Life's too short not to have a little treat.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah through her mom, Ami, the owner and brilliant baker of Ami's Cakes. She had made the most AMAZING gluten-free cake for a wedding I had worked. Like, seriously, if you have anyone in your life who needs a gluten-free cake that is gorgeous AND delicious, hit up Ami. You'll lose your mind, but not your gluten-sensitive tummy. Ami started her gluten-free baking journey because of her daughter, Sarah, and after building a friendship over social media Ami reached out to see if I'd be interested in taking Sarah's senior photos.
Ami let me know that Sarah was a little disappointed that she wasn't able to do senior photos someplace "cooler" than Des Moines. Which, of course, I took as a personal challenge. One of my greatest joys in the world is taking people down the same streets they've traveled 1,000 times and showing it to them in a new light. When planning our session, Sarah gave me two clear instructions: she didn't want to do anything too crazy in terms of scenery/posing, and she wanted to get some Starbucks to kick things off.
Of course starting with Starbucks means asking mom for a little treat, though. And why just get one new tumbler when you can get two? With a little peer pressure from the two of us, Sarah and I started off strong with a little jolt of caffeine and some cozy coffee-sipping shots. Afterwards we headed down to the "Arts District," the area over by West End Architectural Salvage and the defunct Des Moines Social Club. (RIP we miss you dearly.) Sarah wanted simple backdrops, focusing on fun poses and keeping the energy up. We chased the sunset light to the Kraus Gateway Center, next to the Des Moines Sculpture Garden, topped off with an outfit change to a cute white dress that we all agreed was adorable and that Sarah was a trooper for wearing in the chilly evening air.
I love incorporating personal touches into senior and portrait sessions, but there's something really special about being able to just kind of exist in space while still capturing someone's energy. Sarah's senior photos are an embodiment of all her sides: silly, sultry, sassy, and sweet. While it wasn't the mountains of Colorado or the coastlines in Italy, I'm proud to say that Sarah was very excited with her end result--but I can't take much credit for that, because Sarah would 10000% bring light and energy to any space she goes.
