PORTRAITS | Alinea

I have had the privilege of watching Alinea grow up for the last six years from a little girl in to the breathtakingly beautiful young lady seen in these pictures. And not only does she shine from the outside, but her beauty shines from within!

I was so excited to be chosen by Alinea and her mom to photograph her senior portraits! I knew this would be a super fun and stylish shoot since Ali and her mom have watched every season of America's Top Model and because their household is a hot bed of creativity, ingenuity and yard sale goldmine find, such as the gorgeous vintage turquoise chair featured in the photo shoot!! It was such great fun to sit down with Alinea and her mom Heidi a few weeks ago to hear about their ideas and wardrobe choices, which included a daisy flower crown Alinea's dad would make and the grey tool dress that I would make!!!

We shot the photos on Campobello Island, a favourite family playground, and prayed that the forecasted thunderstorm would stay back just long enough for us to get in all the planned locations and outfit changes. We lucked out and only began to feel the wrath of the weather as we were wrapping up photos out on the cliffs by the light house.

This was one of those photo shoots that made me pinch myself in disbelief that I get to do this work for a living!! And it felt extra special that it was for Alinea and her family, all of whom have been fans and supporters in my journey as a working photographer!!

Thank you Alinea for choosing me to photograph you as you enter your final year of high school! I am so excited to see where God leads in this crazy thing called life! Remember He will always walk with you, all you have to do is grab His hand and trust that He has your best interests in heart, even when it feel as though He is miles away. And when all else fails, remember that you are beautiful, your are important and you are loved by many.

Love & Sunshine,

Shannon-May

Did I mention that Alinea's dad made the flower crown... and I made the dress?!

Thank you to the ladies at Pure Hair in Saint Andrews for the ab-fab hair and make-up!!

PORTRAITS | HS Senior Spokesmodels Class of 2013

Last year I launched a pilot program to get the word out about my high school senior portrait work. During the course of this program I had the amazing opportunity to get to know and work with some of St. Stephen High School's loveliest young ladies!

As their grand march and graduation festivities approached, I really wanted to celebrate their accomplishments will a final photoshoot, featuring their prom dresses. Just as their photoshoots last year revealed their diverse personalities, their prom dresses were even more indicative of the beautiful, unique, creative, timeless, elegant, dramatic, sweet characters that make these young ladies so wonderful!

Due to gloomy weather (and potentially wet weather) and my fear of their dresses getting dirty from the outdoors (before they had a chance to wear them to prom) we planned the shoot to take place at St. Stephen's University. I am so glad we did because the old Park Hall building was so perfect and offered various situations in which to capture these girls!

We started out with some casual dressed shots before each of the girls got dressed in their gowns. Here are a few of my favourite shots from each girl!

Jayanna - the elegant, the classic, the wise. Jayanna has an old soul (and I feel like we are kindred spirits when it comes to clothes!).

Catherine - the sweet, the shy, the lovely. Catherine's actual prom dress was not ready in time for our shoot so she borrowed a friend's dress... and rocked it!!

Caroline - the sweet, the strong, the determined. Caroline is destined for a career on the Broadway Stage!

Lisa - the statuesque, the creative, the brilliant! Lisa not only exceeds in the arts but she is also a brilliant academic. 

Esther - the dramatic, the intense, the adorable. The first time I photographed Esther she told me was born to be in front of the camera. Um yes.

I really loved working with these girls, and while I am still focused most of my attention on wedding photography I will continue to accept a limited number of High School Senior Portrait Sessions.

Group shot time!

Jayanna, Catherine, Caroline, Lisa and Esther are all headed to University in the fall!!! Join with me in wishing them all the best of luck and the brightest of futures.

Ladies, I know each of you will succeed in your studies as you are all following your passions and have chosen your programs well. My hope for you is that you will continue to see yourselves as beautiful, brilliant and loved, and that the world is a better place because you are in it. Continue to love the unique person that you are, embrace failure because it will make you a better version of yourself and enlarge your capacity to love others, and alway maintain the posture of learning because even a person who has lived ten lifetimes can still never know everything there is to know about everything!

Love & Sunshine,
Shannon-May