Country-Cute Vibes | Natalie | Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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!

Sporty & Classic Vibrant Fall Senior Photoshoot | Luke | Alburnett High School

Sporty & Classic Vibrant Fall Senior Photoshoot with luke

Newbo | Pinicon Ridge Park | Alburnett High School

What a fun photoshoot I had with Luke (and his mom/dad)! I don’t do a lot of senior photoshoots for guys any more, but I knew I’d most likely be doing Luke’s senior pictures for a few years now. It all started when I met his older brother Zeb and we had a WHIRLWIND of a time for his senior pictures (his blog here), and then I did his sister Hannah’s photos TWICE for a double senior session (her blog here) a few years later, and then it was Luke’s turn. When I first did Zeb’s photos, I remember Luke mentioning that he was excited for his senior pictures. I wondered if that was still going to be the case several years later (I doubted it), but he WAS!

I know he wasn’t looking forward to the long day that we had planned for him or some of the outfits his mom had picked out, but he was a trooper! We had the perfect, colorful fall day for him, and all worked out exactly as planned - although it COULD have been a low-key disaster as I was {this close} to running out of gas during our travels. But Luke and his mom didn’t know that… until just now! haha - oops!!

Let’s get started on the story of Luke’s senior photoshoot! Now, I usually write these within a month of the photoshoot so it’s fresh in my memory but my hands have been a bit preoccupied while taking care of my baby the last few months and I haven’t had the time to sit and type. So let’s see how well my memory serves me!

I met with Luke and his mom for their consultation and we planned out his session. He wanted to include wrestling and simple low-key outfits, she wanted our Schneider-kid-special with the “Friday Night Lights” football field after dark pictures. And I think everything turned out SO cool (but also low-key) ;)

We started the day meeting at Newbo Market. I knew we would have a lot of stops in the day, so I tried to build Luke’s schedule with as less driving time as possible, AND I didn’t want his photos to look like cookie-cutters of his siblings photos either. So we ventured around Newbo, hit up my favorite spots, but didn’t stay too long. Since it was overcast on his photoshoot day, we decided to mix up the schedule a bit and go right out to Pinicon Ridge Park. First stop: long grass. Luke’s mom has a big canvas of each kid’s senior pictures and we needed something with a similar aesthetic to match the other two!

We ventured up the hill to get to all the beautifully colored trees, and I love how simple and classic these turned out!

After an outfit change, we headed to the main attraction at this park - the bridge! I always LOVE how perfect this spot is in the fall. The rustic red bridge backed by the colorful trees is perfection!

Luke had noted he was interested in water pictures for a part of his session, but in our plan of the day, I wasn’t sure there would be any areas along our route that would work. Boy, was I wrong!! I scoped out this location a few days before Luke’s shoot and I LOVED it. It’s definitely going to be a must-shoot spot at least once this year, too! And even though I wasn’t sure how water pictures in the fall season would work aesthetically, I think they turned out gorgeous!

Next up: Alburnett High School. We started in the wrestling room. Tried some different poses, different lighting techniques and even used the atmosphere spray for some cool vibes. (Note: they didn’t end up picking any with the spray, but this stuff leaves some residue and is stinky. Be prepared for a quick cleanup!) Then it was on to the football field.

We were snapping away, waiting for the sun to set so we could the night-time photos with the stadium lights and we had a bit of a panic set in… we hadn’t seen anyone pull up that was supposed to turn on the lights! So Luke’s mom made some calls, but no success. His dad showed up with the work lights to light the scene - yes, we could have used my professional lighting at this point, but we wanted his photos to match his siblings and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as the saying goes. His dad and mom both tried to reach the person who would be turning them on for us. We remember being told that they take, like, 20 minutes to turn on. They searched for the light switches. Nothing! We start coming up with a backup plan for a second photoshoot, JUST to capture these images on a different day. And then, as the sun is officially set, exactly at the time we said we would need them on, the person in charge comes to turn them on. They turn on IMMEDIATELY. We had panicked for nothing and it all worked out, of course, like it always does!

So we took a ton of epic “Friday Night Light” photos and Luke (ok, all of us) were pretty tired and ready to wrap up the photoshoot. We said walked back to our vehicles, reminiscing on all of the crazy photoshoots we have had over the last few years, laughing about my much-needed stepladder upgrade and said our goodbyes. The last of the Schneider’s to graduate - it kind of feels like the end of an era to me. But look at all the adventures we’ve had together! (And I think it’s officially time to plan those updated family photos- haha!!)

