s one of my favorite spots to meet because it’s so easy to access all of my favorite locations. We had some fun hitting up all of my go-to spots, did a few outfit changes, and tried some new spots. Madi is just too darn cute!

Our next spot is one of my favorites, maybe because I adore water photos! Pleasant Creek State Park has some many spots for us to use and I built in extra time for us to just move slow and enjoy it!

The big open fields on a hill overlooking the water is one of my faves! And I loved Madi’s outfits and color choices! She was a champ as we fought through mosquito bites, but ‘tis the season, right?! Still.. ouch!

My next spot was SUPPOSED to be where all the pretty yellow flowers were. But as I we walked up, we realized that was no longer the case. I was really bummed but there was still some colorful grass and I was LOVING the fall vibes we got instead. And of course, we had to grab some photos in the willow tree!

After an outfit change, I got to use a spot I haven’t used in YEARS! I loved creating simple, classic and cute images of Madi on the dock. They’re some of my FAVES from her session and just seemed to fit her quiet, low-key vibes!!

Then time for what I think was Madi’s favorite outfit! Her favorite color is green and I could just tell she was feeling herself! We had a bit of a cloudy sunset but it made everything look really soft and pretty. Of course we had to break out the sunhat for a few too!

Madi’s session was a mix of summer and fall, but I love how sweet and classic her images turned out! Her session was the perfect mix of relaxed and fun, and I’m so glad they chose me to capture her senior photos!

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!

Cozy & Cute Country Fall Senior Pictures with Presley

Cozy & Cute Country Fall Senior Pictures with Presley

Indian Creek Nature Center | Center Point, Iowa

Being from a small town, I feel like I’ve known/know OF Presley’s family forever! My brother used to work with her family and I work with her aunt regularly (she styles my client’s hair for photoshoots on the regular!) so when her dad reached out to talk about a senior session, I was so excited!

When we met for our consultation, Presley had everything planned out! She already knew she wanted to do photos at the Indian Creek Nature Center (I had never photographed there before, so I was excited to try a new spot) and she wanted to do part of her session on her grandparent’s farm with the cute butterfly swing next to the pond that she used to swing on as a child. I was ALREADY imagining what those photos could look like!! I couldn’t wait!!

In the time between her consultation and the photoshoot, she also decided she wanted to include her family’s cool old tractor and her first heifer in some photos. I loved how sentimental this session was going to be! As I was planning out the schedule of our session, I decided to start at the Indian Creek Nature Center and end with the sunset over the pond/swing photos that I had been dreaming of!

The day of her session was pretty darn chilly (I mean, come on! November 5th is PRETTY much still October) and REALLLLLLY windy. We didn’t know it so much surrounded by this building and trees, but when we got into the open fields of her family’s land we had to get creative! BUT!! All. That. SUN!!!

I loved exploring the area and finding cool new spots! (Like those stairs!! I LOVE how the yellow contrasts with her black outfit!) And her sweater dress was the CUTEST!

Finding this bridge was REALLY cool! When I went to scope out this location before her photoshoot, I totally missed this tucked back there. These turned out to be her favorite images!!

As we headed back to the truck for an outfit change, I of COURSE had to take Presley’s photos in these beautiful orange leaves! Isn’t she just gorgeous!? I actually found out that this was Presley’s THIRD senior photoshoot! She had some photos taken during a family vacation in Hawaii (ummm, so COOL) and another one earlier this year with an amazing photographer in Iowa City! It TOTALLY made sense because she was a natural in front of the camera!

When Presley put on this purple top and told me she doesn’t normally wear bright colors, I was so surprised! She looked PERFECT in that color! And it popped against the muted colors of our surroundings! Perfection!

I LOVE how these turned out! These MIIIIGHT be my favorite from her session! Her dad even ordered the close up on a 16x24” metal print for their home! I can’t wait to see it hung up!!!

Then it was on to her family farm for the tractor photos. THIS is when we found out JUST how windy it was! You should see how many outtakes there were - LOL!

We knew it’d be tricky to try to get photos with her heifer. She’s an older gal and doesn’t get around the best.. and she’s slightly grumpy - LOL! So we got as creative as we could and moved fast to keep Presley safe. I think they turned out super cute!!

