Meet Sydney, a senior at Pleasant Grove High School and a model with the MGP 2021 team. Sydney has added so much to our team this year. I Met her during her boyfriend’s ordering appointment last year and knew right away I wanted her on the team. She has such a calm demeanor and is game for anything, like sitting in the middle of the road for this oh, so sweet shot! She just lets out a little giggle and then says “OK!” 

Syd really wanted her senior pictures taken next to a barn and because this girl loves going on drives, her and her mom went looking all over for barns, where we wouldn’t be trespassing. Thankfully, we found this barn on the side of the road which was perfect. Then we headed back to Folsom and down to Lake Natoma to get some gorgeous photos by and in the water. When you have two bodies of water in your town it is always a fan favorite to have some portraits taken by the water. 

Kind, sweet Sydney has a lot planned for her future. She wants to be a cosmetologist and medical assistant, perhaps going to Paul Mitchell or BYU. She plans to also go on a mission in a few years! This girl has high hopes for the future and I can see why! 

Thank you for allowing me to be part of your senior year and hopefully giving one thing that was normal in 2020!

Sayonara 2020 Its been real… enlightening, challenging, boring and well just unlike any other year. We have questioned every fiber of what normal looks like and what life is supposed to be. It has been quite the existential crisis for some. It has also brought people together and helped them find their “Tribe”.

I highly recommend picking up and reading Tribe, by Sebastian Junger. Junger lays out the importance of having a tribe. Jerry Landrums Synopsis of the book points  to  he juxtaposes American Indian tribal society against modern American society. Tribal communities faced existential challenges ranging from starvation to murderous attacks from other tribes. In order to survive, each member had to do their part. Because of their loyalty to the group, freeloading, treason, and cowardice were rare occurrences; but when they did occur, the tribe acted decisively. In modern society, such cooperation for survival is not necessary. There is no need to work together in agricultural or hunting endeavors to survive. The result is a comfortable but isolated way of life.” I see this becoming so relevant right now. During a time of such such unknown, people are holding on tight to their beliefs more than ever and have found solace in finding like minded individuals. Their tribe is formed and through it they find their voice.

Now this post was not intended to get philosophical. It was meant to show off the fun shoot I did last year with my seniors right before 2020 hit. My seniors had so much excitement in their eyes getting ready to turn the corner into their last semester in school and venturing out into the real world. But the real world slapped them in the face in March when they learned that their little bubble of high school had been penetrated and all the excitement they looked forward to in the coming months would be stripped away from them. What did they do? Sure they cried and sulked for a few days but most of all they persevered and were resilient. They found new ways to celebrate, some were so creative.I was so proud of these seniors. Just as I am so proud of this year seniors.

This next year will bring so many challenges just like the previous but with time we learn to adapt to the new normal and we start to find importance in things that might not have been as clearly layout to us before. We have learned that we crave connection with others and we cannot get every joy in life from our devices. I hope for you that this year brings clarity it what really matters. That you can find your tribe and feel a connection with someone.

Throwback Thursday features miss Sydney and her senior portraits from this past summer. Sydney is Miss Folsom with all of her extra circular activities and involvement at school and the cheer team. She devotes a lot of her time to her school and keeping their spirits high during Covid! I am proud to have her on my model team this year. She has added so much to the team.

We took Sydney’s senior portraits in Old Folsom and down at Lake Natoma. Really paying homage to her hometown! If you know Sydney you know she is one of the most polite girls you’ll ever know. I cannot count the amount of times she said thank you during our session. I can still hear her sweet voice every time she saw a picture on the back of my camera she liked. we had such a fun day.

This red shirt and shoes really made these images pop. I love when my clients really coordinate their outfits it makes the images that much more visually appealing. 

When she put that blue dress on and was all in about getting in the water, I just knew we had some magical moments to capture in the water! The photos we got were breathtaking! 

These ladies have been such champs during Covid and not getting a chance to do much as a team. We had a small window before Thanksgiving where restrictions were lifted and we were able to get together for this fun session in this gorgeous Christmas tree farm. This is my fourth model team and every year it just gets better and better. We have found new ways to bond and get together during this tough time and it has brought us closer together as a team. Every time we get together I see the bond between them grow and it makes me so proud of the team I have created! These girls are amazing! 

We even shot a fun TikTok!! 

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and try to make the best of this tough time. 

TALENT! TALENT! TALENT! This girl has so many talents- from dancing to Cheerleading to a young philanthropist through the girl scouts. I am so impressed by her drive, compassion, and kindness. We decided to spend the day in one of her favorite places, Lake Tahoe! But lets back up bit to the moment I knew I wanted to work with Grace. I had found her through mutual friends/clients and could tell she was exactly the kind of senior I wanted to work with. At the time we were not able to work together but by a twist of fate she showed up at my office one day for a consultation (her mom had booked the appointment and I didn’t know it was her coming in). We talked about her vision for the shoot and what I envisioned, we definitely were on the same page. Her mom, mine and Grace’s energy were the same and I knew this session was going to be so much fun! Fast forward to the day of the session and the gratefulness that they showed me the entire session it just touched my heart so much. They had been bummed Grace hadn’t been able to join my Senior Model Team in the beginning of the year and at one point they expressed that. In that moment I knew I needed to welcome her onto the team. We had just lost a girl due to a move out of state, I paused and said “well actually we do still have an open spot.” I have never seen anyone so excited, and I am talking about her mom hahaha! she literally jumped in the air and expressed “Oh Melissa are you serious?” I was very serious! Grace and her mom got so excited and it just made my whole year! I need this type of energy in my life always! 

I love getting the chance to photograph my seniors with their parents. Jennifer was crying so much in the photo it was so touching. Off in the distance you can see their condo which made it so special to shoot in this location. Peep the dancing queen in these next photos! 

Destination shoots are so much fun! You get to explore new spaces and it really helps my creative juices flow shooting in new spots. We wrapped up her session on the beach of course showing off her cheer skills and then ended the night having a nice dinner together and amazing conversation. I love getting to go to dinner after with my clients it adds so much to the experience and I get to know them on whole other level. Thank you Grace and Jennifer for such a wonderful day! 

XOXO,

MGP

We started Maya’s session at the now closing Dimple records in Folsom. This place was iconic for all of those who grew up here and I am so sad to see it close. I am so glad I got to do one last shoot here! Maya is a music lover so this location was perfect for her. 

 We later went to another iconic location- Sunflower drive in in Fair Oaks. Maya and her friends went here for their prom dinner!  So of course we had to capture her in her prom dress. It was fun to see all the patrons watching thinking that this was for some magazine or something. 

We ended the day in the pool, which is probably typical for this girl. She has been on the swim team and teaching swim for quite sometime. It is probably safe to say Maya spends most of her time in the water! I love creating artwork around my clients interests and hobbies. It makes the session so much more memorable. The day was scorcher but we had the pool to look forward to. Every moment I get with this gal is always so incredible!