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 (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!

A Pastel-Summer Aesthetic Senior Photoshoot | Livi | Center Point-Urbana High School

A Pastel-Summer Aesthetic Senior Photoshoot with Livi

Culver’s Greenhouse | Uptown Marion | Wanatee Park

When Livi’s mom reached out to schedule her senior pictures, I couldn’t believe she was a senior already!! I had photographed her sister’s senior pictures a few year ago (her blog is here) and had only met Livi in passing when she was helping Madi choose her favorite pictures. When I met Livi for her consultation, she just had 2 requests: a field of flowers and for her pictures to NOT look identical to her sisters. But here’s the kicker, she loved many of her sisters locations and styles. So my challenge was to find locations with similar vibes, but not the same, and give Livi her own unique session! You can check out both Madi and Livi’s blog and decide if how we did ;)

We started Livi’s day with hair (with the wonderful Ingrid) and makeup (with the amazing, Lindsey, who let us use her house to get ready)! And honorable mention to our favorite spray tan place, Bare Tones, for hooking Livi up with a beautiful glow for her session!!

Livi LOVED how her hair and makeup turned out!! Next stop: Culvers Greenhouse! This is an idea we chatted about at her consultation and she loved the idea so we gave it a go. I think these ended up being her favorite images of the lot!!

It was super hot for Livi’s photoshoot and the inside of a greenhouse isn’t lacking humidity - phewy! We had to take several breaks to make sure Livi didn’t start getting over-heated and sweaty. But we loved her white outfit here and pops of colors from the flowers.

Our next stop was uptown Marion where we’d meet her sister who brought her puppy for some pictures!! THESE were SO hard to narrow down!!

Didn’t this sweet pup do SO GOOD!!!?

After puppy-pics, we did an outfit change and explored some new part of Marion that I haven’t been to before! I love this dress on her! Although it was windy this day and her sleeves and dress weren’t cooperating easily, but you could never tell! And we sure as heck weren’t going to complain about the wind we were getting because it was the only thing saving us on this HOT day!

We did a quick outfit change again before we headed to the other side of the main road for the more “urban” or “grunge” areas of Marion. (Ok, it’s not really grungy at all, but I can’t think of a better word - hah!)

I really loved this color on Livi and especially loved it with the brick! She’s so dang cute!!

Another one of Livi’s requests was a willow tree. WOW! These are hard to come by post-derecho (in a public space, with a good backdrop behind it). But a friend told me about this one the morning of our shoot and I rearranged our whole photoshoot layout to make this one happen!

Remember that wind I was talking about earlier?! THIS is the point that we were starting to get a little sick of it. LOL! It kept blowing the willow tree branches everywhere, across Livi’s face as we tried to take her photo, her hair across her face. Livi’s mom definitely got put to work holding onto branches and fixing Livi’s hair as we attempted to get the cutest pictures! You couldn’t even tell, could ya?!

According to my calculations, we were running out of daylight since the sun sets earlier in the part of Wanatee Park where we were headed for flower pictures. Spoiler alert: my calculations were wrong. But luckily I had miscalculated because the smoke from the Canadian fires started to roll in and blocked the sun and sunset for the remainder of Livi’s session. I was bummed, but she didn’t seem to care at all!! We got there just in time and I LOVED this purple dress in the purple flowers!

Ironically, the lack of sunset is exactly what happened at her sister’s senior pictures, too! It has been super sunny all day and then the clouds rolled in at the end of her session. But still so perfect!

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 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!

Colorful and Summery Senior Pictures | Lauren | Prairie High School

Colorful and Summery Senior Pictures with Lauren

Newbo District | Pinicon Ridge Park | Wanatee Park

I’m writing this blog at 6:30 a.m. and for those that know me… this is highly unusual! But, I’m almost 37 weeks pregnant and fighting insomnia so here we are! I have a list of “work stuff” that I want to get done before Baby comes, which includes writing this blog on Lauren’s AMAZING senior session! I can’t wait to share the images with you all - she is stunning!!

