Trey is a class of 2022 graduate from Blue Valley Northwest and participated on the huskies football team.
Speaking of pups, Trey says his dog, Harley Ann, is his "spirit animal". How sweet is that?
Outside of enjoying his time with Harley, he spends time riding dirt bikes, ATVs, and waverunners. I'm sure he can't wait for the summer sun to circle back around for all of that fun!
Trey is now studying to major in engineering and no doubt killing it! Good luck to you in the future, Trey! We can't wait to hear all about your accomplishments.
Savannah is a Class of 2022 graduate of Blue Valley Southwest.
And moved onto her freshman year to Pitt State!
She is inspired by the American surfer and shark attack survivor, Bethany Hamilton. If you have not looked up Bethany's story, you can find it here: https://bethanyhamilton.com/ - such an amazing journey and it's easy to see how she could ignite inspiration in others!
Savannah, we hope you are enjoying your college years and we can't wait to hear more about your future!
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Up on the spotlight today is the wonderful Olivia. Seriously, how stinking cute is she?
Olivia is a class of 2022 graduate from Mill Valley High School.
During her time at MVHS, she participated in cheer, tennis, broadcast, and National Honor Society. Talk about a busy bee!
Olivia headed off for the University of South Florida and is an Alpha Delta Pi.
She is inspired by her friends, social politics, astrology, and having fun with makeup.
Olivia is so very sweet and ultimately such a lovely being. We are so happy to have watched her through her Senior year. Best wishes for everything ahead of you, Olivia!
But, we're back in the studio and have our noses to the grindstone... so obviously it feels like the right time for another Senior Spotlight. Up today is Owen!
Owen is a Class of 2022 graduate from Shawnee Mission Northwest (GO COUGARS!) and he and Sarah go WAY back! Owen, Owen's older brother, and Sarah's oldest son all enjoyed the sport of soccer together. You MIGHT even say it's a big part of their lives, ha!
Sarah and Owen trekked around local areas finding the perfect spot for his laid back and easy going vibe and naturally, Owen nailed it! Looking and feeling comfortable and well, like YOU... is so important when it comes to your portraits. It's absolutely the perfect way to show your personality and what your vibe is all about.
Owen is just such a cool cat... do people say that anymore, ha.... ok, so he's the equivalent of whatever a cool cat is now days and we absolutely wish him the best in his future!
Up today on the spotlight is the sweetest young lady, Monica.
Monica is a graduate from Blue Valley Southwest and boy, was she a busy bee while she was there.
She was involved in Cheer, Choir, and was on the swim team. Outside of high school, she participated in jazz, tap, ballet and modern dance classes.
No surprise to know that music and dance and inspires her. Artistic souls are truly just the best, right?
Thank you, Monica, for trusting Sarah Ireland Photography to capture your senior portraits. Sarah had such a great time with you!
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Madison is a painter... a talented painter, at that! She paints apartments for a living, but has even bigger dreams...
Madison dreams of traveling to Colorado to go to culinary school.
Traveling and cooking... does it get any better?
Whatever Madison decides to do or where ever she lands, we know she will do amazing things!
I'm so excited to share this blog post today because Madison is seriously just such a wonderfully, authentic person! She was so imaginative about her session and put so much creative effort into bringing together a "decades" theme for her senior portraits. I mean, how unique is that?! And let me tell you, the gallery just screams fun.
Madison is a Class of 2022 graduate from Blue Valley North High School Graduate. During her high school career, she was involved in Color Guard and theater, which definitely explains her wonderful creativity.
She is now attending Kansas State University and is on KSU's Color Guard team. She is majoring in Criminology (pre-med) and what a true testament to how intelligent she is! Brilliant, creative, genuine, and an absolute beauty - the perfect combination!
Madison and Sarah had so much fun trotting around all of KC to make this wonderful vision come to life.
I mean, aren't Madison's visions for style on point? She clearly understood the assignment!
When prepping other seniors for their upcoming session, we often use Madison's album as an example of how incredible it can be to bring your ideas to the table, no matter how different they might sound to others, because honestly - Sarah has a knack for making those kinds of sessions spark!
So, bring those ideas... get those outfits and accessories... put some thought into the vibe and style you want to bring to your session and how you want your treasured senior portraits to forever be remembered. We are here for it!