Next, we headed out to Presley’s grandma’s house for out last location. So of course, we did a few family photos because why not!? I love how cool this family photo turned out!!

The sun was setting in all of it’s golden-ness and I was so excited to see our vision for this swing come to life! How beautiful and special!!

The sun was pretty much gone by the time we wrapped up the last part of Presley’s session but I had JUST gotten this new (well, new-to-me) chair and Presley was up for using it! I saw this little patch of trees with the sun shining through and so we made the trek through to the back of the property to try it out. Presley was FREEZING at this point, so we made it SUPER fast! And of course had to stop for a few images with the cows as we were heading back!

It was SUCH a pleasure hanging out with Presley and her dad! And I LOVED getting to try new locations with her, and am so grateful for her patience when combatting the crazy wind we had! She’s graduating early in December so I wanted to make sure to get her senior pictures back before she GRADUATED!

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!

Cozy and Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Jaleah

Cozy and Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Jaleah

Uptown Marion & Downtown Cedar Rapids | Wanatee Park

What an adventurous, wacky day we had for Jaleah’s senior pictures!! We planned to meet in uptown Marion because of all the cozy, cute urban buildings and then we planned to hop on over to Wanatee Park and wrap up on top of Mount Trashmore. I’m guessing by now you’ve figured out that nothing went according to plan - lol! BUT her photos still turned out amazing and unique - and even better than I could’ve planned for!

So, here’s where our adventure began. I had Krysta from Make Me Up on her way to meet Jaleah and her mom at their home at 12:30, and them meeting me in Marion at 3:00. At 12:15 I get a frantic text from Krysta: “I’ve had an accident I will be late actually I don’t know that I’ll be there at all. I am so sorry.” Panic ensues. I immediately text her back to not worry about us at all, and making sure she’s ok. I didn’t expect to hear from her for a while, so I immediately called Jaleah’s mom, Barb. We had 3 choices: to reschedule, to TRY to find another SUUUUPER last minute hair/makeup person.. like they needed to start in less than 30 minutes to be on time OR for Jaleah to do makeup herself which she wasn’t comfortable with. We decided to at least TRY to find a hair/makeup person, so I called up my go-to hair girl, Chelsea. She works at a salon owned by a makeup artist (Acacia Salon) who might be available OR Chelsea has also been trained to do makeup. Chelsea answered and, like an saint, was ready to go. But Krysta called me immediately after and said everything was ok and that she could still make it. (Her back hatch of her car hadn’t closed properly and ALLLL of her hair/makeup equipment had been scattered across a one-lane-highway under construction in the middle of traffic. Yeah, I’d be panicking too.)

But she’s ok! Phew! Ok! We were still going to be running behind so I left Chelsea know that we were ok now (I cannot thank her enough for being ready to take us on) and decided to head immediately to Jaleah’s house to do her hair while Krysta focused on makeup. I packed up my things and ran out the door!

I’m SO glad it worked out like it did! Jaleah has SO much long, beautiful hair that we’re not sure Krysta would’ve gotten done on time in the first place. Like, it took me over an hour to curl it all! SOO pretty! AND I got to spend more time getting to know Jaleah and Barb, AND hang out with my friend, Krysta. It was a blast! AND if I wouldn’t have been there, I wouldn’t never known that Molly, one their dogs, was actually once part of the Deafinitely Dogs program (a local non-profit that trains service, disability and support dogs)... which happens to be my mother-in-laws (and her sisters) business! I actually took photos of Molly when she was a puppy!!! What a SMALL world!

We wrapped up Jaleah’s hair and makeup exactly on time. The weather was showing clear the days coming up the photoshoot, but as luck would have it, it started sprinkling pretty much as soon as I headed to their house. I checked the weather periodically while doing her hair, and it said rain, rain, rain, rain.. up until about 5:00. We made a plan to do our best with a clear umbrella for her photoshoot and if she didn’t love how they turned out, we could do another one a different day. I mean, makeup was already done all pretty - we might as well use it! So we headed to Marion.