Lauren’s mom reached out to me last October, if I remember right! My memory has not been serving me very well lately, which the insomnia/lack of sleep doesn’t help. But according to my emails, we’ve been chatting since at least last October. Talk about being ON IT for senior pictures! They were specifically wanting July or August photos because Lauren really wanted that full summer-y, flower-y goodness that summer brings! We chatted for a bit, got them on the schedule and then a few months later, I found out I was pregnant and due a week before her senior pictures were scheduled. I knew that I simply couldn’t do the July or August dates they were wanting - it would be too risky and probably too much heat/strain on my body at that time. I decided when I would be comfortable taking my last sessions before Baby came (considering that senior sessions are usually 2-3 hours, outdoors and usually involve at least a little hiking while carrying around my gear/ladder, etc) and I reached out to Lauren and her mom with the option to reschedule for mid-June or a refund. To my surprise (and excitement) they opted for rescheduling!

So we set Lauren’s new session date for the latest possible date in June before I started my “maternity leave” and I just prayed for good weather and for the FLOWERS to bloom early! (Last year, they were barely blooming by June 29th and Lauren was scheduled for June 11th - eek!! Talk about pressure!) We set up a few back-up dates and watched the weather as the day got closer. I wasn’t going to settle for anything less than perfect weather for Lauren’s session after she took a leap of faith with me and rescheduled for mid-June when she really wanted later summer.

The morning of her photoshoot, the forecast called for partially cloudy all day until her photoshoot was set to begin. So we banked on that. Lauren had already gotten her nails and spray tan done (perks of doing a senior photoshoot with me!) and was already feeling cute with her summer glow. (Shout out to Bare Tones for the BEST spray tans in the area!) We met at Moxie Salon for hairstyling with Justine and makeup with Kasya and had a great time just hanging out while Lauren got all dolled up!!

As we wrapped up, the skies still were cloudy and we were slightly worried but held out hope. We headed to our first location in the Newbo area and started shooting. We noticed a cloudless sky in the distance and got excited. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by sun and we all breathed a sigh of relief!! Also, because it happened to be a chill 70 degree day in mid-June and Lauren’s outfits were planned for, like, an 80+ degree day. She was FROZEN! Who would have thought!? But her bright, colorful top brought allll the summer vibes to this location and you couldn’t even tell she was cold!

I’m obsessed with the pops of colors - her outfit, the door, the platform! So cute!!

We started roaming around the area, stopping at my favorite spots that Lauren had requested!

I wasn’t planning on taking her back behind the old firehouse/Airbnb but we spotted these flowers and she mentioned how much she loved them, so we swung by them quick - GREAT choice on our behalf! They matched her shirt perfectly and are some of my favorite images from her session. How dang cute!!

After a quick outfit change, we headed to our next location. Yes - we were already running late.. no surprise there LOL! We set timers to keep me on track, but I use them as more of a suggestion and we always end up running a little behind. Luckily Lauren could change quickly and (spoiler alert) everything worked out fine, as always!

While I LOVE pops of color, I extra-love neutrals in a space like this. Lauren ROCKED her urban vibes and ultimately chose this outfit/setting for her large framed print to hang up next to her sister’s senior pictures at her house! We moved through these locations FAST and then it was off to Pinicon Ridge Park for her requested bridge and pictures with her DOGGIE!!

After our quick stop in Central City, we actually headed back to Marion to chase down the wildflowers at Wanatee Park. The sun was still high enough so we made a stop at my favorite tree-filled area and these turned out to be some of my favorite images. SOOO bright, colorful, summery and ahhmazing!

How gorgeous is she?! As we headed over to our flower area, I convinced Lauren to trek into the white flowers across the street to get a few more pictures in this outfit to give it some more “camera-time” AND because I wanted to use my favorite chair for some different poses that my seniors and their family LOVE! After seeing the pictures, Lauren decided that getting those multiple tiny scratches from our long trek was worth it!!

And then we hopped over to the purple flowers - the main event - the scenery that Lauren was wanting the most!

And that golden hour we were worried we weren’t going to get?? Perfection!

What a perfect senior session!! Everything we could have hoped for. At her ordering session (where they see the photos for the first time and order their images), we matched a frame to her sister’s senior picture that they had in their living room and I love how hers turned out! And her album is just GORGEOUS!

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 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!

