I've shot Abigail twice now. First for prom. Now for senior portraits.
And here's what I love about shooting the same person twice — she knows what to expect. There's no first-session jitters, no "what do I do with my hands" energy. But that confidence sometimes comes with a different problem: it can feel stiff. Posed. Like she's waiting for permission to just be.
I shoot documentary-style portraiture — real moments mixed with intentional frames — and that means we need clients to feel relaxed enough to be themselves. So we changed the approach.
When Posing Becomes Movement
Abigail arrived at Saint Anthony Main in Minneapolis wearing a white top and blue jeans. She was ready. But I could feel that senior-portrait tension creeping in, the one where posing feels like an obligation instead of play.
I said: "Picture Glinda from Wizard of Oz. Like this." And I showed her — the theatrical flip, the confidence, the fun in it.
She didn't know the reference at first. But she saw what I meant. And she did it.
And just like that, it clicked.
The "hair toss" isn't really a pose — it's movement. It's permission to be a little theatrical, a little fun, while still looking like yourself. Her whole body relaxed. The stiffness dissolved. And suddenly we had frames where Abigail wasn't performing a portrait — she was just being one.
We moved along to the reconstructed 3rd Avenue Bridge, where the light shifted and her energy shifted with it. Then to Stone Arch Bridge for the closing shots of that first session — by then she wasn't thinking about posing at all. She was just moving, just existing in front of the camera in a way that felt completely natural.
That's the moment I chase in every session.
Pride and Dreams, Side by Side
Abigail is a senior in high school. She's also an aspiring entrepreneur who started selling press-on nails with custom designs on TikTok and Instagram.
Her business is something she built, grew, and now runs with real accomplishment behind it. When we talked about what mattered for these portraits, that pride came through — not in a cocky way, but in the quiet confidence of someone who's done hard work and knows it.
But here's the thing I noticed behind the camera: She's still the little girl I knew when she was five.
That's the duality I wanted to capture across these two sessions. The proud young entrepreneur and the girl who can still be playful, dreamy, a little vulnerable. Not one or the other — both at the same time.
Weather as a Plot Twist
Minnesota weather has its own agenda.
An hour before we were supposed to start at our first Minneapolis location, it was drizzling. Then raining. I watched the forecast and texted Abigail — "Let's see what happens." Because sometimes the worst weather makes the best light.
By golden hour, the clouds broke. The sun came out just right. And we shot across Saint Anthony Main, the reconstructed 3rd Avenue Bridge, and Stone Arch Bridge with light that looked like it was painted just for her. That's Bright True-to-Color light — warm, real to her skin and the scene, with depth underneath.
That's not luck — or maybe it is, but it's also why I always have a weather-reschedule plan. You can't force golden hour, but you can show up ready for it when it comes.
Two Locations, Two Versions of the Same Girl
Our second session took us to Lake Elmo and the Woodbury area. Different light. Different vibe. Abigail in a blue dress — dreamy, soft, fitting that quieter side of her story.
The nature shots told a different part of her senior year than the Minneapolis cityscape did. The city frames said accomplished, confident, moving forward. The outdoor frames said reflective, grounded, still becoming.
That's why we booked two locations. Because Abigail isn't just one thing.
What I Learned Shooting Her Again
Recurring clients teach you something every time.
With Abigail, it was that confidence doesn't always mean you don't need direction — it means you need different direction. Not "smile bigger" or "relax your shoulders." More like "do something that feels like you," and then get out of the way.
It was that weather drama can make a session instead of ruin it, if you show up calm about it.
And it was that sometimes the most important frames are the ones where you can see both who someone is and who they're becoming.