Country-Cute Vibes | Natalie | Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Country-Cute Vibes with Natalie

Marion | Central City | Wanatee Park

I started this blog a month ago (and when I say “started,” I mean I created a title), which was literally 6 weeks after Natalie’s photoshoot. So now I’m 10 weeks post-photoshoot and am going to attempt to tell the story of Natalie’s shoot, when I often have a hard time remembering what even happened yesterday. BUT I have a feeling that Natalie’s session will be easy to recall because it was CRAZY. So let’s dive in!

I did Natalie’s sister’s senior pictures a few years ago (also an unforgettable session, you can read about Emily’s session here) so I knew Natalie’s would be coming up! I had posted about a Spring Senior Photoshoot Model Call and she (or maybe it was her mom or sister - LOL) signed up so we got to planning a late spring session. Natalie didn’t care TOO much about getting photos done, so she let me plan it all. When I learned that she was a country music fan and that she was interested in a country/farm setting, I was pumped. It’s been years since I had done one and even longer before that! And it feels like going back to my roots, where it all began for me with my sister’s senior pictures on my family’s and a family friends’ farm and land - very country-esque vibes. We planned her session and with no rain in the forecast, we went forward with our session. What I hadn’t checked for, though? Wind.

This has GOT to be the windiest photoshoot I have ever done. And for a senior with long hair, nonetheless. We had our work cut out for us. I told myself, if none turned out, we would just try again another day. But we gave it our best shot - despite LOTS of frustration and patience needed - and we were all surprised at the outcome!!

Our first stop was downtown Marion. REALLY quick because it wasn’t built into our schedule but once seeing her outfit options while she was getting her hair and makeup done (Meaghan on hair and Lindsey on makeup), we felt this outfit was best suited for an urban vibe. So we made a quick stop, explored the area, fought the wind and moved on.

And this green wall was a heck of a find! It just made her eyes POP! (And blocked some wind. Win-win!)

Off to the country we went. I never know what to expect when I do photos on private property (with the owners permission of course) and just know I will make the best of whatever I find, because it’s going to look different than the last time I was there. And it was even better than we could have expected. So many “props” were out there this time- LOL. I laugh as I write that because I know that considering a cow pasture, corn stalk bales, and a livestock trailer as “props” is laughable to the average person. But we used them all. We arrived and realized that the wind was going to be MUCH worse than it was in town. We definitely got more outtakes than the average session, but we also got a lot more uniqueness with hair movement which I DO love! I wish we had some behind the scenes video or photos of Natalie’s mom trying to hold up my giant sun shade in an attempt to block the wind. She was essentially a human kite most of the time. Poor Mom!

The wind was working for us there, don’t you think?!

One idea Natalie had was to use hay bales.. and I thought “oh yeah for sure that will be easy to find,” but turns out those are seassssonal-ish. But also turns out that when I THOUGHT I was picturing hay bales, I was ACTUALLY picturing corn stalk bales. So when the farm owner regretfully said she didn’t have hay bales but sent me a photo of the corn stalk bales that we could use instead, I was like “YESSSS!!” But, ya’ll that WIND. WOULDN’T. LET. UP!! But I think we won the battle, although it didn’t feel like it in the moment!!

We even thought that breaking out a hat would help tame the wind-blown hair. And it did, but she wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of doing all of her senior photos in a hat - go figure - LOL!

Before heading out to our next location, we made a pit-stop on the gravel road to use the family truck - the same one we used for her sister’s senior photos. And AGAIN, these were some of their FAVORITE pictures from the shoot. It was decided that they could not sell the truck before all their sisters had gotten their senior pictures done with it! I think it’s such a fun idea!

Of course, after battling crazy winds all day and them finally settling down at our last location, a storm started brewing in the distance. The sunset was covered by clouds JUST as we were going to be able to start getting those gorgeous golden-hour pictures.. and it made the night end quite a bit quicker too. So now we were in crunch time. Last location was Wanatee Park, but we had a few spots we wanted to hit.