It was still raining when we arrived.. and WAY more cold than I anticipated. We parked next to Zoey’s, our original meeting spot, and there was construction EVERYWHERE. I had planned on us just crossing the road but we couldn’t get through. So we decided to go around and meet across the street. We froze a little bit, but the rain was really light so we worked with what we had. Which included our first spot, under the outdoor patio pergola of a restaurant. I’m so grateful they let us use it. It was the perfect spot to give us hope for the rest of the rainy session. We explored cute spots and stopped for photos while Barb held the clear umbrella way up over her head! We must’ve looked so silly! But it was worth it! You can’t even tell it was raining unless you look closely. Of course I have to share the unedited, behind-the-scenes photos with Barb’s hand holding up the umbrella!!

Some of these behind-the-scenes aren’t quite the exact pose, but I love how they show the difference between what you see vs. what I see in each location!

We explored some areas, found a blue door that really made Jaleah’s eyes pop, grabbed a coffee, changed outfits and took these amazing pictures. All in the rain surrounded by construction! Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with us - lol!

Then it was time to hop in the cars, warm up and head to Wanatee Park. The rain had pretty much stopped by the time we got there and we took photos in a few of my favorite spots. What a great park with SO many little spots for photos. And I haven’t even hit half of them yet! Jaleah’s next outfits were not so warm, but she was a trooper and powered through. But she looked adorable and it was worth it! The first spot we used is this little tree area off the main road and it’s quickly become one of my favorites! How cute is she?!

Her next outfit was this adorable sundress and cowboy boots. We flew through this set so fast! The “open field” or field of flowers was my most requested setting this year, so I know the poses I typically like to do there, so that saved us some time. And it was super easy to get to. I love how the setting perfectly matched her hair, skin and outfit!

Of course I wanted to show off more of her cowboys boots and had to use the famous Wanatee Park drive with the trees lining each side. It’s the MOST popular spot for photos out there, I think!

Then off to Mount Trashmore we went. We were scheduled to arrive a little before 5:30 and they closed at 6:00 so I knew we’d need to hustle a little. When my GPS said “you have arrived at your destination” and we were in the middle of a parking lot of an apartment complex with no entrance in site, I wasn’t sure what to do. This wasn’t the way I had gotten there in the past. Barb said she knew how to get the other entrance, and I hoped it was the same one I was thinking. I followed her and sure enough it was… but it was gated up and closed. Sigh. They must’ve closed because of the rain. It was getting darker and I had no back-up idea. Jaleah had a trendy outfit left and another sweater/jeans combo if we had time. So we tried taking some right outside of the Mount Trashmore entrance, but it just wasn’t giving me the look I was hoping for with this outfit. And it was one of her faves! I really wanted these to be perfect for her. So I told them I wanted to try a new place, a bridge over the river that overlooked the city. It had a little off-road area that we would be safe to take photos in, and I had driven over multiple times but couldn’t remember where. We sat in our cars and warmed up while I pulled up Google Maps and looked for it. I FOUND IT… but it was under construction… ugh. I found another bridge that had on-street parking that I thought we could try! It was PERFECT!

The skies colors in the background and her dress.. it couldn’t have been better. I got all the amazing photos I was hoping for with this dress/outfit! And another one of my favorite spots was just a few blocks up the road. The sun was pretty much gone by now but I knew it wouldn’t take us long to get down a few blocks and snap a few in her last outfit. Well, I should’ve know for how the day was going that it wasn’t going to be that easy - lol! It turns out that there was a big event in Cedar Rapids that night. There was ZERO parking. So what was supposed to be a 1-minute drive, hop out of the car, take photos for 10-minutes turned into us driving around just looking for parking. We finally did, and ventured back to where we were before, snapping some quick photos along the way. By the time we got to the spot I was planning, it was totally dark except for the street lights that had just come on. We did our best, but we were all pooped out and cold. So we called it a night and headed back. We KNEW we got so many amazing images, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jaleah’s family LOVED all of her images!! I do too! I especially love the blue dress/city-scape with that cotton candy sky! That is the first time I’ve used that location and was able to catch all of those colors and I just love the whole vibe!

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!

