A shout out to the Moms | Brainerd Senior Photographer

When I was a kid, I undervalued my Mom. (Sorry Mom.) I think this is something that most mothers understand as part of the job. You hope and pray that one day your child will grow up and realize all of the time and effort you put into them as little human beings. Tying shoes, wiping noses, helping with homework, toting them to sports, staying up late waiting for them to get home—and a plethora of other child-related events that I have yet to experience. But I get it. That unconditional love thing. When I became a mother a little lock in my heart was opened by a key only my son had. And then I was blessed with another baby boy—who had a whole different set of keys to a different part of my heart. Equally loved. How does that happen?

So here's a little shout out to the Moms. The Moms that come along on nearly every senior shoot I do. That hold the hairspray. Straighten the necklaces. Gently brush back the strand of hair I didn't catch. Just realize that these women are going through something when these photos are taken, too. They are watching their babies become adults before their eyes. Senior year is a BIG deal. Adults are being formed, nests are becoming emptier. Moms, I admire you all. Because when it's my boys' turn to put on a cap and gown, I will be a puddle. PUD-DLE.

Another outstanding senior, with her Mom right beside her, was Taylor. Graceful, with skin like porcelain and eyes like Bella Swan-Cullen. (Seriously, in the right light they look like GOLD.) Have a super fantastic year Taylor. You are gorgeous and a true lady through and through. :)

Can you say BUSY? | Brainerd Area Photographer

August has always been busy for me. Day job = busy. Side photography job = busy. Family = busy.

But now that I answer to myself, I get to define what "busy" really means. And it means shooting every day, post-editing every day, design work every day, answering a lot of emails and phone calls, running kids to and from VBS—(what's lunch?)—making dinner, laundry, getting in a *little* exercise and, of course, keeping up with book club. (More on my awesome book club in a later post.) And all of the other odds and ends life throws in there.

I don't want to bore you with the busyness of my life. I get that a lot of people are really busy. But I also know that there is an art to time management. If you don't have a way to track your time and projects, you'll fall flat on your face. I do that sometimes. And that's when I get snippy, sad, frustrated. So I ask you, how do you time manage? I love Google Calendar with events and task lists. I love iPhone reminders. I love lists. I love folders in my email inbox. My left brain LOVES to organize. My right brain says "Let's COLOR CODE EVERYTHING! YAY!" So this is how I manage to keep life in order. It works . . . so far.  Speaking of which, time to schedule girls' night out. Color code: Wine.

And again, on to why you are here: Maddie! I'll cut to the chase. She is beautiful, isn't she? The gorgeous smile, natural curls and AMAZING smile. She is effortlessly a beauty. Even though she forgot her jeans (thanks Kim for running to grab them), the time still flew by and we got wonderful photos. Congrats Maddie on your senior year, and I'll see you next month for shoot #2!

It can't already be August. But there's an upside. | Brainerd Senior Photographer

Seriously? It's already August? Stores shelves are filled with school supplies and lunch boxes. Fall clothes hang on racks in spice-colored hues. *Sigh* Give me just a little more summer.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the fall. My list of things to like about autumn is huge: sweaters, oven-cooked meals, campfires where you can snuggle, tall boots, the smell of leaves, anniversaries and birthdays, and of course fall sports! Specifically football. I've always enjoyed a good high school football game. It used to be about socializing and running around the track when I was young, but now it's about the pride and effort of the players. These guys put 110% in to the game. Excitement! Drama! It's so inspirational. Especially at such a young age.

Plus, I tend to get little teary-eyed when I hear the pep band. Man, I loved pep band. I played the flute, but I could still rock Louie, Louie.

So here's Mitchell. Handsome guy, right? Plus a great football player. He tore his meniscus last year but he's back to play. Dedication! He was so good natured about the whole shoot. I kept him out a long time. Longest shoot this season! When I don't have to contend with skirts, wind, and whipping hair, I get lots of photos taken. ;)

Have a FANTASTIC year Mitchell!

