Senior: Ashlemarie

I am absolutely loving the opportunity to get to photograph seniors. You guys are so full of life, so excited, and in such an amazing part of your lives. You have the world at your feet.

[view her gallery here]

Meet Ashlemarie, senior at Marshall High School.

Sometimes, you don't even know what you share with someone until you dig a little deeper. With each of my seniors, I ask them to fill out a questionnaire so that I know how to better plan for their session. When I read Ashlemarie's answers, I cried. I flashed back on my own junior year when I almost lost my mom. Her father, a former preacher, passed away last fall. This girl is strong. She said, "Since then my brother, my mother, and I have been extremely close, inseparable."

Ashlemarie hopes to attend Texas A&M University in the fall of 2016. She plans to major in agriculture science and to become an Ag teacher at her soon-to-be alma mater Marshall High School. 

She says that she is about about as East Texas as it gets, and that her strong country accent gives it away. 

This year marks the third year of her dancing on the Marshall Mavette Drill team. She served as the Chaplin and Vice President during her membership of the FFA. She won numerous awards and participated at the county show in pig showing and the state level in the Wildlife and Forestry, Career, and Leadership competitions. She is also actively involved in her church's youth group.

She participated in the cosmetology program offered at Marshall High school. By the end of her first semester her senior year she will have 1000 hours and qualify sit for the state board for her license in cosmetology. She plans to work in a hair salon to pay for college. 

You are beautiful Ashlemarie. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you. 

Super Secret Senior Session: Best Friends

For our Super Secret Senior Session, Kaylee, our hair and makeup guru, said: "We focused on a senior session with a twist. We told the story of four best friends who will always stick together even through their differences. We had four different types of looks reflecting today's culture: grungy hipster, free spirit, casual sporty chick and geek chic." 

Scroll to the end to see the video!

From left to right is Mercedes from Longview High, Sarah Joy from Marshall High, Callee from Longview High, and Liz from Marshall High. Mercedes is our grunge girl, Sarah Joy is our athlete, Callee is our geek chic, and Liz is our free spirit.

Some of our best friends in life are often not just like us. They are often look different, think different, and like different things than ourselves. We want to encourage people to befriend others that are different and to embrace each other's uniqueness. 

You girls are awesome! 

Hair and makeup by Kaylee Whyte in Studio 18 at Sola Salon. 

Wardrobe provided by Krush Boutique in Longview.

Super Secret Senior Session: Callee

The fourth and final senior for our Super Secret Senior Session is Callee! So, funny story. Kaylee (the hair and makeup guru of the Super Secret Senior Session) knew a lot of these girls before they entered our contest. She works with a lot of the dance teams in the area. It turns out that I went to school with Callee's older siblings and her mom taught at my middle school. Small world!

Callee enjoys dancing, shopping of any kind, attending church functions and spending time with friends & family. 

In the fall of 2016, she hopes to attend Texas A&M University and major in Pre- Med to become a Physician's Assistant.

She enjoys staying busy with the Viewettes and college classes. She also volunteers through Z Club.

She has a laid back and outgoing personality. I absolutely loved that she's definitely not afraid to step out of her comfort zone!

Hair and makeup by Kaylee Whyte. Kaylee is located at Studio 18 in Sola Salons in Longview.

Wardrobe provided by Krush Boutique in Longview. 

Super Secret Senior Session: Sarah Joy

The third senior in our Super Secret Senior Session is Sarah Joy of Marshall. She played our athlete. As I worked with her on some poses, she laughed, "I am no athlete!" Guys... She's a dancer! Of course she's an athlete! 

I absolutely enjoyed working with Sarah. She's kind and very respectful. I later found out that she is a girl after my own heart. She. loves. coffee. :D 

Sarah Joy is the captain of the Mavettes, and she has a passion for dancing. I've seen some of her jumps for Mavettes on Instagram. She's awesome! 

Sarah Joy has been a die hard longhorn since birth, and she plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin the the fall of 2016.