As we drove away for the night, it started to rain. Perfect timing and I’m so glad we ended when we did! The night ended in a bit of a rush, and Natalie had multiple ticks on her when she got home (YUCK! Ticks were particularly bad this year!), and it all just seems to fit the chaos that was Natalie’s crazy and windy senior photoshoot. Not to mention, I got a notification on my way home that I was being tracked by an air tag and I low-key was panicking that someone was tracking me. Like, when would someone have put an air tag on my car? Did they put it in my camera bag? I shouldn’t pull into my driveway, just in case! Why me? Maybe they meant it for Natalie?? Welcome to my anxiety brain. I promptly texted Natalie’s mom to warn them of the possible dangers, JUST IN CASE! Turns out, it was Natalie’s mom that had an air tag on her - LOL! Phew! But hey, I’m thankful that my phone noticed and warned me!

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!

Summer, Fall & Winter Senior Session | Makenna | Wapsie Valley High School

Summer, Fall & Winter Triple Senior Session with Makenna

Wapsie Valley High School | Iowa Senior Photographer

Last December, Makenna’s aunt Dorothy reached out to me to set up a plan for her upcoming senior session. Dorothy is a friend of mine, so she knew she needed to reach out early to start planning AND she wanted to gift her a session. (I was so surprised and excited for Makenna! What a sweet idea!) Dorothy let me know that they wanted to do a three-season photoshoot: summer, fall and winter. I was SO excited!! I had met Makenna briefly last summer when I did an extended family photoshoot for her and her family, so I knew we were going to have some fun! After Makenna wrapped up her junior year, I met with her and her grandma (who arranged the previous year’s family photos with me) and we chatted about what ideas she had for all three of her photoshoots. And after mentioning she liked colorful walls, willow trees, long grass, water and rocks, I came up with a game plan for her summer session! So let’s start there!

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Part 1: SUMMER

Newbo District | Pleasant Creek State Park

Makenna reached out to Nicole at Onyx Salon and set up hair and makeup, who her family had worked with in the past and started her photoshoot day off getting pampered (which turned out PERFECTLY by the way). We met at the Newbo City Market and I learned quickly that Makenna had brought a fan club! Her grandma, her cousin, and her bestie all joined her and I KNEW it was going to be a party! (Senior photo tip: bringing your bestie is a GUARANTEED good time.) We explored some of my favorite spots in the area, and I could tell after showing Makenna the back of my camera that she was feeling. her.self! She was ROCKING it! Of course, the excitement coming from her best friend Chris, definitely helped too!

I knew I wanted check out (or “Czech” out?! See what I did there?!) the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids because of their colorful mural walls. So we hopped over there, changed outfits (I ADORE this color on Makenna) and found some really fun, unique spots.

Next stop: Pleasant Creek State Park in Palo. We took the trek out there and found one of the last remaining willow trees post-derecho. We tried some cool angles with the willow tree branches, found the perfect path through a wildflower field (a fun surprise) and then changed outfits one last time!

This is one of my favorite spots out at the park, because it’s so high up that you get to see the water behind it. And the long grass was super summer and pretty, and had pops of little wildflowers too! We were snapping away (and sweating away, as usual for me) and who shows up?! Aunt Dorothy who had reached out to book Makenna’s session from the beginning. What an exciting surprise!!

By the end, Makenna was a pro and I already knew the next 2 sessions were going to be SO easy and fun for her!!

Part 2: FALL

Downtown Cedar Rapids | Palisades-Kepler State Park

The day we had chosen for Makenna’s fall session ended up being a little dark and overcast, but after some deliberation about rescheduling we decided to just go for it anyway! She had scheduled hair/makeup with Nicole at Onyx Salon right after her first session to get our date/time locked in. I LOVED how “fall” her look was this round!! We decided a location pretty far in advance but the day before her photoshoot I had scoped the Palisades out for another upcoming session and had a feeling she’d LOVE all the fall colors happening here! So the day before her shoot, I changed up our game plan! We met by the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and used that area, but moved QUICKLY! It was windy and cold, and Makenna had chosen super-cute fall outfits that didn’t happen to be ideal for cold weather. So we just kept the car running nearby and didn’t stay in one place too long!

