Senior: Allie

All day, it was threatening to rain. Well, actually, it did rain...leaving me a little concerned how my evening was going to go. But, I had a plan and once I made sure Allie was on board with a little improv, I created two shoot schedules: one with rain, one without rain. Even as we started shooting, I didn't know whether I'd be dealing with rain or not. But I wasn't worried. Hey, if I can shoot a bride in pouring rain and not get her wet but still come up with beeeyoootious pictures, surely I can do the same for Allie. (And in case you're wondering, I'm anxiously waiting until I can unveil that bridal beauty; 15 days and counting.) But we didn't get wet. Not at all. In fact, for a few minutes, the sun even peeked out a little bit. But then it got all shy and snuck away again.

But, hey, who needs sun to have fun? Ever heard of Singing in the Rain?





Oh! And if you're a rising Senior and want to be a Senior Rep, you should email me or call (336-793-6622) - you get a photoshoot and then fun gifts when you tell you friends about JenniMarie.com. Yup yup. You know you wanna model. Yes, you do. :-P

The Ford Mustang and Jaron

What we have here is a case of half Senior pictures, half modeling session, half Jennifer-experimenting-with-lighting. (Oh, and three-quarters "Jennifer doesn't do fractions".)

I'm not sure which is more amazing: the vintage Ford Mustang that is Jaron's pride and joy (or at least that's how it seems to me), the fact that he was willing to find a pair of his dad's amazing suspenders and put them on, or the seriously amazing hat he pulled out of his closet. Whatever the cause, hanging out with Jaron and three ridiculously amazing cars was...amazing. :-P

I know, I know. I really should use a word besides "amazing," but it takes too much energy to come up with anything that more accurately describes the amazing shoot this was; besides, when I use flowery descriptive words, I am usually met with a blank stare and "what does that word mean?" from my listener. So, I think I'll stick with "cool" and "umm" and "duuude" from now on.

(And in case you're wondering, ummm, the rest of the cool cars will make their debut. Soon. Promise. Duuuude.)

Senior: Jessica

What makes a good day for taking Senior pictures in Winston Salem? Is it the weather? The location? The outfit? Is it an emotional - "today feels good" - decision? Is it objective? Or subjective?

Call me cheesy, but I think any day I get to spend with my camera is an automatically good day. =D The past couple weeks have been a proverbial "calm before the storm" -- its been busy, but in a less chaotic way than March and April were. Now I'm bracing myself to start a series of non-stop wedding weekends. [insert deep breath here] But, in this calm time, my camera time has dwindled a little; working on web sites, miscellaneous projects, etc, and my camera has been abandoned.

Oh, and somewhere in the chaos, essential tools of my trade have broken (i.e. car and phone) and required fancy footwork, extra cash, and practice in living-without-the-necessities. Ah, the fun.

Senior: Alison

Fact: boys are weird. The end.

[deep breath]

[lets it out]

However, if you are a boy and if you are reading this blog, then I assume that you are at least a little bit not-weird. Maybe you even have moments of sanity. And DEFINITELY you would NOT have a moment of insanity such as Alison and I encountered this weekend.

And if you have ever had this type moment of insanity, then you need seriously counseling. Or let us slap you. Or something.

Serious.

See, on a street corner in Winston there was a wimpy white car with its windows open and music blaring. Stopped at a stoplight, it was full of boys, watching us take pictures and yelling at us.

Yes, yelling.

And if they had done some sort of complimentary (but altogether demeaning) wolf whistle, it would've been slightly acceptable.

However.

They.
Did.
Not.

"All your pictures are going to be ugly. Quit trying!"

Boys. Are. Weird.
The end.

(And altogether dumb. But keep reading and you'll understand why: she's gorgeous!)

Senior: Brittany

I like hanging out with Seniors. And not because they're fun, quirky, excited-about-life, and totally cool (though that always helps).

(And, yeah, Brittany totally fits in that category.)

