Vicentia - Aurora Central HS Senior

There are times when you know everything is going to work out. Maybe you didn't get to do things like you'd normally like to, but you still have a feeling that there's nothing to fear, that things will be fine. I typically like to meet with any high school seniors that I'm going to photograph ahead of the photo shoot. This gives us a chance to get to know each other and also work out the details of our shoot. So what happens when this isn't possible?

In Vicentia's case, you don't worry. Vicentia contacted me by phone and immediately struck me as a very courteous and friendly person. She wanted to set up a photo shoot, but I was leaving town within the week. We decided it would be best to discuss everything over the phone and just meet the day of the shoot. A few things I learned about Vicentia are that she spends most of her time in Choir and she's also a member of a leadership club that mentors freshman.

The morning of our shoot at Cherry Creek State Park started out nice and cool but quickly got hot. We tried to stay out of direct sunlight and in the shade, which worked most of the time. Unfortunately, we ventured into a beautiful wooded area that was home to swarms of mosquitoes! We got a few quick photos, including the one at the top of this post, before making a quick getaway. We each got a few bites but nothing too serious.

As we made our way around to the different parts of the park, we constantly chatted. I was very surprised at how easy Vicentia carried on a conversation. She is very easy to talk to. Near the end of the shoot we were joined by her mother. Once I started talking to her, I realized why Vicentia is so easy to talk to: she learned her conversation skills from her mother, who is also easy to talk to!

For her final outfit, Vicentia wanted to wear a traditional Ghanaian head wrap. One of her friends taught her how to wrap it and, to my surprise, she was able to do it with the reflection in a car window! Who needs mirrors? It's so nice to be able to showcase a heritage and tradition that you're proud of, especially in your senior photos, so I'm glad that Vicentia was able to incorporate the head wrap into her session.

As the day warmed up we continued to shoot well past the 2-hour mark. When I asked Vicentia if she was getting tired yet, she said that she was having so much fun she wanted to keep shooting all day! We didn't shoot all day, but we'll get to shoot again soon in the studio. Now that we've met and have one shoot down, the next one should be amazing!