Thank you, Madison, for being such an awesome individual! We wish you the absolute best for your college years at KSU!
Jolee is up on the Senior Spotlight today and she is such a great addition to this Monday. Looking through her album is just a breath of fresh air! There's so many great images that shows her personality!
Jolee is a Class of 2022 graduate from Mill Valley High School and fully enjoyed her year as a senior.
Sarah and Jolee set off all over KC to capture the best images for her album and Jolee's mom, Jane, came along too! And what a beautiful day it was!
Sarah and Jane have been friends for many years and they met through the photographer community. Jane is an incredible photographer but an even more amazing realtor and decided it was time to dedicate her full energy to her business in reality. So, side note: if you need a new realtor, you can check her out here: https://www.janegaschler.com/
Jolee is definitely a strong, family-oriented young lady who says her source of inspiration comes from her older sister, Macey. The bond between sisters is truly something unexplainable.
Jolee headed off to Johnson County Community College after graduation and has been enjoying her first year in college while being close to her family, but is getting ready to make a transition into a university. She has been researching schools and the towns they are in attempting to find the right fit for her.
We cannot wait to see where she ends up!
Up on the blog today is our next Senior Spotlight, Jacob.
Jacob won Sarah's birthday drawing for a senior session and it was so awesome to get an opportunity to meet such a great young man. His nomination letter included so many sentiments of how generous, hardworking, and genuine Jacob is.
Jacob is a Class of 2022 graduate from Richmond High and is actively involved in the National FFA Organization. So amazing to see young people take an interest and be engaged with agriculture!
There's no doubt how bright Jacob's future is!
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Up on the spotlight today is Jack, who is just about as sweet as his sweet pup. Bringing along man's best friend... or really any pet you have, is such a great addition to any senior session!
Jack is a Class of 2022 graduate from Mill Valley High School and headed off to Kansas State University.
Jack is such a neat young man - he's inspired by stories told in various kinds of media, like books, games and movies. He enjoys listening to R&B and hip hop music.
Help us wish him luck in his college year and into his bright future.
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Damara chose the "Multi-Season Senior Portrait Experience" and honestly, what could be better than having portraits from ALL the seasons of your Senior year?!
Having the opportunity to meet over a few sessions really completes the entire look of an album and is a guaranteed way to ensure you have tons of looks to select from!
Damara rocked her sessions and always came with the sweetest smile and positive attitude. You can tell she has such a kind heart and tender soul!
Damara is a graduate of the Class of 2022 from Mill Valley High School and was very active during the year. She was a photographer for the yearbook and enjoys taking photographs in her downtime.
She also participated with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Walk and is a foster for dogs.
So not only is she absolutely a gem of a human, she's also super smart! She was a part of National Honor Society AND Spanish National Honors Society. How impressive, right?!
Damara has taken on her first year at St. Louis University and has taken time to travel the world with many adventures along the way! We know there's many more roads for her to travel as she blazes into her future. We wish her all the happiness while exploring this big, amazing world!
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I'm so excited to post today because we have our first senior boy up on the spotlight - Connor. Believe it or not, this was not Sarah's first session with this handsome fella. Several years prior, his parents set up a siblings shoot with Connor and his brother that Sarah was able to capture. We feel so lucky when we get to see clients grow so much over the years.
Connor even mentioned that his biggest inspiration is his mom and dad because "they push me so I can live a good life with a good education and head on my shoulders". How sweet is that? It's incredible to have such a great support system always cheering you on and it's clear that Connor's crew is a great example of what family does for each other.
Connor and Sarah had so much fun running around downtown KC to find all unique nooks and crannies of the city to capture what he was looking for in his Senior images. He came with some great ideas and an even better selection of outfits to really showcase who he is in this moment.
Can you tell that they obviously found some great spots to match his vibe!?
Connor definitely came prepared to rock all kinds of styles and seriously managed to make a plain set of concrete stairs look incredible! Like what? The suit, the sunglasses, the hair, the poses... all of it is so cool when it came together and really shows what a outstanding individual he is!
During Connor's senior year, he enjoyed playing baseball and basketball and kept himself busy with DECA and Prom Committee activities. You can certainly tell that Connor has big things ahead of him! We can't wait to watch it all unfold.