Downtown Urban Spring Senior Photoshoot | Josephine | Prairie High School

Downtown Urban Spring Senior Photoshoot with Josephine

Downtown Cedar Rapids & Iowa City | IATL | Prairie High School

Hold on to your boots for this one, guys! This GORGEOUS senior is the daughter of a local celebrity known around these parts as The Cheesecake Lady, aka Dawn who owns Out of the Blue Cheesecakes which are the BEST cheesecakes you can find in our area. (For real, give them a try sometime, or follow her page!) If she ever reads this, she’s going to blush so hard - haha!!

So before Dawn was famous, I did her son’s senior pictures wayyyyy back when I first started photography “professionally.” I honestly don’t even know if I had an official Facebook page yet. So when she reached out again this fall about her daughter’s pictures, I was so excited!!

I met with Josephine and her mom in October last fall, and since Josephine didn’t want to miss any school (fall/winter hours usually mean either taking a full or half day off for my seniors) so we opted for a Sunday photoshoot in the Spring. We knew the weather could be iffy (spoiler alert: it was) and I chatted with Josephine about what she wanted out of her session. She had a lot of eccentric and FUN ideas, which included some retro-futuristic outfits and makeup, using the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines, and some other unique ideas and locations. After chatting with her mom, we decided something more trendy but more traditional and timeless would be the best approach and we made some plans. (And the biggest bummer was that the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines was holding an event that day, so we skipped that idea, too.)

Since I had MANY months to prepare for Josephine’s session, I kept my eyes open for unique buildings in our area when I was out-and-about and came across an few that I felt fit her futuristic-esque vibe. We designed her session based on urban/city looks only and no nature (it IS early Spring, so we don’t have much for pretty natural areas right now anyway), and mixed in grunge, color and unique buildings. I can’t wait to show you what we came up with!

The Sunday of her session we had overcast rainy-sleet-cold weather. We decided to push it to the following Wednesday and cross our fingers. And it turned out to be a perfect, sunny day!!!

We started with professional makeup with Lindsey at their home. Josephine has a signature eyeliner look that she loves so she finished off her makeup with the eyeliner and she also has naturally curly hair, so she opted to do it on her own. It all turned out beautifully and felt so “her!”

We headed to our first location, an underpass in Cedar Rapids. I have always wanted to try this location, and it was one of many NEW locations we tried for Josephine’s shoot. I actually only used one location that I have ever used before during her session!

We were running a little bit behind already so we only spent like 10-15 minutes at this location, but this outfit was perfect here. I loved this combination!!

Then Josephine jumped in with me and we headed to Iowa City. I do NOT like driving in Iowa City. Especially since we were heading there at 5:00 rush-hour time. I missed my turn in downtown Iowa City, one of many times it was going to happen during this trip, and drove RIGHT past the location I was wanting us to stop at that I had picked out on Google Maps - lol! We miraculously found semi-easy parallel parking at the next road and it was actually a really easy walk to our locations. First up: this cool mural wall!

I was worried that with all the locations I had picked for Josephine’s session, that we’d be lacking COLOR in her photos. So when I saw this on Google Maps, I couldn’t wait to try it! And they turned out to be some of her mom’s favorite photos! Isn’t she stunning?!!

After I felt like we captured a good amount there, we headed down the sidewalks to explore. We stopped at some random spots we liked, snapped a few more while dodging pedestrians, and headed back to the car - still trying to make up lost time!

After an outfit change, we decided that instead of trying to squeeze in 2-3 locations for this outfit (in our already crunched schedule), we would just head to the last one: the really cool full metal building that is the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories building. There is also a mint-green colored bridge nearby so we could get some more variety. This spot was so fun to shoot and so unique!

We actually ended up parking in a lot that we were technically not supposed to be parking in. But we were in a time crunch and it was the closest to the building. We knew we wouldn’t be there for longer than 15 minutes, so we just crossed our fingers and went for it. (It was all good - phew!) But we made up a lot of lost time at this spot. And this location with this outfit!? Perfection!!! Isn’t she SUCH a model?! These should totally be in a magazine!

Also, this spot wouldn’t have worked out nearly as well if there hadn’t been a ton of clouds in the sky. So I was so thankful for that. But how cool is that fur jacket?! That color is perfect on her!