Fall Vibes Senior Photoshoot with Cloey

Fall Vibes & Cheerleading Senior Photoshoot with Cloey

Czech Village | Center Point-Urbana (CPU) High School

Get ready for the cutest rust-colored pants, the most adorable cheerleading photos and ALLL the glowy fall vibes from Cloey’s session! When we met for Cloey’s consultation, she told me she was open to anything nature and I could choose! And when I found out she was a cheerleader from CPU like I was (many moons ago) I KNEW we’d have a blast! She showed me her outfits, including the rust-colored pants and I knew I wanted to photograph her in the Czech Village with it’s cozy, cute downtown aesthetic. So that’s what we did!

We met behind Lucky’s restaurant and started our venture around Czech Village, looking for cute, unexpected locations. We made a stop in front of the cool brown door at SOKO Outfitters, and worked our way around the rest of the main street! What a PERFECT day we had! The weather couldn’t have been better for mid/late-October!

We finished up our lap around Czech Village and headed into Center Point. We made a pit stop at the nature trail - one of my favorite locations for trees when you need a quick, easy place to stop for photos! I LOVED the cozy, fall vibes that her cropped sweater brought! And those shoes?! Adorable!

Then we headed to the CPU track and football field to do Cloey’s pictures in her cheerleading uniform. I always love going back to my high school football field. So many cold, fall nights spent out there cheering on our football players and so many memories. We had lots of laughs at she scaled the side of the bleachers to avoid getting her competition shoes dirty. (They were still clean and rock-free by the end, too!) We had some extra time here so we were able to venture around and try some fun ideas! I love how they turned out!

Then our last stop of the day was a short drive over to the field outside the high school! I LOVE how this place looks in the fall with the sun glowing behind it. And Cloey rocked her cute black dress (AND that hat!) as she danced and twirled.. and tried not to fall over. There are SO many mole holes out there!! LOL! As she sat there glowing in the sunlight, I even coined the term “Glowy Cloey” - at least I thought it was super clever. It turns out she’s heard it before. I’m not as clever as I thought - haha!!

I had SO much fun reliving my cheerleading days through her, hearing all of the stories and updates about what’s going on at my old stomping grounds and just getting to know Cloey and her mom. What a fun fall senior session with this gorgeous CPU (soon-to-be) grad!!

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!

Epic Summer Senior Pictures | Kiah | Benton Community High School

SPORTS, FLOWERS & WATER SENIOR SESSION WITH KIAH

Brandon, Iowa | Center Point, Iowa | Eastern Iowa Senior Photographer

I first met Kiah and her family a few years ago when I did some photos of her and her sisters. When her mom reached out in May, I couldn’t believe she was a senior already!!! We met for a consultation, talked about Kiah’s ideas and made some plans. During her consultation, she told me she LOVED tall, grassy fields, water, and would love her pictures on a bridge. She also wanted to do some track and volleyball photos as well. And that’s exactly what we did!

I scheduled Kiah’s hair and makeup to be done at her house by my good friend, Krysta at Make Me Up. (Kiah later told me that she loved how her makeup turned out SO much that she wants her to come do her prom makeup too!) Then Kiah, her mom and little sister all met me in Brandon, Iowa for the first stop of what we planned to be a 3.5+ hour photoshoot. It was a HOT day. Like at one point, I was sweating so bad I couldn’t see out of my eyes. I mean.. I always sweat when I do photoshoots, but when it’s 100 degrees out - phhhewwwy! For me, it reminded me of being on the beach in Aruba in August for a wedding without any cloud or shade coverage. Sizzling! We were all a bit concerned about that, but her mom brought snacks, drinks, and a face-blotting town to ward off any shininess. And it all went perfectly!

Kiah had 8 total outfit changes, poor thing! I knew it would be tough to get them all in (not to mention changing that many times when you’re already a little sweaty from the weather0) but we JUST couldn’t narrow down her adorable outfits. So I set my phone timer to go off every 20-30 minutes to keep us on track and we began!

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(Behind-the-scenes and “what you see vs. what I see” comparison photos, courtesy of Kiah’s mom!)

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We started by exploring the cute, old buildings on the main street in Brandon. Her dress looked adorable on her! After a little wandering around, forgetting my entire camera bag down the road (what in the world?! I’ll blame it on the head I guess) and taking some seriously adorable photos of Kiah, my alarm went off. Time for an outfit change! We chose a more casual outfit to explore some areas off one of the side roads with some barnwood, vintage truck, and gorgeous lighting.