She will pursue a degree in business while minoring in dance. She hopes to one day open up her own dance studio.

Sarah Joy works extremely hard in school so that she can achieve her goals. She is currently ranked salutatorian of her class.

She attends Immanuel Baptist Church in Marshall and loves Jesus more than anything. She is in awe of His grace and mercy everyday. I love her boldness in proclaiming her love for Jesus. 

"So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 10:33

Hair and makeup by Kaylee Whyte. Check out her new location at Studio 18 at Sola Salon in Longview!

Wardrobe provided by Krush Boutique in Longview. 

Super Secret Senior Session: Liz

When I started working with Liz during the shoot, she was all giggles. It surprises me that almost all of her pictures are more serious, because that is not Liz at all. Her laugh and smile are contagious! 

Liz says that she is very close to her family, and that her biggest supporters are her grandparents. 

Liz is a senior at Marshall High School. She plans to first attend Texas State University in San Marcos and then pursue a medical degree and specialize in pediatric surgery. 

Isn't she gorgeous?!?

This was one of the shots that I was so excited to do for the shoot! I specifically ordered red smoke grenades because Liz attends Marshall. Guys, smoke grenades are just way too much fun!! 

Those eyes. 

Thanks, Liz! You are amazing! God has so much planned for you!

Hair and makeup by Kaylee Whyte.

Wardrobe provided by Krush Boutique in Longview. 

Super Secret Senior Session: Mercedes

When Kaylee Whyte contacted me to join forces for a photoshoot, I got excited. I had seen her work on Instagram (follow her @kayleewhyte) and loved what she could do.

We decided to run a contest and pick 4 girls for a best friends senior session. We partnered with Krush Boutique in Longview and completely stylized the girls' looks. This was such a fun shoot and love how it all turned out. 

Without further ado, here is our first senior, our grunge girl, Mercedes from Longview High School.

As a photographer- a relative newbie at that- I want to keep growing in my art. So I set out to use a prop or get a shot that really pushed me. So, I settled on smoke grenades. When these arrived in the mail, I was more excited than I probably should have been. I was so giddy!

The following shot is one of those with the smoke. 

Mercedes is an artist. For two years in a row, she qualified for regionals at the annual V.A.S.E. competition in ceramics. 

 I absolutely enjoyed Mercedes. She's absolutely adorable and so sweet. 

Mercedes is very active with Artsview Children's Theatre. She loves to act. I could tell! We picked her character for the session, and guys- she pulled it off so well! After spending a some time at Kilgore, she hopes to work at Disney Land as a Face Character. She volunteers as an intern at the Longview Public Library and describes herself as a fangirl over things like bands, British TV shows, movies, youtubers, and various works of literature. 

Congrats, Mercedes. I can't wait to see what you accomplish in the years to come!

Photography: Coffee and a Camera Photography by Kimberly Peloquin

Hair and Makeup: Kaylee Whyte (@kayleewhyte)

Wardrobe Provided by: Krush Boutique (@krushlongview)

Back to School mini 2015: Burrs

For our Back to School minis this year, we had a specific look in mind: vintage and aged. Alyssa and I tag teamed this session.

Look at those eyes.

I love this. Siblings. :) Best. Friends. Ever. I have my own pictures with my siblings where one of us is attacking the other, getting on the other's nerves, or something similar. I love those pictures! 

I love several of the images we got of Ellie. She carried around a giant Disney book that we set out as a prop. She intently studied the images on each page. She starts school this year! I bet she uses that same intensity on her schoolwork. 

I really enjoyed watching this family interact. As we began, Ellie was a little nervous to be in front of the camera. And I completely understand! It can be scary! There's a reason that I like to stay behind my lens. ;) As we worked with her a little bit and her mom and dad made her laugh, she slowly felt more comfortable. It's like you could see her start to come out of her "nervous shell." She's an adorable little girl! 

Again, with the eyes! 

We enjoyed it guys! Best of luck this school year!