Living in such a large city has so many advantages. One of the top ones is being able to drive a few minutes in one direction and be near downtown Naperville with shops and restaurants or driving a few minutes the other way and be in the parking lot of this large preserve area with a big red barn.
When we were first house hunting, I knew we wanted more bang for our buck and Naperville with its diverse city and cute little subdivisions was at the very top of our list. It seemed so far from where we were before but as everyone warned us, we would be living in the “Naperville bubble” and wouldn’t need to leave. They were right.
After starting up my business again after the move I had a bucket list of places I knew I wanted to photograph at. One of the top ones was to find a big red barn with open fields. Little did I know that there was one practically right in our backyard!
Enter this gorgeous 8th grader. Her aunt is one of my good friends in the neighborhood and when she reached out to me to see if gifting her a session for a graduation present was a good idea with everything going on, I reassured her that it definitely was!
My heart really goes out to these poor kids in all grades but even more so for the kids in eighth grade and the high school juniors and seniors. They’re at such a vulnerable age that having so many memorable milestones and events taken from them really will be something that will stick with them for a long while. So I knew I had to make this the best session for this gorgeous girl.
On the day of the session, there were some crazy thunderstorm warnings and if you know anything about me it’s that I’m a storm nut and terrified of them. So we decided to head out earlier than we planned.
What not many people know is that right before a storm, the skies give the most amazing glowing shade. Which you can kind of see and understand in the next few images. While the sky is dreary and dark, the sun finds ways to filter through the clouds to perfectly expose skin tones. I love it.
In the back of this pretty area is a forested section that ended up acting as the perfect blocking for the winds that started to pick up. We took a few more here and headed to the cars as the rain started to come down. We couldn’t have had more perfect timing!
To all of those graduating kiddos out there, we are here for you. We see you, we hear you. I would love to have the opportunity to be a part of a good memory for you before you head on to the next chapter of your life.
If you or anyone you know is interested in graduation photos, please send them over to my contact page. Getting in touch with me is easy and requires only a few answers to a couple of questions to make your session unique and special to you.
Location: Riverview Farmstead