Lavender Field Summer Senior Pictures | Kiera | Benton Community High School

Lavender field summer senior pictures with Kiera

Newbo District | Pine Hill Farm | Pleasant Creek State Park

Kiera got the PRETTIEST day for her senior session! Her mom reached out EARLY to get her on the books for late July, the same time of year I did her sister’s senior photos a few years ago. Her sister’s session (her blog here) is STILL the hottest session I’ve ever photographed to this date! (Or it may be tied with the wedding I photographed in Aruba (that blog here)… So dang HOT!) So we were a bit worried that it would be a crazy hot day for Kiera. We met for her consultation, came up with some ideas that we thought would fit her aesthetic, as well as a mini family photoshoot we were going to do in the middle of her session. A few days later, I was looking at her questionnaire I had her fill out and I realized her favorite color is lavender and we have a local lavender field that allows photographers to rent the field for an hour. I emailed her mom and asked if they’d be interested in doing part of her session there, including her family photos. They discussed and weighed the pros and cons, and ultimately decided to go for it. And of course I was pumped to do something unique!!

Session day came, and almost the whole fam joined us for the day (remember, family photos were also happening later on). We met up for hair with Ingrid and makeup with Lindsey and Kiera LOVED how it turned out. And yes, that’s a spray tan for Bare Tones she’s sporting! And then we headed right outside our doors to hit my favorite spots around Newbo.

We spent a lot of time at the first spot, and hurried through the rest, as is typically with photoshoots with me - ha! And then it was time for an outfit change as we headed to Fross Park in Center Point to use their easy-to-access soccer net for some quick soccer photos!

After squeezing feet into a brand new pair a shoes, a round of bug spray and some fun experimental shots, we changed and headed out to Pine Hill Farm for the lavender field. It was mosquito-crazy out there but smelled oooh so good! We used half the rental time getting some SUPER cute photos of Kiera in the lavender and then Dad arrived and it was time for everyone to change into their family photo outfits. We snapped a few quick ones of the whole family, and then just the sisters. What a beautiful family! I’m so glad they did this - it sure can be stressful to plan for, but it’s worth it to have a quick update on family photos before everyone moves away and get busy with their own lives.

Time was up, so we headed out to Pleasant Creek Park where we would spend the remainder of the night. I chose this location because it had a few things that Kiera had gotten excited about: a willow tree, beach and long grass. We started at the willow tree. This area isn’t easy to walk into. The grass is LONG and thick. And we spent a lot of time getting there, got bitten up my mosquitos and left pretty quickly. But there were some wildflowers that we got photos with, of course!

As we waited for the sun to get lower in the sky, we headed to the beach area. I honestly thought we would have more sun on this spot at this time. So I pivoted and I decided to have some fun with the lighting here. It’s not my typical go-to style but after looking at my regular lighting vs this lighting, Kiera liked the vibes and uniqueness of this so we shot the whole location this way. I love it too - it just gives an ulta-summery vibe!

And then we went to head to my long grass location and the sun was just.. gone. So we turned around and tried to chase it down the hill and it just wasn’t happening for us. I later found out that there was a lot of extra cloudiness happening from wildfires up north and that would be why our sunsets were “off” that day and a few days following. But I honestly loved the unique vibes I was getting from this spot as well. Between the wildfire smoke and the campground fire smoke, we were getting hazy mountain vibes and I just enjoyed doing something a little different again! But we were still pretty bummed that the sunset was just gone.

And just like that, Kiera’s session was done! Isn’t she just a natural?!

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2025/2026 (or a parent of an upcoming graduate) - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!

All the Colorful Fall Vibes Senior Pictures | Bailey | Xavier High School

All the Colorful Fall Vibes Senior Pictures with Bailey

Central City, IA | Pinicon Ridge Park | Xavier High School

OOOH! I’m so excited to show off Bailey’s senior pictures. She was one of my few seniors that requested FALL this year and I was so excited to capture all of that COLOR! I met Bailey’s family a few years ago when I did her sister Maddie’s senior pictures. (You can see her blog here!) So of course I was SO excited to photograph Bailey as well. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again - it is SUCH a compliment to me to have repeat clients!! And oh my goodness, is Bailey beautiful! I’ve been asked so many times this year how all of my seniors are literally SO dang pretty! Y'all are making my job easy. ANYWAY! On to Bailey’s photoshoot!

Her photoshoot day started as all of my senior sessions do - professional hair and makeup! And it was Krysta and Aubree on the job!

Bailey requested a little bit more glam for fall colors and her final look was STUNNING! We decided to do her whole photoshoot in Central City. And I’m SO glad we did. We had originally picked out 3 locations for her, but after scoped out one of the locations, the colors and scenery just weren’t what we had imagined so we decided to cut it down to 2 spots. Which gave us more time to explore the areas and experiment in more challenging locations. We had FUN!!

