This isn’t just any senior.  Nadera is one of my past students.  It’s a good story, so please keep reading…

In 2003, I was a twenty-four-year-old first-year teacher at Brookside Elementary in Nicholasville, KY.  I was assigned to the position of reading teacher for the entire fifth grade.  Over 120 kids.  Yikes.

I wasn’t exactly a conventional teacher.  I played music in the classroom…alot.  We had a lot of free reading days.  After all, what better way to teach reading than to let the students bring in books they were interested in and not be tested?  We also read Bridge To Terabithia together.  We had some cool discussions about some pretty intense topics in that book.  And they got it.  Lightbulbs going off.  Thinking.  That’s the part of teaching I miss.

Give me a classroom full of people, whether five-years-old or seventy-five, and I can teach them.  Still, to this day, I love lecturing, mentoring, being hands-on with leading projects.  Trying my best to inspire.

That, I was good at.  All the other stuff?  The classroom management, lesson-planning, teacher meetings…not so much.  That’s why I chose to walk away from the profession after two years.  I had an opportunity to jump into real estate, so I leaped.  It went well, and it freed me up schedule-wise to start building my photography business.  I’ve never been happier.

So that brings us to Nadera.  She was an awesome student.  Still is.  More than that, though, she’s a really nice person.  Even as a 10-year-old, she was the peacemaker in the classroom.  Wise beyond her years.  I wasn’t exactly a disciplinarian, but Nadera never really took advantage of the leniency.  Can’t say that for all the students!  But I couldn’t be mad at any of them.  I was a bit of a challenge to my own teachers when I was that age.  It’s all good.

Here a three of my favorite shots from Nadera’s portrait session.  To see the rest of the highlights, be sure to check out the slideshow.  Then check out the bottom of the post for a cool surprise.

So now for the surprise…If you were one of my first-year students in the 2003-2004 school year, then I’m going to offer you a special incentive to book me for your senior portraits.  The last shot of Nadera was shot after sunset using some pretty cool lighting techniques.  Typically, my senior sessions are two hours long, and end at sunset.  For any of my past students, I will keep the camera going after sunset (at least an extra 30 minutes) and we’ll make sure you get some killer shots like these, too.  At no extra cost.  Cool, right?

So give me a shout!  Let’s get your senior sessions scheduled while there’s still time left this fall.  Prefer a winter or spring session?  No worries!  We can set that up, too.

Thanks for reading ’til the end!  Can’t wait to hear from you all.  Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.  And be sure to leave a comment!  Bye!

Mary Ann and I used to work in the same real estate office before we both changed companies. I’ve taken headshots for her in the past, but this was my first time to meet her husband Mike and daughter Kendall.  Cool family.  They showed up and Keeneland all decked out in their UK blue.  GO CATS!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Nothing wrong with a good solid rock-star pose occasionally, right?  Totally their idea, and I love it.

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to hook up with me on Facebook and Twitter!   -shaun

Our friends Tiffiney and George just brought home their newest sweet baby—Spencer.  I dropped by last week to document some sleepy moments from day 10.  I love thinking about how big this world must seem to him, and what he’s thinking about when he’s smiling in his sleep.  He’s got a great life ahead of him, full of love from his mom and dad and five siblings.

Before I show you my favorite images from this session, let me just be really up front and honest.  I’m not a natural when it comes to photographing newborns.  I’m really happy with how these turned out, but I could not have done this without the help of my friend and uber-talented photographer Aseel Gomez.  I’m prone to use hyperbole in my writing, but not here with what I’m about to say about Aseel.  It’s a fact….There is no better newborn photographer in Lexington than Aseel.  At all.  Not even close.

Aseel came out to Tiffiney’s and George’s home to help me with the shoot.  I was behind the camera, but she worked all the magic.  She’s got the gift.  Like a baby-whisperer.  Thank you, Aseel.