a fun Cap & Gown and college t-shirt photo shoot at Madeira Beach

Our annual cap & gown/college t-shirt photo shoot was so bittersweet this year. I adore this team and, after an entire year of photographing these beautiful girls, we were down to our last photo shoot for the year. It had been so much fun getting to know these sweet girls, watching them grow in their confidence, capturing tons of memories, and then watching them as they chose their dream colleges. It’s so exciting for them, but when you really get to know these girls, it makes it a little sad (at least for me) at the end of the year, when it’s time to say our goodbyes. But I always remind them of their free coffee dates that I’ll treat them to, when they come back in town to visit their family. What college student can resist a free cup of coffee???

My Favorite Beach

We did our final photo shoot at my favorite beach, of course… Madeira Beach! There is so much to do at this beach and the immediate surrounding area. We had not done a beach session this year, up to this point, so it was now or never with my team.

The day was perfect… well, except for the crowds!!! There were people everywhere and we certainly had to work our way around them. I was so very proud of them because they were just so confident in their own abilities to pose in front of the camera… even if they had quite an audience watching them.

It was so cute… at one point, a sweet onlooker came up to the girls and started offering her own posing advice to one of the girls. The onlooker and her party were cheering for them as they were in the ocean with their caps and gowns on. It made for lots of laughs. I was really proud of them for believing in themselves and for doing something that most people wouldn’t feel comfortable doing… but their confidence took over and they did incredible, as always.

Each girl already had their college plans set. They showed up in their college t-shirts and it was fun to see where they had chosen to spend the next 4 years. I didn’t know where they had chosen to go before the shoot, so this was so much fun to find out and hear about their plans.

Girls… I have loved spending the past year with you. I am over the moon proud of each and every one of you. Don’t forget… when you are home from college, call me and I’ll treat you to that cup of coffee because I want to hear all about your college adventures. You’ve got this!!!!!

Congratulations, Class of 2023 SMP Model Team!! Job well done!!!

Class of 2024: It’s not too early to start thinking about your senior session! My calendar is already filling up with requests to capture next year’s seniors, and I can’t wait to meet every one of YOU. Send me a note to chat more, or you can simply click the button at the top of the page.