Sarah and I go way back.  She was this bratty, get-into-everything 12 year old when I met her.  She and her brothers were 3 of 5 kids that made up the youth group at First Presbyterian all those years ago.  In the past 5 years, we’ve watched Elliott and Caleb and Andrew B. graduate and go to college; Andrew S. graduated last year and now, Sarah.  I can’t believe how fast you grow up and how it seems like people don’t change until one day they drive a car, get a job, graduate from high school, and before you know it, they are moving to college.  In the blink of an eye, I’ve watched Sarah grow from a bratty 12 (almost 13) year old into a lovely, young, 18 year old woman.  When I think of Sarah, I think about how she likes to hang with the guys and how she really loves chick flicks and converse shoes and coffee and how she refused to wear her hair any way but down for ever and ever.  Sometimes I’ll see it in a ponytail, but only when a sport of some sort is involved.  Oh, and she loves cross country and soccer. And Sarah wouldn’t be Sarah without T-shirts and jeans.  Why the girls wears jeans in 92 degree weather, I’ll never know, but she does!

I’ve been asking Sarah when she would have time to let me take some ‘senior’ photos, and she would always say that she wanted to, BUT one thing or another would come up.  Well, when we realized that she was going to be away for most of the summer then moving to Athens to start college in August, I felt the need to make this session happen.  So I did.  I got Caleb to come and watch Henry, and we all went to her house armed with the stroller, the reflectors, my makeup and some clothes.  Caroline has a fun video of the shoot, I’m sure, so hopefully that gets posted sometime soon, but in the meantime I have my favorites for you to see!

Did you know that the hardest part of my job is to photograph someone you know and love?  I feel like I never quite capture the person as I see them, and I’m not usually very happy with the images.  Well, I LOVE these images of Sarah.  She looks like herself, yet a grown-up and sophisticated version; the version we will see as she ages and grows into herself 🙂

And now for some images…

I couldn’t resist posting this next one.  I mean, how funny is it?

I knew as I was shooting this that it would be one of my favorites.  I can’t choose between this one and one coming up…

This is Sarah.  

Superstar.

Thanks, Sarah, for your friendship over the years and for such an awesome shoot!  I look forward to the future…