Every year for the past 4 1/2 years I’ve had the pleasure of working with this beautiful family.  My first session started with them was a maternity session just before they welcomed their first child into the world.  What a treat it’s been for me to work with them year after year as they welcome new babies into the world and every Fall to capture images of their family.  The kids have grown to know me and are pretty darn comfortable in front of the camera.  Here are a few of my favorite images from this year’s session:

It’s always so fun to photograph a younger sibling of a former Jamie Schultz Photography senior.  Back when Lauren’s older sister, Alex, came to the studio Lauren tagged along with us and I remember Lauren talking about how much she was looking forward to coming back to have her pictures taken.  The girls and I had a blast on Alex’s shoot so I’ve been looking forward to shooting Lauren ever since.   When she arrived for her session I suspected Alex might be off at college, but lo and behold Alex showed up to help her sister on the shoot.  Once again we chatted, giggled and giggled some more making it just as fun this time around as it was the last.  Lauren is gorgeous, smart and has an adorable personality which made her an absolute joy to work with.  Best wishes to you, Lauren as you finish out your senior year!

The past few months I’ve been hard at work photographing a lot of high school seniors so to have a little baby arrive in the midst of “senior season” was a nice change of pace.  This beautiful baby boy slept soundly almost the entire time I was there which made my job pretty easy.  His big sister was there to lend a helping hand throughout the shoot and what a good helper she was!  She is so proud of her new title and could hardly wait to have her picture taken with him.  Here are just a few of the pictures from the session:

Genna, a Visitation High School senior, and I set out to do her senior pictures with the hopes of beating an impending storm that was slowly moving into the area.  Luckily Genna was a complete natural in front of the camera so it didn’t take long to work through the frames.  Towards the end of the session we ventured out into a huge open field and decided to wrap up the shoot out there.  We started chatting as we were walking and stopped to shoot somewhere along the way…little did we know just how far off the beaten path we’d gone.  As you may have guessed it started to downpour so off we ran as fast as our legs would carry us.  By the time we were in the car we were both laughing hysterically…I’m sure it was quite a site for anyone who may have seen us.  Genna, I hope you have a great senior year!  Best wishes to you!

I’ve been photographing both of these girls since the were newborns and it’s been such a treat to watch their little personalities develop over the years.  The oldest one is such a sweet, girly girl and loves to chat about all things “girl”.  She and I have developed quite a bond and every time we meet she picks up the conversation right where we left off.  The youngest is a little spit fire (her mom’s word, not mine) but she’s right…this little girl can definitely hold her own and knows EXACTLY what she wants.  From the moment I started photographing her she had one thing on her mind…getting in the nearby lake.  At one point I was working with her older sister, tired of waiting for me she stripped down and headed straight for the water.  I made a run for her and captured the entire sequence of events that made her one VERY happy little girl.  It was another fun shoot and I simply cannot wait to see what happens next year.

Haley, an East Ridge High School senior, came out to the studio a few weeks ago for her high school senior session and I knew immediately upon seeing the red pants she brought with her that we’d be fast friends.  After I finished drooling over her wardrobe and shoes we ventured out for her photo shoot and had a blast roaming from place to place looking for just the right locations.  It was such a fun shoot and I loved her mom’s e-mail I received just minutes after sending them their preview slideshow.  I love those e-mails!  Haley, here’s to a wonderful senior year!

Well, it’s official…we are in full-on high school senior shooting season here at Jamie Schultz Photography and what a year it’s been so far!  This year’s seniors are so charismatic, ambitious and not to mention beautiful.  Maddie, an East Ridge High School senior, was certainly no exception.  Listening to her talk about some of the activities she’s involved with at school and her plans for college made me realize that Maddie is an incredibly hard worker which I know will take her far in life.  Her mom and her sister came along for the shoot and together we had such a wonderful time together.  Maddie, Becky & Summer, thanks again for coming out for Maddie’s session…I enjoyed spending time with all of you!  Maddie, I wish you the very best as you head into your senior year.

In the hustle and bustle of life I find it far too easy to set down my camera when I’m not working…I’m sure any professional photographers reading this can relate!  It’s nice every now and again to pick up my camera and shoot *just because* without any pressure or expectations attached to the images.  As my kids get older it’s also become increasingly important to me to capture details and memories so that someday my boys can look at these images and remember the story of their childhood.  So, I made it a personal goal to be more intentional with capturing images that tell our family story and spending more time working on personal photography projects.  In her book, “The Sound of Paper”, Julia Cameron writes that working on such projects can inspire change in the way you approach your art form and transform your end result.   I can safely say that this has been the case for me and as a result I’ve fallen in love with photography all over again.

Below are some images from just one of the photo projects I’ve completed this summer.   My goal with this project was to capture my grandpa (a.k.a. “Popo”) working in his garden.  I have so many memories from my childhood of working along side Popo in his garden and at 90 years old he still has his garden growing strong.  I wrote about it on This Lunch Rox if you’d like to read more, but I thought I’d share the images here as well.  I’m so happy to have these images of Popo and I know that years from now I’ll appreciate that I took the time to capture him doing what he loves most…gardening.

This little boy has grown up so fast!  It seems like just yesterday I was taking his newborn photos, yet here he is at 3 years old.  He is such a talkative little thing and has personality galore. It was so fun listening to him jump from one topic to the next and I love how serious he got at certain points in his conversation…as though he wanted to make sure I was giving him my full attention.  I could have photographed him all day long…so fun!

I first met Madison four years ago when she came to the studio for some headshots for an acting camp she was attending in California.  Now she is a student at a performing arts high school in downtown St. Paul and needed to update her portfolio with new headshots.  When Madison arrived for her session I had to look twice…what a difference four years makes!  The cute little girl I remembered grew up and is now a beautiful young woman.  Madison has personality galore and is so passionate about what she’s doing that you can’t help but feel inspired when you’re around her.  I loved listening to her stories about life at her high school and the various classes she’s had an opportunity to take.  It’s a far cry from the traditional high school experience that’s for sure!  Madison, I wish you the very best in all of your endeavors and I can’t wait to see you again in a few short years for your senior session!