Smokin!

Posted on September 9, 2010

Hello everyone! This sweet and wonderful HS senior is the daughter of an old colleague of mine. Oh my GOODNESS did L. do an amazing job of raising her daughter! From my short time with her I knew Alyssa to be GORGEOUS (that’s obvious!), so very very sweet, and kind and generous to me, her mom, and others at school and within her church. It always amazes me to meet seniors like Alyssa… someone who looks outside herself and embraces her family, her life, and the world around her. I’ve heard of young adults her age being much more closed minded and self focused, but this was not the case with Alyssa.

Alyssa and I were on the same page about her session from the start… one of our creative juices would get flowing and the other would whoop out an “Oh yeah!!!, that’s what I was thinking!” Her mom tells me she’s an old soul… an Elvis fan and other hits from the 50s and 60s. She proved it, too, by subconsciously singing or humming along to that era of tunes at the locations where we photographed.

One of the reasons I love photographing tweens and teens is that they have no idea how amazing and gorgeous they are. I love looking at people through a lens, capturing their essence, and showing them their very soul in a photograph…… showing them their inner and outer beauty that maybe they didn’t even notice because they were too self conscious or busy to breathe it in. I’m guessing Alyssa has a pretty good idea about how awesome she is thanks to the amazing young woman her parents have clearly nurtured her to be, but I wonder if she really knows just how breathtaking she is….