After a very short while, we headed back to the car to warm up. Sure - it was sunny, but it was still COLD!! We were exactly on time now, and would at our location JUST in time for sunset. Normally my seniors don’t ride along with me, but with our last minute schedule change, her mom couldn’t make it so it was just her and I. I was a little worried that she’d feel awkward with so much car-time with me, but we chatted and how so much fun! We really connected over our love for Indian food - hahah!!

We made it to our last location, changed outfits and headed to the top floor of the parking garage for sunset. This is the only location I had photographed previously so at least I knew what to expect, because the more the sun set the colder it was getting.

We captured some golden hour goodness and tried some fun poses now that we weren’t trying to catch up on time. But it all worked out perfectly! and I LOVE the way these photos turned out!! (And it’s also proof that winter-spring sessions don’t have to be boring or snowy!!)

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 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 Fall Senior Photoshoot | Abby | Kennedy High School

Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Abby

Downtown Cedar Rapids | Pinicon Ridge Park | Kennedy High School

My LAST senior photoshoot for 2023! And it was a perfect day. Abby’s mom reached out about senior pictures for Abby and her twin brother a little “later” in the season. I put “later” in quotation marks because by normal standards she was totally on time, but for photographers, we book out our fall season months in advance. So we squeezed them into the schedule for the first available dates in November. I always say the first week in November is the same thing as the last week in October. Everyone get’s nervous that once October is over, then Fall and the nice weather is officially done. And with Iowa weather, you never know. It could be snowing or it could be a 75 degree day. We chatted about what she and her mom wanted from their senior sessions (Alex, her twin, wasn’t there for this meeting and we just kind of decided what we would do for him) including the photos she wanted of the two of them together and what photos she wanted up on their wall at home to replace the photos from when they were kids. We decided to schedule Alex for a Thursday and Abby the following day, and then ask Alex to come for a few minutes during Abby’s session for their photos together… because ya know, she’d have her hair and makeup done!

The week of their session arrives and Friday is looking like rain. Up until now, we’ve had a mild fall and the leaves are still fairly intact. Which is what we were hoping for. I reached out to Abby and her mom about moving UP her photoshoot. I knew it would be harder to do because it was so last minute, and usually I’d reschedule for a later date. I knew the odds were that it would rain and all the leaves would be totally gone.. and who knows when the temps would start dropping. We were able to reschedule with hair and makeup (phew!) and we rescheduled her photoshoot to the day before her brothers. And it was SO worth it! A perfect day!

Abby’s photoshoot day started at her home. I met the Lindsey (makeup) and Ingrid (hair) at Abby’s home to get her ready for her big day! She had the whole crew along for the ride - mom, dad and grandma! First stop: Stamats and Harmac buildings for the brick walls that I knew would complement Abby’s gorgeous hair.

I loved exploring this area, because I had never used it before. I didn’t plan to using this white wall area but when we came across it, we had to use it. And she just looked so gorgeous here! And she LOVED what she saw in the back of my camera. Win-win!

And we finally made our way to the Harmac building and I spotted this BEAUTIFULLY colored door. And I knew Abby’s eyes and hair would POP against it. Literally some of my faves from her session!!!

Isn’t she just the cutest thing!? It was time to head off to the White Star Ale House (and U.S. Bank across the corner). After a change of outfits, we hit up the bank area first for the more formal look. Which I think worked perfectly with this outfit!

And then we crossed the street for the beautifully colorful vine wall at White Star. I knew this was the most fall color we were going to get for this time of year. It was gorgeous!

And then her brother showed up for their quick little photoshoot together! It was a busy area and I know both Abby and Alex don’t love getting their photos taken.. especially together and especially in front of an audience. We tried to do it so quickly - rip it off like a bandaid, like the saying goes! But we got a handful of adorable images of them and enough for mom to hang up in their house to replace the older ones.

Mom had specifically asked to see if I thought we could recreate the photo hanging in their hallway of Abby kissing Alex’s cheek as a kid. She knew there was no way but we thought we’d jokingly ask anyway. The next photo was their response! Haha!! (Spoiler alert: we didn’t get the cheek-kissing photo that mom wanted.)