After a few photos there, we drove down the road to White Star Ale House for their famous vine wall and then hit flew to our last stop in Cedar Rapids: the parking garage across from Eastbank Venue! I love this spot and Makenna wanted more of a city-look for this round of photos. We moved fast enough that we were even able to do an outfit change and get some photos of her in her second outfit here as well!

Then off to the Palisades…one of the photography HOT SPOTS, especially during the fall! It’s been a few years since I had done a photoshoot there so I was excited to try it out again!!

Aren’t the fall colors perfect!?

We drove to another spot closer to the river for some long grass and more fall colors! I LOVE how this whole combo came together. Isn’t Makenna so darn beautiful!? This was my favorite of her fall outfits. I just love that skirt color!!!

Then after picking off all of the burrs (lol) we changed outfits and headed to the famous beaches of the Palisades! We did some leaf-tossing, rock-climbing and dog-wrangling and were able to capture some amazing and fun shots!! The ones with Makenna and her beloved dogs are definitely my FAVE!

After wrapping up adorable puppy photos, we were able to just explore the area and get creative with posing. We had a few windy Pocahontas moments, but Makenna is such a natural in front of the camera and made my job so easy! I was already SOOO looking forward to her most unique session: in the snow!!!

Part 3: WINTER

Wanatee Park

For Makenna’s final senior session, we planned for snow, pine trees and all things beautiful about winter! This is SO hard to plan, because…. well, Iowa weather is known for being unpredictable. ESPECIALLY hard to coordinate and plan when you’re scheduling hair and makeup to be done beforehand. We chose a Wednesday the first week in February when we knew Makenna didn’t have school and crossed our fingers for snow and non-dangerous wind chills. She scheduled hair and makeup with Nicole at Onyx Salon and we waited for the day.

Meanwhile, I planned on leaving for vacation the next day but the flights weren’t lining up in our favor. So we ended up having to change our itinerary to fly out of Des Moines VERY early the next day, which meant we would need to leave the night before to stay in a hotel in Des Moines. Meaning RIGHT after Makenna’s session, I would be leaving for vacation. Talk about a whirl-wind! But as always, it worked it perfectly. I scoped out our location a few days beforehand. My criteria: snow, a spot without buildings in the background but somewhere with an outdoor plug to use my beloved snow machine to make some magic happen. I came upon a lodge out at Wanatee that would work for us! (I LOVE Wanatee for it’s many different backdrops it provides within a small park.)

Makenna, her grandma and her bestie Chris showed up that day ready to make this the fastest photoshoot yet. Sure, it wasn’t dangerously cold but it was PRETTY dang chilly. Most of her outfits were chosen with the cold in mind, but the last was a special idea (that I was pumped about) and would require A LOT of help and fast movements.

We started with Makenna’s photos with Chris! We planned on including him in a few photos from the start, but settled on the winter ones with him. Grandma came up with the idea of the amazing, gold “2022” balloons and bringing sleds. Oh! And the fun senior-year piñata Makenna and Chris made for class. To say we had a blast is an understatement!!

After a quick outfit change into her beautiful green jacket, we hit a different spot in the park for those rich dark greens we were after. I LOVE how this outfit compliments her eyes, skin and hair color. And that she brought her Honor Society metal to show off!!

And the last part of the session that was supposed to be the quickest. While Makenna got dressed in the warmth of her vehicle, Chris and I set up and test the snow machine. We wrap Makenna in a blanket and get her perfectly placed.. suddenly the snow machine won’t work. We LITERALLY just had it tested. After a minute of freezing and frustration, I sent Makenna back to the car to keep warm and Chris and I brainstormed. We decided to try to warm it up in the car and try again. After a bit, we set the blanket-wrapped Makenna back up in the perfect spot and the snow machine started working!! While keeping a blanket nearby, Grandma and Chris alternated on wrapping her up when needed and blasting her with the snow machine (one of them literally blasted Makenna directly onto Makenna that we had to pause to de-snow her… I won’t say who LOL).