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Then it was time for Kiah’s volleyball outfit. Not only had she brought her entire uniform, but she brought 3 volleyballs and a game net. I knew I wanted to do some photos in the sandy, indoor horse arena on a friend’s property but we also wanted some variety, so we did some with the old buildings as a backdrop as well. They turned out so cool! Then we hurried and left for the horse arena for some unique pictures!

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The horse arena was cooler than the outside and we were so thankful for that little break. With mom standing on a ladder, holding a reflector and little sister as the professional sand-thrower, we took some really fun, unique volleyball senior photos!

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The sand arena sits on beautiful farm land and it was the perfect, effortless setting for another outfit change and to add some variety to Kiah’s senior pictures!! Then we rushed off to Center Point to keep on our tight schedule!

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We met at the Center Point track for some photos of Kiah in her track uniform. They brought a baton and a hurdle and we did this portion of her session as fast as we could - in less than 15 minutes!! Kiah even had a little fan-club for the remainder of the night, because her mom’s friend and her daughter showed up to cheer her on! Talk about a party!

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Right on schedule, we headed to a new location I’d never tried before. Although it took us a while to get to our spot through all of that looonngg grass and the heat (now I know for next time - haha!), THESE were the photos Kiah had been waiting for! Her long grass and flowers! Isn’t she beautiful?!?

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Then we headed to the famous bridge in Center Point. I’m sure people were wondering what was happening since we had 6 of us out there in the middle of the bridge. But we had so much fun and these sunset photos are PERFECTION! Kiah’s requested bridge photos… check!

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Then off we went to our last stop of the night. The sun was pretty much set, but I knew that this location had wide open skies and it would be that soft, pretty light. But it was a location I’d never used before and something I had never done before for senior photos… you’ll see what I mean if you keep scrolling ;)

We started off in traditional senior picture poses and Kiah looked adorable!

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Then I asked her if she was up for trying something a little EXTRA unique and crazy. She said she was and we went for it! They turned out so amazing and I’m SO glad she let me try this with her!

Overall, Kiah’s senior photoshoot lasted about 4 hours, which is insane! But it was worth it and we had so much fun while creating some seriously epic and beautiful images!!

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!

Vintage Vibes Senior Photos | Sam | Prairie High School

Vintage Vibes Senior Photos with sam

Czech Village, Cedar Rapids | Pinicon Ridge Park, Central City | Prairie High School Senior

I’m creating this blog just a TINY bit late (ok, super-duper late) but creating a blog of Sam’s senior session has been on my list since last year! We did her senior session late last October and the fall through the end of the year is always just crazy busy. And things didn’t slow down as much as I thought they would! But who needs to blog ALL the session right on time anyway?! So it’s finally time for me to share Sam’s senior session!!

Sam’s mom reached out to me to set up senior pictures for her smart, talented and gorgeous daughter - who’s not a huge fan of being in front of the camera. I sometimes get senior girls who come in already knowing how to pose and super excited to be the star of the show for a day. Then I have some senior girls who are like Sam and are not quite as ready for all of that attention and tend to feel awkward during photos. But when I met with Sam for her pre-session consultation, we related on many levels (art, graphic design, vintage florals, etc) and I knew we’d have a good time!

We decided to start her session in the Czech Village because of the cool history, the murals and, to be honest, it would have less people than most of my urban locations. We wandered around, found colorful, unique spots and I made her laugh with my wacky remarks and awkwardness! She did absolutely amazing at channeling her inner model. What a sweet and gorgeous girl!

This giant mural was so cool, and since Sam is a talented artist, this extra pop of color was right up her alley! Actually, Czech Village was FULL of surprising and beautiful pops of color! And just look at her EYES!!! And that HAIR!!

Then since it was the end of October and most of the leaves had fallen, we headed to Pinicon Ridge Park in Central City in hopes of finding some color! Since the derecho had hit our area, many of the trees were down or damaged and the fall foliage was hard to come by anyway. So after an outfit change, we explored the park while the sun set. The weather was perfect and Sam looked SO adorable in her cozy fall sweater!!

