Stripped Session 8

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you might have seen the first 7 stripped sessions.  These are raw, unprepared sessions with any of my senior models who wish to participate.  

Rachel was the first senior this year who got her session on the calendar prior to her graduation weekend.  A few of my other seniors who plan to also do the session graduated this past weekend, so we decided to wait until later in the month. 

 It is always funny to see my senior models walk in for this session as they remind me of when they came to their first model shoot; excited and a little nervous.  I do not explain exactly what we are going to be doing until they arrive at the studio.  Though I have shared past sessions with them, they are still unsure as usually I want anyone I photograph to be prepared for their session.  Rachel was no exception.  When I had her sit down in front of my camera on a tripod and ring light, I explained what we will be doing and with a sigh of relief she said "Oh ok.  I can do that.  I have been excited for this session, actually."  

Rachel is a very expressive person.  You can see what she is feeling just by looking at her face.  So, Rachel, I wouldn't get into any games of poker anytime soon. :)  She is also very expressive with her hands when she is talking, especially when she is excited which I love as I probably couldn't talk without my hands.  We spent about one hour together talking about how she is feeling about graduation, going off to college, how much her family and mentors mean to her and also some of the bullying she experienced in middle school and high school.  I am not going to include some of what other students did to her during those times as I feel those types of actions do not deserve publication.  What I do feel deserves publication is how Rachel has overcome the bullying even though she will not forget it. 

Rachel will be attending Wesleyan University in Lincoln this fall with a butt load of scholarships.  Right now, she believes the plan is to major in music education.  I explained to her, if she changes her mind on what her future looks like at any point in her life, it will all work out how it is suppose to be.  

This is Rachel "Stripped"...

The camera is mounted on a tripod with a slow shutter speed to capture movement.