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Good morning! I had to stop and spotlight Cassie today because of SO MANY REASONS! First off all, Cassie's session was so much fun and so unique. Cassie shared her ideas with Sarah and I do believe they nailed that vision together.
Cassie is a 2022 graduate from Staley High School in Kansas City, MO. When she was growing up, she wanted to become a teacher... which probably explains her love for reading. How fun that they incorporated that love into her senior portraits!
Cassie is inspired by the arts and has quite the range of likes when it comes to music. She loves everything from classics from the 50's to the 90's, country, pop, hip hop, Disney, etc. Can you imagine what a cool playlist that is?!
During her time at Staley High, Cassie was involved in Journalism Arts, National Honors Society, and Gay Straight Trans Alliance. What an amazing list of activities to fill your time, right?
Cassie is aspiring to be a psychologist or a psychiatrist and let me tell you all, it's clear she's got the itelligence and drive to reach that goal. She's attending Northwest Missouri State and there's no doubt she's out there doing incredible things. We couldn't be more excited for her and her future. Congrats on being so awesome, Cassie! We can't wait to hear all about your adventures in your future.
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Up next on the spotlight is Caroline who had a clear vision for incorporating the beauty of nature with her portraits.
WOW.
I cannot tell you how absolutely amazing this multi-season session turned out with everything she brought to the table! Smiles... silliness... seriousness... and she even wanted an image to bring awareness to mental health... fierce, fierce, fierce is the only way I can describe this young lady!
Caroline is inspired by creative art and enjoys painting. It's clear that her "painted out" vision was the perfect way to capture all of her wonderful essence!
Caroline is a Class of 2022 Senior grad from Mill Valley High School who participated in STUCO and tennis during her time there. She used to want to be an actor or a model and now she wants to be a lawyer. Talk about a girl who can do it all, right?!
She headed off to KU and we hope she's enjoying every second of being a Jayhawk! Keep us updated on accomplishing all your dreams, Caroline. We are rooting for you!
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Today's Senior Spotlight falls on Aurora, a Blue Valley Southwest High School graduate who is not only sweet as pie, but adorable to boot!
Aurora selected the "Multi-Season Senior Portrait Experience" and together, she and Sarah made some magic happen over MULTIPLE seasons.
Not only did Aurora get to have multiple sessions with Sarah, she even opted to have a Best Friend session! How awesome is that?! Honestly there aren't word to describe just how gorgeous Aurora's album is!
Fun fact: Aurora visited France and got to leave a little piece of her heart there, just like Sarah did at her age.
This bright young lady has so much in her future and we wish her well in all the roads she travels!
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Up next is this exceptional young lady, Alanah. She came all the way from Smithton High because she wanted an urban look for her session. Sarah and Alanah set out to travel down to Kansas City's amazing and ever-changing wall art. Can you believe how fierce she looks?!
Um, and can we just take a minute to talk about the fact that not only did she travel for this incredibly fun session, but she also brought along her darling cat!
A. CAT. IN. A. TIE!
A matching tie with Alanah at that! WHAT?!
Y'all, I can't even with how adorable these two are together.
Alanah is inspired by art and it definitely shows in her portraits! It was so much fun seeing her amazing personality in the heart of KC, with all the bold colors from the graffiti art shine through in this gallery.
Her smile is just radiant, isn't it?!
Thank you, Alanah, for traveling to spend the evening with Sarah. This vision truly just came to life and we wish you all the best in your bright future!
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Amy here and I just wanted to take some time to reflect on my first year here at the studio with Sarah's Class of 2022 Seniors. Looking through all their albums truly just make me feel like I made the right decision in a career change. I mean, all of them look so ambitious, optimistic, and eager to take on every challenge that might be thrown their way - they have the world ahead of them! Is there any other profession out there where so much creativity goes into developing unique images of the incredible young adults that are OUR future?! I'm just amazed thinking of individuals like these taking over our world. We're rooting for them all the way! Go, Seniors, GO!
So up first is this wonderful lady, Adrienne.
I just want to say that I want to be her when I grow up! Not only is she just shining from the outside, she's SO smart. No, not like regular smart, like... brilliant smart.
She's now into her first year studying at Brigham Young University in Idaho and there's no doubt in my mind all the innovative things she's learning and doing.