When we wrapped up, all frozen, Makenna was SO excited from how much fun she had!! She hugged and thanked me and ran to the car to warm up… and I was off to start my vacation!

Multiple senior sessions are SO fun and we get so close that it’s sad when it’s all done. How amazing is it that you get to have different makeup and hair styles and SOO many different looks?! Totally worth it, I think!!!

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.

Cozy and Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Jaleah

Cozy and Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Jaleah

Uptown Marion & Downtown Cedar Rapids | Wanatee Park

What an adventurous, wacky day we had for Jaleah’s senior pictures!! We planned to meet in uptown Marion because of all the cozy, cute urban buildings and then we planned to hop on over to Wanatee Park and wrap up on top of Mount Trashmore. I’m guessing by now you’ve figured out that nothing went according to plan - lol! BUT her photos still turned out amazing and unique - and even better than I could’ve planned for!

So, here’s where our adventure began. I had Krysta from Make Me Up on her way to meet Jaleah and her mom at their home at 12:30, and them meeting me in Marion at 3:00. At 12:15 I get a frantic text from Krysta: “I’ve had an accident I will be late actually I don’t know that I’ll be there at all. I am so sorry.” Panic ensues. I immediately text her back to not worry about us at all, and making sure she’s ok. I didn’t expect to hear from her for a while, so I immediately called Jaleah’s mom, Barb. We had 3 choices: to reschedule, to TRY to find another SUUUUPER last minute hair/makeup person.. like they needed to start in less than 30 minutes to be on time OR for Jaleah to do makeup herself which she wasn’t comfortable with. We decided to at least TRY to find a hair/makeup person, so I called up my go-to hair girl, Chelsea. She works at a salon owned by a makeup artist (Acacia Salon) who might be available OR Chelsea has also been trained to do makeup. Chelsea answered and, like an saint, was ready to go. But Krysta called me immediately after and said everything was ok and that she could still make it. (Her back hatch of her car hadn’t closed properly and ALLLL of her hair/makeup equipment had been scattered across a one-lane-highway under construction in the middle of traffic. Yeah, I’d be panicking too.)

But she’s ok! Phew! Ok! We were still going to be running behind so I left Chelsea know that we were ok now (I cannot thank her enough for being ready to take us on) and decided to head immediately to Jaleah’s house to do her hair while Krysta focused on makeup. I packed up my things and ran out the door!

I’m SO glad it worked out like it did! Jaleah has SO much long, beautiful hair that we’re not sure Krysta would’ve gotten done on time in the first place. Like, it took me over an hour to curl it all! SOO pretty! AND I got to spend more time getting to know Jaleah and Barb, AND hang out with my friend, Krysta. It was a blast! AND if I wouldn’t have been there, I wouldn’t never known that Molly, one their dogs, was actually once part of the Deafinitely Dogs program (a local non-profit that trains service, disability and support dogs)... which happens to be my mother-in-laws (and her sisters) business! I actually took photos of Molly when she was a puppy!!! What a SMALL world!

We wrapped up Jaleah’s hair and makeup exactly on time. The weather was showing clear the days coming up the photoshoot, but as luck would have it, it started sprinkling pretty much as soon as I headed to their house. I checked the weather periodically while doing her hair, and it said rain, rain, rain, rain.. up until about 5:00. We made a plan to do our best with a clear umbrella for her photoshoot and if she didn’t love how they turned out, we could do another one a different day. I mean, makeup was already done all pretty - we might as well use it! So we headed to Marion.

