Ana

Hiiii. I want to say that I’ve been too busy to blog, and while true I probably also need to get in a new groove when it comes to blogging. Traditionally (and by traditionally, I mean: from birth to around 2020/2021) I’ve been a night owl, so throughout my adulthood I usually found 9 to 10p to be my prime (blogging) time.

Nowadays? I’m crawling into bed at that time, so I can get up in the wee hours and hit the basement gym.

Soooo! Yeah I mean – there’s been a major lack of posts lately and to be honest: I’ve struggled to find the time since I started forcing myself to be a “morning person”.

Still figuring that one out, but I’m gonna get there I promise because there is still a lot to get blogged here.

Anyway!

Back to the matter at hand. Picture 2022, late summer, my dear friend Becky asked me if I could take Senior Pictures of her daughter, Anastasia. I’ve seen Ana here and there at get-togethers and back when I first met her, she was a wee 7-year-old little wiry sprite of a thing, with a shock of white-blonde hair and all the energy in the world. Now she is somehow an actual almost-adult being, a Senior in high school and looking forward to UW in the fall.

Huh.

(when did we all get old enough to have these old ass kids, tho, I’m serious.)

Anyway: I immediately agreed but also immediately felt a sense of dread wash over me. When I had my Senior Pictures done in the 1990s, you washed/blow-dried yer hair during your regular morning shower (and dry those wispy bangs straight, motherfucker!) and slapped on some Maybelline makeup. Then you put on That Dreadful JCPenney Outfit Your Mom Specifically Bought You Butttt You Wore It With Your Doc Martens Because: Grunge Rebel, Babyyyy.

Now? At minimum, it means weeks of prep including juice cleanse, spa day, mani/pedi, a personal shopping day of no less than 4 outfit changes, and a full day of tanning/makeup/hair/stylist prep.

I am not a person that is “professional” enough for that level, y’all.

So needless to say, I had my prepwork cut out for me. I watched about 20 hours of YouTube tutorials, and breathed heavy into a paper bag for about a week. My only request was that they meet me in my neighborhood for this thing instead of picking their own shoot locations.

Listen: our tiny downtown area is just a few blocks down from me, and I’m familiar with the cute vibes of some random neighborhood yards. I can piece together a shoot from there, and I’d be less anxious for sure. We then compromised, because they really wanted to drive out to Epic campus for some final pictures (I had never been, but was willing to give it a whirl). Then all there was to do was to wait (dread?) for the day to come.

Turns out: all that worry for naught. Ana showed up cheerful and fresh-faced. No makeup, hair in a loose pony (that her mom insisted she take down), a few different sweaters/dresses stuffed in an old backpack slung over her shoulder. Her hair is quite a bit darker now and she is hella taller with a LOT of muscle, but she’s also the same old Ana I met all those years ago: sweet and wild and full of energy.

We met at a coffeeshop, her mom Becky and her boyfriend also in tow. Then I had her walk up and down this block outside the shop, while we chatted and took some test shots and warmed us all up to the idea of me pretending to be a Senior photographer.

Got a few decent ones!

Also got a lot of laughs when I tried some other things out. For one, I learned real quick that she was gonna bust up anytime I asked for a more serious face.

Meh, that’s okay. Be you, sis. We then walked around the area for a little bit, stopping here and there when the light was good and the background worthy of shooting.

Soon we headed over to my house, where she did a quick change into a dress and we walked down to a nearby walking trail.

(An aside here to say her boyfriend was a true gentleman; carried a step-stool for me the entire time and would protectively put a foot on the bottom to ensure I didn’t topple over when using it.)

Anyway: back to Ana.

We walked to the end of the trail and then looped back towards my house. Found a few cute walkways for photos along the way. This house’s landscaping was *chef’s kiss*.

And finally: one last outfit change at my house, then we drove over to Epic campus.

Epic is a healthcare software company and they are (1) HUGE and (2) have a beautiful campus. I’ve heard it’s an incredibly demanding workplace but I have to admit the grounds at least are beautiful.

Parked and right away I kinda dug the parking garage so we took her volleyball photos right then and there.

Even got in a little back n’ forth with her mom.

And then: she swapped the jersey for an oversized cardigan and we just walked around and got a few more shots in.

Love. Her. I had a lot of fun: we got some good shots even though I have no idea what I’m doing with teenagers, and best of all I got to know Ana. She will be forever one of my favorite goofballs.

Okay, that’s all for today, friends. Be right back (I promise!).