This senior session was a special one for me because Katelyn is a former student of mine from Clinton Central. For those of you who haven’t read my bio, I recently left my job working as a school counselor to pursue photography full time. The hardest thing about transitioning from school counselor to photographer was leaving my students behind. As the sole counselor in 7-12 building, it was my job to not only know my students, but advocate and take care of them too. Katelyn and I were able to form a special relationship because she served as our office assistant every day. This gal has grown so much in the past 4 years that I’ve known her. I’m not sure I can adequately express how amazing it is to be in a position where I could have a small part in her journey to adulthood. I’m not going to lie, I teared up several times during this shoot because I was so enamored by how beautiful and grown up she looked.
Katelyn is a country girl, through and through. She’s a natural beauty that’s more comfortable in her cowboy boots than heels, and I love that about her. Every now and again though, it’s always good to go out of your comfort zone and that’s exactly what Katelyn did for this shoot, and man did she rock it. Mom is going to be proud, that’s for sure. This session wasn’t ideal for a few different reasons. 1. It was a 90 degree day and the humidity was INTENSE to say the least. 2. The park we had planned to start at had it’s annual 4th of July carnival going on, leaving us with slim pickens in terms of where we could photograph. 3. The second location we planned to go to was in complete disarray due to construction that we weren’t aware of. Another client might have been a bit frazzled by these things but not Katelyn. One major lesson I hope to have taught my students before leaving Clinton Central is this: When faced with adversity (Whether that be a literal road block in this case, or a roadblock of a different kind), adjust your plan as needed and keep going. And that’s exactly what we did that day. We might have had a few curve balls thrown our way but it didn’t slow us down one bit, and what a great session it turned out to be.
I’m so thankful I’m able to keep in contact with students through this new job of mine and hope to have the opportunity to photograph more students entering their senior year in the months and years to come. Katelyn’s session turned a literal road block into a creative opportunity. They say “The road to success is always under construction”– if that’s the case we might as well embrace it, right? I hope these photos will serve as a reminder to Katelyn of the little lessons like this that i’ve tried to instill in my students while serving as their counselor. I know this young woman has all the potential in the world and most certainly is in route to a successful future, good luck to Katelyn as she enters her senior year.
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