Nothing about this year has looked normal. This is the class that had their homes and community destroyed by Hurricane Florence two years ago, then their junior year was cut short due to a pandemic…and now they’ve begun their senior year socially distanced and separated. These are the kids that are applying to colleges and programs they’ve worked so hard for over the last four years…only to wonder if they will really go to school next fall. And truth be told, many of these are children from military families that have sent a parent off to war at some point in their young lives. They have had many trials…but one thing I do know is that they are resilient and strong and fierce and compassionate and spirited!

So many of these kids have looked forward to being a part of this team for years. Moms often say to me that their kiddos have been watching what we’ve done since their freshman year…and now it’s their turn. Only their turn isn’t looking like it usually does. Their first shoot was all individuals with separate time slots. But now that they are all back in school together and we are back to playing sports in our local area….we decided to do the shoot.

Lots of these kiddos I’ve known since they were in third grade. This class holds a special place in my heart because the year we moved here, our girls started third grade and I was teaching fourth grade. I’ve hosted several of these kids for birthday parties and sleepovers over the years and our twins have made many memories with these friends!!

This year has been hard too because not only am I looking at things through my “photography lens”, but I’m also looking at things through my “mom” lens. I know what these kids want…they want to do these shoots as safe as possible… Moms and dads want to do these shoots as safe as possible… So we made a plan to keep things as safe as we could. The kids who were in school together, stood together….the kids who rode together, stood together….we did a few shots and then they spread back out. They are evaluated daily at school and they had to be well…sign a release and do their best to be smart before the shoot.

I’m so proud of these kids! They have had a tough few years….but it’s made them stronger and they have learned hard life lessons!! But sometimes, those are the best lessons.

(PS…this was done back in October when our numbers were lower in our area and our outdoors numbers were more relaxed….this is such a weird time where “normal” is elusive)