We wrapped up their photos and headed out to Central City to hit up Pinicon Ridge Park. The last time I was there, the leaves were in their prime but that was weeks before. But I had scoped it out the day before and their were at least still leaves ON the trees, so that’s the best we could ask for this late in the season! I was happy with it. And Abby’s hair and outfit matched the leaves perfectly! GOODNESS, she’s so dang pretty!

We were racing the sunlight at this point! The clouds had (unexpectedly) started moving in on our way way to the park. Which meant we had to wrap things up quickly. Easier said than done when I had 5 spots in the park and 3 outfits to cover in a new time crunch. EEK! We did what we could with the colorful leaves and Abby changed outfits, and we headed the the other end of one of my favorite bridges in the fall!

We didn’t spend much time here because the light was fading so quickly but I love how she looks so vintage-y cute in this outfit. The the last outfit change and 2 more spots to go! First up, this little path that is my favorite in the fall!

And the last stop was right at the entrance of the park! And that long grass worked BEAUTIFULLY with Abby’s hair and complexion. I LOVE how these ones turned out. And although we didn’t get the golden hour and sunset we were hoping for, these soft images are a whole different vibe and just as gorgeous! (And we couldn’t complain, because her original photoshoot date was allllll rain and no sun! So we definitely made the right choice!)

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 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!

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!

Trendy Summer Senior Pictures with Kitten | Olivia | Jesup High School

Trendy Summer Senior Pictures with Olivia

Newbo District | Center Point | Jesup High School

I met with Olivia and her mom at Jam’s Coffee Bar, a new coffee place in Urbana that I had been wanting to try! I still get blown away when I think about my seniors coming from outside of my surrounding areas of Cedar Rapids, Marion, Center Point and Alburnett. It’s always feels a little extra exciting knowing that they SOMEHOW found me through Google and decided to pick me! Anyway! I met with them and the first thing I noticed was Olivia’s beautiful blonde hair. And I felt like I clicked right away with the both of them - they were so down-to-earth and easy to talk to! I was excited to plan Olivia’s session!

We decided on using Newbo for a downtown vibe, and she wanted wildflowers (and she noted that she especially loved purple flowers) and water. So after scouting some locations, I decided to try a new patch of flowers I had found outside the CPU High School and use the boat ramp area in Center Point, too! This worked out extra-well because we got SO much rain leading up to her session that the water was high, but I knew the boat ramp would have treads and a gradually decline so she’d still be able to get IN the water if she wanted to! So we started with hair and makeup at Onyx Salon where Nicole did both her hair and makeup! We LOVED how it turned out! And then it was off to Newbo.

I LOVED Olivia’s outfits and the vibes she was wanting. She had a couple more trendy outfits and a more classic outfit that would fit with a few spots in Newbo that was more casual. We started by exploring one end of the area and slowly making our way to the other with a few outfit changes in the crazy, popup tent in between.

After our first outfit change, and as we were heading to our next location I realized I had left my ladder at our last location. That was a first for me! A big thanks to Olivia’s mom who volunteered to go grab it while we continued on. We were heading to one of my favorite spots at Newbo and knew she wouldn’t have any trouble finding us there - I knew I’d take wayyyy to many pictures.

We walked around a little more in this outfit, heading to the blue and white mural at Newbo for some pops of color!

After changing into the outfit that Olivia seemed the most excited about, we started our last venture at Newbo. We stopped at my last few go-to spots that I thought would pair well with this outfit. And they turned out SO GOOD!

We were perfectly on time the whole day… with a little time to spare thankfully. It was HOT on Olivia’s senior picture day and we had to take some air-conditioner breaks in the car. We left for Center Point to hit up the natural trail first.. and to meet up with Olivia’s dad and KITTY!!! To tell you I was excited for this part was an understatement. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE kitties, and I was SO excited for Olivia to get some sweet pictures with her baby, Millie.

We made it as quick as possible with Millie because cats don’t love new places and there were a lot of walkers/bikers on the trail this day. We probably only had her out there for 10 minutes and we got SO many cute pictures!! We finished out with some more pictures of Olivia in this super-cute outfit, and then some volleyball pictures!