We started Bailey’s session in downtown Central City and I had no idea what to expect. I had scoped it out, but until I’m able to stop and walk around and explore, it’s hard to know what you’ll find. I found a few key spots that I was excited about, but it’s a small town so I didn’t expect to find more than that! Oh my gosh! We found a perfect spot for each outfit! And I’m SO glad she wanted fall colors and vibes, because that’s definitely the colors that Central City gave us! Browns, reds, blacks! It was better than I expected!

Our first stop was a plain red wall. No brick like I’d normally chose. I didn’t really know how it would photograph. But I was obsessed! I took A LOT of photos here in our first spot! lol! I love how her outfit popped here, but it was still very “fall” and matched the aesthetic of the rest of the day. And, don’t ask me why, but I LOVE how the red paint just kid of fades off at the bottom of the wall!

Like I said, we took A LOT of photos there, and then we started exploring. We of course stopped outside my friend Sarah Fridono Photography’s studio because it’s SO darn cute! And ventured down to the colorful alley walls that I had used on another senior’s pictures a few years ago (you can see Avery’s blog here)!

While walking around, I came across this really pretty green wall that we hadn’t planned on stopping at but had to get some close ups to show off Bailey’s gorgeous eyes!

After Bailey changed into a more “fancy” outfit, I worried we would struggle to find a more “fancy” spot in Central City. I thought the all white wall with these stairs would look cool, and it did for the most part. As long as the ground wasn’t really in the picture because her cute heels just didn’t match the aesthetic we wanted in this spot and with this outfit. So we continued on!

After a short walk, we stopped at the library! I had seen it briefly when scoping out spots but didn’t think we’d use it. It turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL location for this outfit! Isn’t she just the cutest?! And then as we were heading back for an outfit change, right across the street was a bank with gorgeous brick and that looked perfect with this outfit, too!

After exploring Central City more than I thought we would, we changed outfits into her last dress. I had 2 more spots in mind. One that I use all of the time, the other that I wasn’t sure how it would work at all. And both were similar colors and tones, with reds, browns and blacks. Bailey assured me she loved the fall tones, so we gave the a go. First spot - the “I have no idea if this is going to work because there is a giant vending machine there” spot.

We posed her into so many crunched up and weird positions to try to work around this vending machine AND get the right lighting. It was a STRUGGLE but of course, they turned out adorable - I mean, it’s BAILEY! But, we didn’t spend much time there. It was too.. scrunched lol.

Last stop was the reddish brown brick building that I always love using. We spent some time here trying spots I haven’t used before and they all turned out SO cute. Then it was time to head to our “nature” location (Pinicon Ridge Park), which happens to be right across the street!

Our first stop I had picked out and was pretty unsure about how Bailey would feel about it. It doesn’t scream “fall colors” and she had also mentioned she really wasn’t interested in taking photos in long grass. But I couldn’t help myself. Almost all of my seniors take pictures in long grass at some point in their photoshoot - and they’re always the favorites! So I snuck in this spot on them. I also remembered to bring my mini peacock chair that I tend to only remember to bring once a year. Bailey was a little unsure if she’d like the pictures using it or not, so we only used it for a few. But my instincts were right on - Bailey said the long grass pictures were probably her FAVORITE! (phew!!! And the stuff in our shoes was worth it!)

There was also this brilliantly orangey-red tree right across the parking lot and I knew we had to give it a try. The park this time of year was FULL of color and absolutely perfect!! We STRUGGLED to make my vision come to life in this spot. But because we had a little wiggle room in her schedule, we got to stay until we got it right! And maybe it’s just because we spent so much time perfecting them, but I think they’re so dreamy and beautiful!

We changed outfits and drove into the park to go hunt down the perfect red tree. I knew my vision and it was BETTER than I expected!! How dang cute are these?!

We also, tried this huge orange tree, but there was a van parked in the lot right behind her so we struggled a bit there (and lighting was a little wonky) so with some creative angles (and also photoshop) we were able to get some super cute pictures and then head to the next spot!

The next stop is one of my go-to stops at this park - the path next to the bridge. My GOODNESS it photographs beautifully this time of day! I recruited Bailey’s mom for some leaf-throwing, too! If you’re doing fall photos, it’s a MUST right?!

And the last stop was my FAVORITE outfit of the day on the bridge. I KNEW this combo would be amazing! And she brought the adorable sunglasses I had sent her as part of my “I’m so excited to be your senior photographer” gift I always try to send my seniors! She ROCKED them!!

How BEAUTIFUL did these turn out?! The sun was pretty much set in the park at this time, so we wrapped up and headed home. I KNEW I couldn’t wait to show Bailey her photos in a few days and they LOVED them (so did I!!!)

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2023 or 2024 (or a parent of an upcoming graduate) - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!