In the swing of it | Brainerd Senior Photography

I'm getting into the swing of it—self-employment. Working alone in my office. Organizing tasks. Making sure to take breaks. But if you know me, you also know that I'm pretty good those things already. (Except taking breaks. I'm glued to the computer most days and forget to take bathroom breaks.) All in all, I'm figuring it out, little by little. Making sure I have enough time for my photography: shooting, culling, rough edit, proofs, social media, emailing, scheduling. And then being aware I also need to fit in my design work: scheduling, layout, copywriting, photographing, proofing, revising, preflight, send. There are a lot of steps involved in every facet of my work. But there's no place I'd rather be. Watch out, my swing is going to get better and better!

Speaking of swinging, the pretty gal below is Jenna, and she is a tennis player. Aside from hopping around town for some urban shots, we we also drove over to the tennis courts at BHS. The wind was killer, but the sun was shining and we were up for the challenge! Jenna and her mom were troopers with not only the wind, but also for going on my trek downtown, to Kiwanis and over to the courts. What can I say, I like variety! Jenna, I hope you have a fun senior year and a wonderful tennis season!

It's about timing | Brainerd MN Senior Photographer

The weather this week has been awesome. The sun is shining, the humidity is down and there is a beautiful breeze (a little strong, but keeps the bugs away). It's my first official week in my new studio being self-employed, and I've gotta say—I'm loving it.

I talked with my friend last night about how happy I was, just plugging away at my work with the music cranked up—in my bare feet—with a nice breeze coming through the windows. Fantastic. I got so much done! I said, "I wish I had done this sooner!" But she said "But the timing was right NOW, not before." And she was completely right, and I knew it. Before I did not have all of the great experiences I've had in the last 15+ years. My business is now ready to thrive because I learned, made mistakes, took criticism, had successes—and waited. Patience and trust. That was part of my learning, too. Thanks Big Guy.

On to why you're here: Bonus Hannah! Again, I feel like a broken record . . . but what a splendid lady! She's a swimmer, cute as a button, and could NOT hold on to "serious face" for more than 5 seconds without laughing. Which I thought was great. Her smile was contagious. (I found myself smirking behind the camera, a lot.) Her goal is to be an optometrist, which is such a great and worthy profession. Helping people see better . . . Maybe she can prescribe me some bifocals in a few years. ;)

How do you decide? | Brainerd MN Senior Photography

We have two young boys. They aren't ready to think about AP classes, post-secondary mumbo jumbo or anything like that. Thank goodness. When I was in high school we just worried about who we could compare notes with on pre-calc, who was going to bomb the chemistry test, sports, friends and of course, boys.

Young people these days have so much on their plates. Aside from deciding where to go to college (if that's the route they are taking) and what classes to take for college credit, they have sports six to seven days a week and need to juggle homework, friends and jobs. I really do think that this generation of high school students are going to be determined, well-rounded, upstanding people. They know what it means to prioritize! And the kids who aren't doing the sports and extra classes are putting their nose to the grindstone with keeping up academically, volunteering and just being teens—living life!

I sincerely hope my kids grow up to be balanced adults. I think we're laying the groundwork as parents, as best we can. Manners, hard work, fun and faith. Plus a good dose of boundaries. Everyone needs them. (Sorry boys, it's for your own good.)

The young lady below, Hannah, has her priorities figured out. And many of them correspond exactly to what I stated for my kids above. We found that we've got a lot in common (even music!). She was a joy to photograph. Although she wasn't able to grab tickets for the concert I went to on Friday night  (sold out!) I'm posting a quick pic at the end of the post for her. Have a FANTASTIC senior year Hannah, I wish you all the best! Keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right track.

A few hundred of my best friends at the NEEDTOBREATHE concert.

Golden light, golden girl | Brainerd Minnesota Senior Photography

It's officially my first day being self-employed! And I gotta say, it's already awesome.

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous lady, Kelsie. She was a fantastic subject (you can tell) and incredibly easy going—fun to chat with about a ton of different subjects. [Really, we were all over the board.] In the end, we got to know each other and also got some amazing shots. Kelsie, I hope you have a great senior year and that your next adventure is exciting, fun and rewarding. I know it will be a success with your great personality! Thanks for taking time to hang out with me.

Brainerd MN Senior Photographer