Next up was the wildflower fields. I had happened to find PURPLE flowers, too! Which made me extra excited, but also a bit nervous since I had never used this spot before. We showed up, walked all the way out to the front of the field, started shooting and I realized the sun was still too high for the lighting we were hoping for here. (Although, after some editing tweaks, they were FIRE!!) I knew we had a little extra time to spare, so I had Olivia go get cooled down for a bit in the car. After a few minutes, we used the shaded parts of the field for the pictures were she’d need to be laying/sitting down. The long grass and flowers would’ve been too long anyway. All the while, the CPU volleyball girls were starting their outdoor practice RIGHT next to us. I thought for sure that Olivia would be thrown off her game, but they were hyping her up and she was ROCKING it!

After a little more cooling down, the sun was finally low enough for the PERFECT lighting inside the flower field. So we trekked back out there and started doing our thing! And HOLY COW! It was PERFECT! We are obsessed with these photos!! Isn’t she STUNNING?!

After wrapping up this hot, sweaty part of the photoshoot, we were all looking forward to the water portion of her session. So we headed out to the boat ramp, changed outfits and spent the last few minutes of the sunset taking these images of the gorgeous Olivia looking SO summery in the water. And they are soooo cute!!

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!

Downtown & Beachy Vibes Senior Pictures | Grasie | Center Point-Urbana High School

Downtown & Beachy Vibes Senior Pictures with Grasie

Downtown Cedar Rapids | Pleasant Creek State Park | CPU High School

Grasie’s session was one I was looking forward to a little extra! I had met her (kinda-sorta) when I did her brother’s senior pictures a few years ago and so when her mom reached out again, I was SO excited! (It’s such a compliment to have client’s who return back to me!) I met with Grasie and her mom and learned that Grasie was really up for whatever I wanted to do for her session, which was SO nice, honestly! I DO love hearing and coming up with the PERFECT senior session for my seniors, but sometimes it can be a big struggle to fit it all in and time it all out perfectly. So when Grasie told me I could just pick what we did, I felt like I had ALL the options in the world to choose what inspired ME! Like, where do I begin. In the end, I decided to keep it simple so her photoshoot day was low-key and fun!

We were SO close to doing a sunflower field but there weren’t any close by us that were ready. So we veto-ed that idea. My goal was to find STUNNING backgrounds for her and somewhere she could get her feet wet, but also incorporate some downtown city looks and we nailed it - and then some!

We started with hair and makeup at my house with Chelsea on hair and Angie on makeup, then headed into Cedar Rapids. We decided to meet at Green Square Park so we could explore the areas I had picked for us! Once I saw her outfits, I knew the locations I wanted to try. As we were parking, I drove by one of the locations and it was gone - demolished - and a new building was being put up. So I had Grasie and her mom park while I took another drive around the block and found a NEW but perfect spot to try for her first outfit. I LOVED how the aesthetic worked for this outfit. And it was low-key without many people around so it gave us a chance to warm up.

We knew her Coe College outfit would be a quick one, but I LOVED it on her! She was already ROCKING her shoot and I knew it was going to be a fun, easy night. We changed outfits in my crazy pop-up tent and started venturing towards the “pretty” city look before we did the more “grunge” city look. I know there has to be better words to describe it, but oh well! hah! First stop was the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Which was the PERFECT location for this gorgeous dress!

Then we did a little more venturing, stopping at some of my fave spots! (They’re my faves for a reason, doesn’t she look gorgeous!?)

Grasie changed outfits again and I LOVED this outfit! I thought it was shorts when she had showed them to me, but this skirt was the best with her boots!!! Obessed!

We used this outfit as our “transition outfit” and headed to Pleasant Creek State Park after wrapping up downtown. I knew with the boots, it had a city vibe and without boots it would look perfect in a nature setting. Adding a cute yellow flower was the perfect touch and pop of color!

And then not unlike me at all - but I totally forgot that Grasie’s mom had told me she wanted a special picture of Grasie holding up her baby picture in the BLUE dress that we had already changed out of (we did this with her brother, too, so it’s really special and adorable!) so Grasie changed quick into her blue dress again for a quick few shots - sorry girl!

And then one last outfit for the night! With a cloudless sunset, this willow tree is AMAZING but of course the sun didn’t want to cooperate (hey - we’re not complaining, it wasn’t raining or overcast). I had stressed about the dang weather for Grasie’s session for a week. It was set to be overcast/cloudy and I probably asked her 12x if that was ok with her, because so many of my seniors REALLY want that golden sunset light that my photos are known for. She told me over and over again that she’s totally ok with it being cloudy. But the day of, everything cleared out! Hallelujah. Until the ONE moment I wanted that sunlight behind the willow tree - the clouds moved it. They turned out gorgeous still, and honestly made it WAY less of a hike through the weeds for us!

