Senior portraits sure have changed since I graduated from high school nearly 20 years ago. I remember going to campus, after carefully applying an entire can of Aquanet, and sitting in front of a backdrop while someone told me to "tilt your head this way... turn your nose that way... don't smile so much...". The end result was something I have blocked from my memory - not just because of my giant hair, but because the portrait did not resemble me AT ALL.
Nowadays, seniors have endless possibilities with their portraits. Some shoots that I have seen rival editorial spreads in fashion magazines. It's probably a good thing this didn't exist when I was a senior because I would have countless, tragic images of me and my big hair.
But this post is not about me. It is about Bryce, who is an incredible young man who asked me to take his senior portraits. I don't usually photograph subjects other than kids and pets, but I thought this could be totally fun! After all, Bryce is a great "kid" I work with at the emergency clinic (I call him a kid because I was a sophomore in college when he was born, but I digress). I just adore the heck out of Bryce, who started working at the emergency clinic when he was just 15 and his mom had to drive him to work. He is a client service representative who works at the reception desk answering the phones, checking in patients, charging people out. Which means a lot of times he deals with stressed, scared and sometimes angry people. Which is a tough job for anyone - I wouldn't want to do his job. But Bryce is a young man who is mature beyond his years and handles himself amazingly well, and he has been a definite asset to the hospital. And sadly, we will be losing him this year as he will be graduating high school early and starting college.
Without further adieu, I give you Bryce, Senior Extraordinaire.
Bryce was pretty proud of himself for finding this particular scene... ADR is a commonly used term in veterinary medicine - it's short for "ain't doin' right". Not the most scientific of terms, but it gets the point across.
Bryce is a total dork, just like me. I think that is why we get along so well.
We decided to move on to PEC for some more photos. Since Bryce wants to be a vet, I thought it would be fitting that we take some portraits in a clinical setting, complete with animals and stethescopes an even an e-collar. Bryce, I'm not going to lie... it is a very long, very tough road you have ahead of you. Lots of late nights studying, wondering if you will ever remember the top three differentials for URIs in pigs (you won't) while simultaneously trying to learn suture patterns. So when you have those moments of doubt (you will), you can look back on these next photos and remember how you feel right now, at the start of this journey of yours. And not to mention, you can rock the cap and mask, always a bonus if your career requires you to wear them.
This shot was a total joke, but it ended up being one of my favorites!
After lots of silliness, we fast forwarded 10 years to see what Bryce will look like as Dr. Hershenow. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
We had some daylight left and we wandered about, stopping at the crooked bridge and wandering down to the train tracks. We even convinced Maddie to accompany Bryce on a walk over the crooked bridge... doesn't she look thrilled?
Bryce, you are an impressive young man. I am so excited for the what the future holds for you - I have not doubt you will succeed at whatever you choose to do. Have fun your senior year and best of luck to you as you head off on to college.
Congratulations!
