As a portrait photographer, I am very much at the mercy of the weather, and scheduling sessions in November is always a gamble.  As often happens, my very last scheduled session of the season had been rescheduled several times as our fall was incredibly wet.  Nonetheless, I was so excited for this session to happen, and his Mom and I were determined that it WOULD happen.  It finally became a reality on November 21, and it was so worth the wait.

I had never met Riley prior to our portrait session, but everything I did know contributed to my excitement.  We planned to meet at Riley's home and take advantage of their beautiful wooded acreage.  I love using a new location as it forces me to look critically at my surroundings for the best portrait opportunities.  I also knew that Riley wanted to include his dog Chunky and get some shots with his guns.  Yay!!!  But, the thing that made me most excited leading up to our session was the impression I had gained about Riley from others who knew him.  It is common for my conversations with people to include inquiries about my upcoming portrait sessions and I am always excited to talk about my portrait work.  With all of our weather delays, I had many opportunities to mention that my last senior session was going to be with Riley.  Every single time, the other people engaged in the conversation would get a big smile and tell me that I was going to love working with Riley because he is so fun.  Wow!  They were right on the money with that prediction!  

Riley | Class of 2019

As I pulled into their driveway on that cold November day, I was immediately scanning the area and noticing all of the great portrait possibilities.  Upon meeting Riley and his family in person, I knew that this was going to be such a successful way to end my fall portrait season.  We started Riley's session by including Chunky, as seen above.  There is just something so endearing about a boy and his dog.  Both are equally lovable, but together they just make my heart smile.

Riley | Class of 2019

Once Chunky had enough of the spotlight, I immediately asked Riley about the great old truck that I spotted on my way down their driveway.  He had been thinking the same thing, so we made that our next stop.  I absolutely loved the rich colors and textures as a backdrop and the fall vegetation around it just pulled the whole shot together.  I could have worked with Riley at this spot all evening, but I knew we had so much more to capture.

Riley | Class of 2019

Next, we moved on to highlight one of Riley's favorite pastimes.  Riley is a busy guy!  He is active in football, wrestling, riding his dirt bike, and 4-wheel drive mudding.  But, he really gets that gleam in his eyes when we talk about hunting.  These are some great shots of Riley in his element.  I love that beautiful knife at his side, too.  Thankfully, the soybeans were still standing, and isn't that shirt absolutely perfect for this setting?  

Riley | Class of 2019 Although we enjoyed using props in Riley's portrait session, we captured some fabulous portraits of just Riley being Riley.  These black and white shots above are some of my favorites.  Riley's friends describe him as funny and outgoing.  I totally see that, but I would have to add easygoing to that list.  Not only was Riley totally comfortable with whatever I asked of him, but he was great at coming up with ideas, too.  This was a real collaboration and it worked so well.

Riley | Class of 2019

Ahhh!  Notice we are back to hunting again, but this time, the gun has some special meaning and purpose.  This is Grandpa's gun and it is beautiful.  For these shots, we ventured further into the woods and made what was left of the leaves work for us.  It actually started to snow at this point, but we didn't let that slow us down.  Riley stated that on the weekends, he likes to catch up on sleep, but really loves spending time outdoors.  What a smart guy!  With this gorgeous setting in his back yard, he just can't go wrong.

It didn't take me long to figure out that Riley is one smart cookie who is ahead of the game with regard to maturity and well-allocated priorities.  Along with his love for the outdoors, he is part of a beautiful and supportive family that you can see below.  He is also a very accomplished wrestler.  Whether or not you are familiar with the sport of wrestling, I can assure you that it takes incredible dedication, discipline, determination, and confidence.  All of these traits will serve him well as he moves on to attend the University of Northwest Ohio in their diesel mechanic program.  Riley is going into this program with much experience and training, but knows that this is a necessary step to move on up to higher management positions.  I am willing to bet that he goes even farther.

Riley | Class of 2019

When looking for a movie to watch, Riley prefers comedies and action movies.  Not surprisingly, he also likes catching YouTube videos about mechanical operations.  Texas Roadhouse is his favorite restaurant and says that "the rolls are to die for!"  I have to agree!  Riley's favorite portraits from our session were the ones with Chunky and his guns.  He was happy to be outside for his portrait session and liked that I was easy to work with and took tons of pictures.  He said it is hard to choose, but that is a good thing.  Well, Riley..... you are to blame for that.  You took amazing pictures and made it so easy and fun for me to be your photographer!  Thanks for helping me to end my fall portrait season on a high.  I just can't wait to see what amazing things you do.  Your integrity and big heart will be among your greatest assets.

You make the memories; I will help you cherish them.

Love and Smiles,

Laura