How cool is that?! I could only dream of being that level of awesome!!!
It sounds like talent like that runs in her family though... Adrienne's mom, Becky Johnson, is a piano teacher at Let's Play Music teaching and inspiring young adults to embrace music to carry into their future. It's so incredibly important to share the gift of the arts with the youth. Again, they are our future and the way we shape them is the foundation of learning other important skills like math, science, control and all over human development.
Adrienne, we wish you the absolute best in your future endeavors at BYU and beyond! You are such a shining star and we just know you'll continue to do great things.
First and probably the most important, prep yourself a few days before by hydrating well, getting lots of good sleep, and eating healthy. These simple things can make such a difference in the way you look and feel for your photos.
Another good way to prepare is to step up your grooming game.
- Hair - Products can be essential for controlling frizz and let’s be honest… summer in the Midwest can be so humid that even if this is not normally a problem for you, it will be for your photos. I personally like to use Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray, but there are plenty of other hair products out there. Talk to your hair stylist for specific recommendations for your type of hair!
- Nails – it’s not just important for the girls, it’s equally important for the guys! Having trimmed and clean nails doesn’t have to be costly either. So if you are low on funds or in a rush, take a few simple steps to complete a manicure at home. Using a nail brush and soap with warm water is more than adequate to get the job done! Ladies, if you are wanting colors but can’t get into the salon, a good temporary fix is to use press on nails, such as Kiss, Glamnetic, and Glamermaid. Nail strips are a wonderful quick fix too! Ohora has ENDLESS adorable patterns and colors to choose from! This could easily be said for toenails too, especially if you are planning on wearing shoes with open toes or going barefoot in your images.
- Makeup – ok, let’s talk details because everyone is different when it comes to application expertise and comfortability with products. If you feel comfortable with your knowledge of your makeup products, do a few trial runs with the style and look you are going for. Here is a helpful tutorial on blending foundation that I love to share with my clients! If you do not know for sure or you don’t feel comfortable with makeup, look into getting a Makeup Artist to assist you. I work closely with several amazing MUAs and would be happy to refer them to you!
Another important factor is preparing your outfit selections. Be creative and go for a few looks, everything from casual, athletic wear or team uniforms to formal outfits! Oh, and don’t forget to accessorize… hats, scarfs, jewelry, sunglasses, and other fun eyewear, etc. are a great way to showcase your unique personality! Not to mention it adds fun texture and vibes to your images. Once you have finalized your outfit selections, make sure they are pressed, organized together, and placed on hangers for easy transport.
Now that we’ve covered the prep work, there are some essentials that you can bring
for the day of your session – trust me, you’ll thank me for making this list because they are absolute must haves for the day!
- Sunscreen or an umbrella, if you tend to sunburn easily. A small, portable fan is always nice to have around on really hot days.
- Bug spray – while I tend to be quick in field settings, bug spray does help from keeping the itchy, creepy crawlers at bay!
- Comfortable footwear - speaking of fields, you’ll want appropriate covering for your feet walking through the tall grass. Also, if you are planning on bringing fancy shoes like heels or unbroken in boots or dress shoes, bring flip flops or tennis shoes to get from location to location.
- Hair brush or comb
- Makeup bag for touch-up applications along the way – even just mascara and lip gloss go a long way!
- Oil blotting papers – even if you are not normally oily, trust me – you’ll want these magic little babies. We actually bring them along for all our clients, but if you are interested in having them for your everyday life, Palladio’s rice paper facial tissues are wonderful!
Ok, last but not least – selecting the time of day for your session. Sunrise starting between 6:00 and 7:00 am and sunset starting between 4:30 and 5:00 pm are optimal times for weather and lighting. With the lighting equipment I have, midday sessions can be done, but they tend to be super bright and the hottest part of the day. Interesting fact – even though girls take more prep time before their sessions, they often choose sunrise sessions because it tends to be the coolest part of the day. NO boys have ever chosen a sunrise session. Fellas, let’s shake things up and get together first thing in the morning. Trust me, it will be great!
So there you have it, Seniors. Everything you need to know to get this party started. Still have questions? No problem. Feel free to reach out to me and let’s get down to planning that tailor made session just for you! Click here to start booking your senior session: https://www.sarahireland.photography/kansas-city-senior-portraits
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