After having asked a few friends to pose for me so I could practice the new skills I had learned from my first photography class, a woman I used to teach with reached out to me. She had been so pleased with the family photos I took for her that she wanted to propose a unique opportunity for me. Her daughter would be a senior the following year, and she imagined that having pictures taken in each of the four seasons would be fabulous. I still remember getting her text, and feeling my heart flutter in disbelief! I turned to my husband and said, "You aren't going to believe this!" I was just floating.
Our first session would be a winter one, but of course Michigan had the crummiest winter that year, and we almost missed our chance to have snow in the pictures! But we jumped at the chance we had, and the pictures turned out incredibly well, considering this was my first time ever doing senior photography. Lexi was such a trooper as her mom and I dragged her through the snow all afternoon! All the winter accessories made for such unique and beautiful photos! I've been dying to do more winter photography ever since.
In the spring, we decided to head downtown Kalamazoo to take advantage of all the great brickwork. Lexi wore a few different outfits, but my favorite pictures from the entire session were right here, in this fabulous alley, in her superman shirt and red converse. She's such a lovely and photogenic girl, it was easy to get beautiful pictures! I kept teasing that she was making my job too easy. This photo shoot helped me fall in love with the urban photography setting, and (as with winter photography), I've been trying to convince people to meet me downtown for pictures ever since! Most people envision their family photos in a beautiful nature setting, but I just love the broken-down, irregular textures and colors that pop up in an urban location.
To take full advantage of summer, I met Lexi and her mom in South Haven for a beach shoot. Somehow, I convinced this poor girl to get up early to try to take advantage of early-morning light. I was very worried about the strong, overhead, direct sun that you get on a beach in summer, which would cast harsh shadows. Totally not a problem for snapshots of your family playing at the beach, but not acceptable for a professional shoot. I was lucky to find lots of little pockets of shade to tuck Lexi in, along the edge of dunes and fences. Once again, this beautiful girl with her cute accessories and her mom's eye for detail made my job super easy, and we had a great time. I loved how these summer photos turned out, and my confidence was growing as I learned and practiced on Lexi.
Finally, autumn arrived and Lexi was finally a senior! The fall was quite warm, and we were disappointed to not have a plethora of fallen leaves. However, the deadline for yearbook submissions was sneaking up on us, so we worked with what we had. It was bittersweet to take this last season of pictures. We had been working together for almost a year! I had really enjoyed the challenge of photographing a senior in so many different locations and seasons. I learned so much while taking all these pictures, far more than a class or a book could have taught me. With photography, the important thing is to read and learn, but then to go out and DO. I will be ever grateful for this opportunity, because it allowed me to practice, learn and grow... and my posts about Lexi's pictures let other seniors in the area know that Erin Sutherland Photography existed! I deeply appreciate that Angie trusted me with the very important task of capturing lasting images of her daughter during the year before she graduated high school. No doubt this is a time filled with joy and pride as well as sadness and uncertainty for any family. I was honored to be invited to be part of all that.