Ten minutes past bedtime and the light was still on in her room. When I peeked in to check on her, she was curled up under her Disney princess comforter worrying her lip while her finger traced a path across Dr. Seuss’s masterpiece on feline trouble-making. “Whatcha’ doing, kiddo?” I asked her.
“I’m reading, Mommy,” she said with a touch of exasperation. (She was four. I was pretty sure she was pretending to read, as being just like big sis was a bit of a thing). But I pulled out Encouraging Mommy’s list of things to say. “You’ll be reading soon enough, honey. Just like Katie.”
“No, I really am reading Mommy. Listen!” And she gave me a word-for-word rendition of page 12. Stunned, because it was way early for that development, I thought maybe she’d just memorized a favorite passage from an often-read selection. So I grabbed another volume off her shelf and said, “Try this one for me.”
Sure enough, she stuttered her way through a couple of paragraphs there before I was forced to admit that my pre-schooler was reading on her own. “Who taught you how to do that?” I asked her. And with perfect matter-of-factness and appreciation shining out from those big hazel eyes, she said simply, “You did, Mommy.”
Styled Senior Portrait Session
We did read a lot when the kids were little. Who knew that was going to light such a passion for the written word in her? But it did, and we haven’t been able to get a book out of her hands since then. So when it was time to create her styled senior portrait session, there was no question what the theme was going to be.
She wanted to be surrounded by books – and I wanted to deliver her exact vision. We hit on the perfect location when we visited family in Tennessee. Kelly’s dad and I spent a lot of hours in college working for Bargain Bookfinders, so the idea of shooting the first round of Kelly’s senior portraits in the stacks where we’d worked seemed just the right amount of perfection.
Kelly loved the eclectic aesthetic of the shelves stuffed with well-loved second-hand books. It served as the ideal backdrop for telling her story.
Styling a Wardrobe for a Story Session
She chose a simple lavender tunic – solid colors in senior portraits will help draw the eye to your face, rather than distract from what’s happening in your images. And in a location like the second-hand book stacks, choosing an understated outfit can actually pull the whole story together. Kelly’s feminine tunic with the sweet ruffles, paired with her signature Converse high-tops was the perfect outfit for sharing her story. It’s so Kelly.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I’d say that in the case of this perfectly styled senior story session that’s exactly true. You can enjoy Kelly’s senior story in the gallery below, and be sure to check out Episode 2 and Episode 3 of her senior story saga, too!
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