What made Stephen’s Whitetail Woods senior session different?

Here’s the thing about senior sessions.

The best moments usually happen before anyone is thinking about the camera.

Stephen was my first Class of 2027 senior, and there was already a connection before we even started. His older sibling had been a previous client of mine a couple of years ago, so meeting Stephen and his mom, Heather, felt like reconnecting with a familiar family.

We met at Whitetail Woods in Farmington for his session. And the funniest part?

We were literally sitting next to each other in the parking lot.

I was sitting in my car waiting, not realizing Stephen and Heather were right there. I finally sent a text saying, “Hey, I’m here,” and they replied that they were parked next to me.

That was our introduction.

A pretty fitting start for a session that ended up feeling casual and easy.

Once we started walking, Stephen had a lot of questions about photography. He wanted to know what it was like being a photographer and how I got into this work.

I loved that.

Because while I was there to photograph him, he was curious about the person behind the camera too.

And then I got to learn about him.

Stephen loves MMA fighting, which immediately became an important part of planning his session. We needed to schedule his senior photos before one of his meets because nobody wanted him showing up with a few new bruises right before portraits.

Timing matters.

Especially when your hobbies involve stepping into a ring.

We started with the lake as our first background at Whitetail Woods. It was a great way to ease into the evening.

No rushing.

No pressure.

Just talking and moving through the location.

Until we met up with not one but 2 families of geese. You guys. I don’t like geese. On the way out to the spot I wanted to go, I held out my reflector to protect myself and Stephen. We were fine. Until we started heading back to the main part of the park. The 2 families ganged up on us and started hissing at us. I made a run for it. I figure if my dog can barrel towards them, so can I. So I did.

Stephen’s clothing choices matched his personality too. He went with bright-colored shirts and fun shorts. Very casual.

Very him.

There was no trying to make him look like someone else.

The goal was to create senior photos that felt comfortable and real to this stage of his life.

And then there were the glasses. Stephen had just gotten them and wanted to include them for a few photos. I loved that.

Because those small details are the things that will remind him exactly when these photos were taken.

New glasses.

Senior year.

The person he was becoming.