A few weeks ago some of the Seniors that I photographed me contacted me to tell me that they were doing an article for the Chieftain Chronicle in the Tri-Town Transcript about Senior Photographs and would I answer a few questions for them.  I was sort of spacey and didn’t quite realize the entire article would be about me.  It’s one of the first times I’ve ever seen anything written about me as a professional photographer and to say I was so happy is an understatement.  Let me clarify, I am not “so happy” because I am “so awesome.”  I am so happy that every so often it feels like maybe my hard work is paying off and maybe I am doing a job well done.  After a season of questioning myself, it feels good to have a little confirmation that I am moving in the direction that I want.

It means even more to me because the article sums up a few things for me.  Primarily that we have chosen an awesome town to live in with a great school district and good, solid, family values and that with a little luck, our kids will grow up to be as amazing as the Seniors I have photographed this year.  Every session I shoot, I walk away thinking “this kid is AMAZING.”  And I truly mean it with everything I have.  When I say to the girls “you are beautiful,” I mean it.  To every one of them.  When I say to the parents “your son/daughter has exceptional poise, grace and manners,” I mean it.  About every single one of them.  And I have to believe that some of it has to do with the community we’ve chosen to live, and the values we chosen to instill in them.  It’s a town where supermodel-brain-surgeons-to-be still babysit and mow the lawn.  And where sports and academics are still so important.  And where for the most part, the fast-paced, grow up to fast, perils of high school are still sort of removed.  The town rallies around the teams… people still bring cookies to their neighbors… and everyone helps each other out.  So to think that this is where we’ve grounded our family and I’ve built my business, is amazing to me.

But this also means a lot to me because it feels like I’ve been able to connect with the High School Senior Market.  Last year, I shot about 10 seniors and said “If I do 20 next year, I’ll be happy.”  I think I’ll end up around 30, and still have a few more that need to book.  For me, it’s not about volume.  I don’t need every Senior at Masconomet High School, nor could I handle it.  What I need are kids, and their parents, to connect with my style, and understand my philosophy, and think “that’s a fit for us.”  And I feel like this year, I got just that.  I am not the girl you should call if you just want a head shot.  If you don’t want to keep the images I shoot of your children, we are probably not a fit.  But if you understand that this is one of the last times you’ll be able to professionally capture your son or daughter before they walk out that door, and that means something to you (and maybe makes you teary), then you are looking in the right place.

So to all the Seniors I photographed, and to the Juniors that are thinking about next year, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  And to those that are now on my text list for babysitting, thank you all just a little bit extra!

*To clarify, I was actually at IBM for 13 years!  Just about 18 months overlap!