I just LOVE the colors and vibe her session had! Her serious face is perfect and her smile, my GOODNESS!!

She went from not wanting senior photos to loving so many of her images that it was hard to narrow down! It was amazing to feel her confidence going up during the session and especially after she saw her final images. At the end of the ordering session (this is when I go to their home and show them their photos for the first time in-person) after Sam had left the room, her parents stopped me as I was leaving and told me how much the experience had meant to them, and how much Sam’s session had changed her attitude toward herself… I literally almost cried right then and there. What an amazing compliment and I’m SO, SO glad I was able to give her that experience and confidence boost that she SO deserves to have. <3 <3 <3

P.S. I HAVE to share the cover of Sam’s photobook that she helped me design. I used her own signature/handwriting in the creation of her book cover design and I LOVE how artistic and unique it is - just like her!!

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule senior photos! If you are graduating in 2022 or 2023 (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!

Casual Cute Fall Senior Photos | Avery | Kennedy High School

Casual Cute Fall Senior Photos | Avery | Kennedy High School

Don’t mind me, I’m just half a year behind on blogging senior sessions! But, like, I couldn’t NOT blog Avery’s GORGEOUS fall senior photoshoot. Avery’s mom reached out waaayyyy in advance to get her scheduled for the fall season because she knows that’s the #1 photoshoot time and it fills up fast. I did Avery’s sister’s senior photos a few years ago and it was frigid cold and snowing. They were unique and turned out gorgeous, but they wanted NICE, enjoyable weather this time around and that fall color - Mother Nature did NOT disappoint!

When I met with Avery and her mom for our consultation and planning appointment, I found out quick that Avery was EXCITED for her senior photos and that there was no shortage of selfies in her life. LOL! I LOVE it because that meant she was already semi-comfortable in front of the camera. I was SO right. She is a natural model!!!

Since the derecho in Cedar Rapids kind of put a damper on the landscape scenery, we decided to hit up the big ol’ town of Central City! When Avery hopped out of the car all dolled up and looking like a movie-star (thank you, Krysta at Make Me Up, for your makeup and hairstyling skills) with her entourage of mom, dad AND boyfriend, I KNEW we were in for a good time. That’s a LOT of people staring at you while you get your photos taken.. and a LOT more people to encourage you and make you laugh. And that we did!

(Behind-the scenes photo courtesy of Avery’s mom!)

We spent some time just exploring the cool buildings and colors of Central City, changed outfits, got inspired, and had a LOT of fun!! I’m sure Avery got SO tired of hearing how perfect the weather was, especially compared to her sister’s senior photoshoot day! LOL!

I loved how her skin tone, hair color and outfit all coordinated so beautifully with the brick wall! Isn’t she stunning?! Then she discovered this cool multi-color alleyway and spray painted ground and we were inspired! It was the perfect aesthetic for her casual and comfy outfit.

Then we went headed across the street to Pinicon Ridge park for ALLLL of that gorgeous fall color and the perfect-colored bridge for fall!! Doesn’t her outfit coordinate perfectly!? And she just looks flawless!! We all had so much fun making Avery feel like the celebrity of the day - as your senior photos SHOULD be!!! And I put Avery’s dad and boyfriend to work as professional-leaf-throwers to make a fun Pinterest-worthy fall photo for her. And there was definitely more than one take. It was a blast!

After a change of outfits, we went on the hunt to find the most vibrant, colorful trees. Apparently, so did everyone else - LOL! We had to take turns taking photos with other families and professional photographers out there just trying to capture all the beautiful leaves as well. It was pretty comical!

(Another behind-the-scenes photo below!)

As I often do, I told Avery we were all finished up about 15 times before I actually meant it. But we ended our session on my trusty (ok, actually I don’t put too much trust in it) old stepladder that has made it into TOO many photos already. I mean, it’s not even cute and somehow it keeps getting it’s photo taken. But I needed a solid headshot of Avery before we left, so I sat her on it and it ended up being one of their favorites!

And I can’t wrap up this blog without showing off the book cover that I custom-designed for Avery. Almost always, my seniors LOVE the photobook and choose to order one filled with their favorite photos, and this is the cover I designed for Avery. Isn’t it adorable?!

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 2022 or 2023 (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!