No, what I enjoy most is reflecting on when I was a Senior in High School, facing life with a bold ambition and general naivete. Making plans, dreaming dreams, living life. It was a special time, full of question marks and huge decisions. Fears. Dreams. Plans. Missed plans. Rescheduled dreams. Scary time, but happy.

I look back and realize that I could never, ever dreamed of the life I am living now. No, not in a million years could I have even scratched the surface on the beauty of the dreams fulfilled. Dreams I hadn't even dreamed are now dreamed AND realized.

Does that make sense?

Basically, life now is tons better than high school me could've planned. And that's super amazing.

So when I get to spend time with fun Seniors like Brittany, I look at my history and into her future. I rejoice in all that has happened since my high school graduation (which feels like a bazillion years ago -- or maybe it was yesterday), and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for this year's graduates.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20 - 21)

Senior: Seth

He admitted it freely: he didn't want his picture taken. But he was a good sport, obliging his sentimental mother and tolerating me. Me? I saw him as a challenge. I wanted to prove to him that I could make picture-time fun and not pure torture. He was, in my opinion, my Mona Lisa, waiting to be painted.

Okay, wait.

That didn't help anything.



No, Seth, I did NOT just compare you to the Mona Lisa. Ummm...I was just using a artistic analogy that hopefully most people will understand. Because, well, most people don't know any paintings, but they do know the Mona Lisa. And, hey, at least I didn't compare you to Edvard Munch's Scream. :-P Umm. I'll be quiet now. Seriously.

Seth is an athlete and as we were exploring the city, camera in hand, he showed me some of his parkour tricks. Ummmm. I'm glad he didn't fall, let's just leave it at that. (And I think I should've set my phone on speed-dial for the hospital in case I needed an ambulance.)

But, wow, isn't it cool what he can do? I almost wanted him to teach me. But I thought of my camera and decided I didn't want to ruin it. Cuz inevitably I would've been on the way to the hospital.

Once safely back on the ground, we (his mom and me) breathed a collective sigh of relief and stuck with more sane moments, rather than all the acrobatics.

Which were pretty cool, too. (Even if he really really tried not to smile at all my antics!)

And that, folks, is what happened the day that Seth let me take his picture.

Senior: Brittany

Well, okay, um. Do I haaave to be honest?

Yes?

[sigh] Here goes.

This shoot marks the second time in my photographic journey where I have been yelled at by a security guard. Is this normal? I mean, do photographers normally get kicked out of public areas by security officers??? Or is it just me? Am I a magnet for trouble?

See, we were in downtown Winston, minding our own business, shooting in nooks and crannies up and down the street. But apparently we shot in one too many spots. Cuz here comes a limping, middle-aged man with a very heavy 5 o'clock shadow. I was too busy focusing and photographing to notice...but when he barked at me, I totally knew he was there.

He kinda had a lisp.

(Which, I'll be honest, didn't breed the credibility that his ID badge and crispy pressed uniform commanded.)

So apparently he didn't like us loitering around his building.

Sigh.

And it was such a stately building, too!

Oh well. We left, found other alleys and buildings to shoot around, and learned a lesson of photography: watch out for the limping security officer with a lisp.

Sydney

I love pink.

The fact that Sydney is wearing muted, dark colors in a muted, dark setting is purely her fault. The reason she is wearing my pink hat is purely my idea. (Or maybe it was her idea. Now I can't remember. Oh well. Its still my hat.)

In addition, the above picture completely much summarizes what I know of Sydney. Laid back and not ostentatious. Quietly observing the world, but completely aware of everything. Totally fun (notice the pink hat), but doesn't have to be the center of attention.

Senior: Haylee

She smiles because she loves life. And it shows. Plus, its contagious. Even better.

I was only around her bubbliness for a few hours as we hung out at the fair, but I loved every minute of it. She knew how to make Jenny laugh, she could strike some serious attitude with Joanna, and she knows how to scream her head off on a serious carnival ride. Besides being so fun, she's beautiful, too! What could be better?

Okay, okay. So it does get better. She can compare apples to apples.