It was still raining when we arrived.. and WAY more cold than I anticipated. We parked next to Zoey’s, our original meeting spot, and there was construction EVERYWHERE. I had planned on us just crossing the road but we couldn’t get through. So we decided to go around and meet across the street. We froze a little bit, but the rain was really light so we worked with what we had. Which included our first spot, under the outdoor patio pergola of a restaurant. I’m so grateful they let us use it. It was the perfect spot to give us hope for the rest of the rainy session. We explored cute spots and stopped for photos while Barb held the clear umbrella way up over her head! We must’ve looked so silly! But it was worth it! You can’t even tell it was raining unless you look closely. Of course I have to share the unedited, behind-the-scenes photos with Barb’s hand holding up the umbrella!!

Some of these behind-the-scenes aren’t quite the exact pose, but I love how they show the difference between what you see vs. what I see in each location!

We explored some areas, found a blue door that really made Jaleah’s eyes pop, grabbed a coffee, changed outfits and took these amazing pictures. All in the rain surrounded by construction! Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with us - lol!

Then it was time to hop in the cars, warm up and head to Wanatee Park. The rain had pretty much stopped by the time we got there and we took photos in a few of my favorite spots. What a great park with SO many little spots for photos. And I haven’t even hit half of them yet! Jaleah’s next outfits were not so warm, but she was a trooper and powered through. But she looked adorable and it was worth it! The first spot we used is this little tree area off the main road and it’s quickly become one of my favorites! How cute is she?!

Her next outfit was this adorable sundress and cowboy boots. We flew through this set so fast! The “open field” or field of flowers was my most requested setting this year, so I know the poses I typically like to do there, so that saved us some time. And it was super easy to get to. I love how the setting perfectly matched her hair, skin and outfit!

Of course I wanted to show off more of her cowboys boots and had to use the famous Wanatee Park drive with the trees lining each side. It’s the MOST popular spot for photos out there, I think!

Then off to Mount Trashmore we went. We were scheduled to arrive a little before 5:30 and they closed at 6:00 so I knew we’d need to hustle a little. When my GPS said “you have arrived at your destination” and we were in the middle of a parking lot of an apartment complex with no entrance in site, I wasn’t sure what to do. This wasn’t the way I had gotten there in the past. Barb said she knew how to get the other entrance, and I hoped it was the same one I was thinking. I followed her and sure enough it was… but it was gated up and closed. Sigh. They must’ve closed because of the rain. It was getting darker and I had no back-up idea. Jaleah had a trendy outfit left and another sweater/jeans combo if we had time. So we tried taking some right outside of the Mount Trashmore entrance, but it just wasn’t giving me the look I was hoping for with this outfit. And it was one of her faves! I really wanted these to be perfect for her. So I told them I wanted to try a new place, a bridge over the river that overlooked the city. It had a little off-road area that we would be safe to take photos in, and I had driven over multiple times but couldn’t remember where. We sat in our cars and warmed up while I pulled up Google Maps and looked for it. I FOUND IT… but it was under construction… ugh. I found another bridge that had on-street parking that I thought we could try! It was PERFECT!

The skies colors in the background and her dress.. it couldn’t have been better. I got all the amazing photos I was hoping for with this dress/outfit! And another one of my favorite spots was just a few blocks up the road. The sun was pretty much gone by now but I knew it wouldn’t take us long to get down a few blocks and snap a few in her last outfit. Well, I should’ve know for how the day was going that it wasn’t going to be that easy - lol! It turns out that there was a big event in Cedar Rapids that night. There was ZERO parking. So what was supposed to be a 1-minute drive, hop out of the car, take photos for 10-minutes turned into us driving around just looking for parking. We finally did, and ventured back to where we were before, snapping some quick photos along the way. By the time we got to the spot I was planning, it was totally dark except for the street lights that had just come on. We did our best, but we were all pooped out and cold. So we called it a night and headed back. We KNEW we got so many amazing images, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jaleah’s family LOVED all of her images!! I do too! I especially love the blue dress/city-scape with that cotton candy sky! That is the first time I’ve used that location and was able to catch all of those colors and I just love the whole vibe!

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!