The aunt with the camera

When our niece's friend, Kali asked if I would shoot her college graduation photos I was hesitant. Oh sure, I had taken photos for her friend/my niece, Kaycee when she graduated from ASU. And I took them of Kaycee's sister Kelli for her high school graduation too - but I considered those to be a little favor for the graduates. Plus, those girls are my nieces and they knew going in that I am not a professional photographer. I'm just the aunt with the camera. Always with the camera.

Well, Kali had seen Kaycee's photos and loved them, so when she asked me a couple of months ago I said yes and then proceeded to worry about it just a little since then. Not really worry, but... well... just anxious about how the whole thing would go and hoping I could pull it off because there was payment involved this time. Yikes! That always makes me nervous.

When Kali and I met up over the weekend she had her friend/my niece Kaycee with her. I thought that was great because Kali was nervous about being photographed, and I knew that Kaycee would be a fun addition to our session - Kali needed her support.

At the beginning of our photo shoot, Kali was quick to tell me how un-photogenic she is. "I take terrible pictures!" she proclaimed, and I told her not to worry. She told me that if, after our session, we only had THREE good shots she would be happy and so would her mom. That didn't phase me because by the time Kali was telling me how bad things were going to be, I had already started shooting and had captured at least three good shots while she was telling my how impossible that was going to be.

As you can see by the photos in this post, Kali relaxed and we really had a fun time at the park Saturday afternoon. I loved uploading my photos later and seeing the progression of her shoot. The first set of photos were good, but there were a few forced smiles or slightly awkward laughter shots. About mid-way we hit our groove, and by the end Kali was having fun with it and hanging from trees! LOL.

I loved the entire process of shooting Kali's photos! I loved the planning that went on in my head before the shoot; loved the challenge of proving her wrong when she believed she was not photogenic; loved talking to her and joking around until she relaxed and trusted me; and I loved knowing that I captured some beautiful images of her at this exciting time in her life. It felt like a huge responsibility and I feel like I delivered. I'm honored that she chose me to photograph her.

Congratulations, Kali!

And all the best for your very bright future, sweet girl!

♥