JDP senior kayla

Mom’s in a little bit of disbelief that Kayla is on the verge of her senior year.  She wants this year to go on forever, but she knows time stops for no one. Fortunately she has an amazing collection of images that will help to ease her sadness as Kayla leaves for college in a year! 

It seems like the blink of an eye since Jennifer was a young mother expecting her first child.  Sixteen years ago she was scared and found herself at one of her favorite spots,  Gambrils State Park.  This was her place to regroup and journal to help bring clarity and calm to the roller coaster she was on anticipating the birth of her first child. 

It was a cloudy day at the park and Jennifer uttered a simple prayer, “God I need Your help to do this.”   She watched the clouds slip away and in their place the sun shone brightly at the moment she uttered her prayer.  Immediately her fear slipped away with the clouds.  Jennifer knew she could do this and Kayla has been a blessing to her life ever since!  Jennifer couldn’t be any prouder of the young woman Kayla has become today!

These two laughed throughout the entire session and mom was a great assistant to me for all our creations!

I knew this was a special mother/daughter dynamic from the very start of our session.  While Jennifer was bringing out Kayla’s outfits for the session, Kayla’s shirt got caught on the Jeep door hinge.  This resulted in a big oil smear on the sleeve.  Jennifer felt horrible but Kayla shrugged it off and assured her mom it was ok. 

I know this  may seem like a small thing to a lot of people, but it made a big  impression on me. I’ve seen many girls who would have gone into  hysterics over something like this.   Not Kayla—she was cool as a  cucumber through her whole sesison!

I realized pretty quickly that Kayla exudes a grace and maturity that is far beyong her years.  What a delight to photograph!

This was the first jersey Kayla’s dad gave her to celebrate their Redskin love! She’s pretty sure he’s going to love this!

Kayla’s been a dancer her whole life.  I shot one of her best friend’s senior portrait session last year, Lindsey.  When Kayla saw Lindsey’s photos she knew she wanted to have her own love of dance commemorated and celebrated in her senior portraits.  We had a blast creating this art with her love of dance!  I’ve said it many times—I love photographing dancers!

Lindsey was eager to create unique portraiture and we shared a vision for creating some amazing pieces!

Mom has some really cool uniquely designed decor in her home and now this will be on her walls in a 24×36 canvas—amazingly both Kayla and Mom were able to come to agreement on their favorite for a wall canvas! 

Kayla I wish you all the best as you enjoy your last year of highschool!  Know your mother’s probably going to hug you about 100x a day for the next 365 days, hoping they’ll hold you over in between your months away at school!