bff

Best friends...

Someone who keeps your secrets, always has a listening ear, who cries with you when your heart hurts, who laughs with you until your sides burst, and encourages you to be a better you.

Someone you may not always see eye-to-eye with or completely agree, but who stands up for you when you haven't the strength to do so yourself. True friends may not necessarily tell you what you want to hear, but tell you what you need to know, and love you for all your uniqueness.

Alyssa and Jessi are best friends forever. They are tight, almost inseparable. They met in middle school in a bible study, and now in their senior year spend hours together encouraging each other's dreams and talents. One spends her days dreaming of music and dance, effortlessly scoring college scholarships, and working in overseas missions. One dreams of becoming a human rights lawyer, excelling at softball and soccer, dreaming of visiting Egypt(her favorite place in the world).They both dream of a loving husband someday, a house full of kids and strengthening their faith in God.

I am so encouraged that at this time in their lives they seem so fully engaged with the world's needs, where they will be used and what directions they will take in life. They pray that "...the world would not be so cynical, but more loving, and less selfish. People just need to be loved."

I agree... thank you Jessi and Alyssa. I loved the secret place we stumbled upon to shoot your session. You guys were up for "anything" and you were terrific with my insane ideas! You made this shoot for me so much fun! I wish I could show the entire session right here, including all those crazy things we did... it was a day of perfect light, awesome friends, and precious memories.

more of their Senior Portrait session ....

So what's a Stress your Dress experience? I promised to tell you one day.

It's taking your old bridesmaid, or prom/homecoming/gala formal gowns and treating them as if you are in your favorite t-shirt and jeans. The same goes for a Drown the Gown session... only we get a little wet at the beach, a lake, or even dancing through a fountain. (trust me, I have had clients dive off docks in their old wedding gowns just to get the perfect photo!)

I came up with this idea staring at the 13 ugly dresses I had clinging for dear life on the hangers in the depths of my closet, each from a celebration of my friends or family members' weddings where I was asked to be an attendant. All now have the rainbow of threads bearing dust condos from the last time they graced my then thin hips, and sadly never were my taste for fashion.
We abandon any hope we will ever really get to wear them again. They hang hermetically sealed in some space saving envelope until that moment we either heirloom them to our next generation or, perhaps the creative few of us, make Christmas decorations out of them. We think of all the possible reasons to try them on and see if they still fit, hoping to be a dress diva one more time, and be the princess we always hoped to be for one magical moment rather than a carbon copy of the girl standing next to us at the event.

"Look at us... we are beautiful too." That's what we would say if we were honest, and then twirl around the room like a five-year-old in the perfect light without background music (except the tune we hear in our heads).

This is how I want you to feel when our sessions begin... like the beautiful woman you are, but I want to capture the young girl inside who's twitching to get out and dance , twirl and leap with glee like a kindergartner (or at least one with joy and no inhibitions!). Live, laugh, love...like you mean it!




Here's the recipe:
Sift out old bridesmaids gowns, or those formal gowns you promised yourself you would re-purpose and
"wear again"
Mix in the attitude of your inner child, with a dash of diva
Fold in that comfortable feeling of your favorite t-shirt and jeans
Spread into a vignette of juxtaposed background elements that give us a hint of who you really are
Toast the moments in amber light with a generous sprinkling of waves, silhouettes, and muddy earth
Yield one great "drown the gown" ,"stress your dress" experience...........

NO ordinary girls allowed.....it's what's inside you that counts!


Thank you Erin for this session we shot so long ago... as usual you are an amazing, hilarious and spontaneous package, just as adorably beautiful as you were in that tutu when you were a little girl!



"my gift is how I see life...my art is telling your story"