October 24th, 2016

Location: McDowell Nature Center and Preserve

Nikon D750 and D600  70-200mm and 85mm  

      Good Evening everyone!!! Sorry for the flood of blog post but it was time to catch up and share these experiences. As I mentioned on a previous post, senior portraits are extremely popular this time of year. This would be another Crossfit connection via Crossfit Steele Creek. I know Tim and Shelly from numerous events such as SuperFit and Cleans for a Cure. We have become good friends over the last year, so when Shelly reached out for senior portraits for their daughter Abi I quickly agreed!!! We talked for a bit about setting up a schedule and choosing a location due to Abi's work schedule but we got set for a weekday afternoon session. Shelly recommended Mcdowell Nature Preserve and I was all for it.

I arrived about 30 minutes early so I could drive around and scout locations. The only issue is that since I have never been there before... how would I tell Shelly, Tim and Abi where to find me???? Well that's where the Ranger came in.. Yes.. the Ranger. Once the Ranger directed them to me, Abi and I went on our own to start shooting. Meeting her for the first time was a great experience. She was very cheerful and open which allowed us to click pretty quickly. I wanted to start by the water and there was also a pretty cool dock.

I saw a nice dirt trail that I wanted to capture Abi but the only problem is everyone was walking the trail. Which meant we had to wait for people to pass every now and then but the wait was worth it. With photography patience is very key!!!!

We then started looking for another location. Abi assisted finding this one. It was very shaded however it wasn't anything my D750 couldn't handle. We had to work around some rocks and bolders but Abi owned it. She did a great job and she kept smiling. Such a positive spirit!!!

While walking around I discovered a couple benches that turned out pretty cool. We were starting to lose light so we had to move quickly. After a while I didn't even need to pose Abi anymore. When I asked her to sit or stand somewhere, she just fell into place. See for yourself.

Time was winding down literally because our Ranger friend pulled up on us and announced that they would be closing soon. Which meant we had about 15 minutes. I chose 2 last spots to wrap the session up and even ended with a fun jumping image.

I cant say enough how much the Crossfit community supports me whether its family, lifestyle or engagement sessions. Its always a pleasure working with students heading out into the real world with so much ahead of them. Abi is going to do some great things and glad to say I was a part of capturing this time in her life. As always thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this. Take care and be blessed everyone!!!!!!