The clouds seemed like they were going to stay the rest of the night, which is ok - it’s what we had planned on anyway. I asked Grasie if she wanted a rock-water vibe or a beachy vibe (secretly hoping for beachy because I haven’t gotten to do beach photos in years) and she chose beach!! YAY! So we headed out and played in the water, fully expecting to end our night there early because of the lack of sun. We were splashing and taking some gorgeous beachy shots when the sun started popping out. We RAN to utilize the parts of the beach that were lit up!

We were wrapping up the session and the sun was still out. I asked them if they wanted to go try and capture more of the golden light in another area or just call it a night. They said we might as well go give it a try! We were already there. Oh my gosh, I’m SO thankful we did! As I showed them picture after picture of that magical lighting and how amazing Grasie was doing, they quickly realized my obsession with golden, cloudless sunsets and agreed that it was totally worth it!

Literally - how perfect is Grasie! She’s so dang cute, down-to-earth and I just LOVE her full laughing pictures the most! And I can’t believe this is the last picture of the night!!!

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!

Greenhouse Summer Senior Photoshoot | Kenna | Kennedy High School

Summery Greenhouse Senior Pictures with Kenna

Culvers Greenhouse | Downtown Cedar Rapids | Wanatee Park

Wayyyyy back in the winter, Kenna’s mom reached out about senior pictures. I had started getting inquiries for senior pictures SO early compared to normal and I was impressed!! Kenna and her family were referred to me from a friend and past client of mine, which I always love to hear. We had talked about sunflowers, more of a modern urban look and a greenhouse so we set a date for August (when their friend’s sunflower patch was supposed to bloom) and then stayed in touch until our first in-person meeting.

When we met up, the sunflower idea had been veto-ed but everything else was a “go!” And what a small world it is, because when talking to Kenna about her spray tan, and professional hair/makeup I had set up for her (part of my senior package) she knew the spray tan artist (Katrina at Bare Tones) AND the hairstylist (Aubree at Moxie Salon) already! She had yet to meet her makeup artist, Krysta (Make Me Up) but I KNEW she’d be obsessed with her makeup. Spoiler alert - she was!

We started our day at Moxie Salon for hair and makeup, and then headed to some cute spots around downtown Cedar Rapids for a clean, modern urban look.

(Enjoy some behind-the-scenes pictures, courtesy of Kenna’s mom and bestie)

I LOVE how this outfit looked in this library location!

Next, we hit up Culver’s Greenhouse (with their permission, of course) - which I haven’t been to in FOREVER, so I was a tad nervous about how that would go. The lighting was bright and trickier than I thought it was going to be but Kenna was patient and we LOVED how they turned out!!

I’m not going to lie- this close up was semi-accidental!! I was standing WAY to close for the shot I was trying to get, but snapped one anyway and it ended up being one of their FAVES!

Laying down on these empty tables was pretty much an after-thought. We had taken all of the photos we were wanting to, were walking out and I decided to give it a go! I saw them empty as we walked in but thought that Kenna would feel weird getting up there in a dress in a public space. They joked about using them and I told them my idea and they were down for it! I KNEW I’d love these!!

Our last stop for the night was the park for some nature shots and the wildflower field I had scoped out. We had a few outfits to do here, which was perfect because I have a LOT of spots I love at this park! Walking into our first spot, the grass was wayyyyyyy longer than it normally is. It was a trek, but it was definitely worth it! And extra-worth it to find flowers back there!

Next spot was the middle of the tree-lined road - a senior fave. Aren’t these shots the cutest!?

It was a beautiful day. The sun shining the whole day, until RIGHT as we headed to the flower field. Sunny flower pictures are my JAM and I was a little bummed, but Kenna assured me she was still loving the images and after I agreed - I loved them too! And they have such a magazine-model-or-something vibe to them, too!

Doesn’t she look darling in a hat, too? Kenna’s summer session turned out so pretty and ended with a few TikTok creations in the sunset. Does a senior session get much better than that?

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!