She showed up to the Orange Circle with her hair in curlers, a super cute bag stuffed with outfit changes and props, and a big beautiful smile. Her mom followed behind lugging a few more hangers draped with dresses and fairy wings as she greeted me with a “I’m glad we made it” look on her face. From there, we took off in search of fashion-y chic backdrops and antique architecture perfectly suited for our shoot.
I loved shooting with Kaitlyn for a few reasons… the first being that she LOVES the camera! (And I think it’s quite obvious that the camera loves her as well) All I had to do was set up a pose, and start clicking and she moved and grooved with me. *Click* (turned to the right) *Click* (smiled and turned to the camera) *Click* (tilted chin up and shot me a “smolder” look) I LOVED IT!
Another reason I loved shooting with Kaitlyn was she’s the perfect combination of “lady” and “kid.” What I mean by this is…. even though she’s growing up (and graduting high school this June) to become a beautiful young woman, she’s never let anyone tell her she can’t be what she dreamed of being as a child. Often times we adults lose our dreams… they become bogged down by what the world expects, or the socialization that our dreams are childish and should live only in our pre-adolescence. But Kaitlyn is living her dream… and she’s going for them! She attends a performing arts high school in the LA area and she does it all… theater, dancing, modeling, you name it! Kaitlyn, I hope you never lose sight of your dreams and aspirations… because I absolutely love who you are and what you stand for!
I love these two pictures because I think they really capture how awesome fairy tales can be…. in real life.
We changed outfits after a little while and did some shots with her super cute “New York” outfit. New York City, Musicals, bright colors, rain boots, and peace signs are some of the many things Kaitlyn loves… and they turned out awesome!
Work it girl!
Our last destination for the day was Peter’s Canyon Regional Park. I love this place for many reasons (….like it’s a great 5.12 mile run and it’s waaay better than running on the sidewalk) and I thought this place would be the perfect place to take the “whimsey” portion of the shoot. See, when Kaitlyn and I met for the styling meeting prior to the shoot, she voiced the desire to have a section of the shoot with a “whimsey feel” to it. What is Whimsey? Well… here’s what we came up with…
Most little girls abandon the fairy princess ambition when they’re still young… but I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Kaitlyn IS a fairy princess, even as an almost high school graduate. And who knows… maybe she’ll make it far enough as a professional to become the fairy princess future little girls all over the world will get to dream of becoming. Remember, anything worth living for comes with a risk. A risk to crash and burn, or to do what you’ve always dreamed of. Life is not always perfect and there’s a lot of hard things that try to trip you up and make you abandon your dreams. But keep taking risks and always pick yourself back up… because living your dream is the only way to live fully!
Kaitlyn, it was a pleasure! Thank you so much for choosing me to document such a fun time in your life! Cheers!
