Stephanie Dehler Photography 2010  -  (A Half of) A Year in Pictures

I’ve decided that blogging (for me) is just like getting in touch with a good friend that you haven’t talked to in awhile.   You think about them all the time and have good intentions of just making the call; but you get busy and time starts to slip away from you.  After awhile you start to feel guilty because you’ve waited too long, and then basically it becomes a case of overwhelm.  All of a sudden you are feeling bad, hoping your friend knows how much you really do care, but also anxious about how you’re going to fit all that lost time into one conversation!

I’ve always found that it’s so liberating to just bite the bullet and do it…because you just seem to pick up where you left off like no time ever passed;  And unfortunately, this just may be where the parallels end…

I have a LOT of catching up to do here, and now that I’m at the end of my summer/fall/holiday rush, I intend to post at least a few images from several sessions that I missed!   Before I post any pictures; however, I do feel like I owe people some sort of an explanation.  I was lucky to meet and photograph a LOT of great new people this past year, but I also had some existing clients ask me if I was still doing photography because I hadn’t updated my blog posts and facebook business page with as much frequency as I had in the past!

I haven’t stopped; I’ve still been here; my work still growing and evolving.  In fact, this has been my biggest year yet!  (Last year at this time I wouldn’t have thought that was possible!)

Truth be told, it just seemed I had a lot going on in 2010…A large part of it was personal. I don’t know if it’s because 2011 marks the last year of my 30’s (despite the fact that I’ve been trying to tell myself for awhile now that I’m not really all that concerned about it!) or if it’s because of a bunch of other outside forces.  I DO know that it’s been a very introspective several months for me, sometimes difficult, but in the end, incredibly enlightening.  I had always thought that “coming of age” period was for tween-agers, but I think I just went through it again!  At 39 I figured out a lot about what I want out of life and that’s really all I want to say about that.  (I know, I know;  It reeks of midlife crisis…UGH!)

The other thing I’ve been struggling with is that it’s my son’s last year home with me before he goes to kindergarten, and when I realized that at the beginning of the summer I made a conscious decision that I was going to enjoy my time with him as much as I could before it was over.  I just made a huge effort to use my time at my computer wisely, putting what I could on the back burner.  To put it simply; my blog fell into that category!

All that being said, I’m so optimistic about the future.  Thank you for understanding and sticking with me.  I know 2011 will be an exciting year of change for me and my family.  I will definitely be keeping you posted!

I think the best way to organize all these sessions is to place them in categories.  I’ll start with a few of my senior sessions, since I’ve already posted some of those from earlier in the summer!

Olivia

(Olivia is a fan of old movies, and one of her favorites is “Funny Face” starring Audrey Hepburn.  It was the inspiration behind our “balloon shots!”)

Alexa

I know RR tracks have gotten to be so cliche, but I don’t care…they just never seem to disappoint!

Ashlee

Braiden

So I’ve been a baaaaaaaaad blogger…..VERY bad blogger.  I had almost forgotten how to log onto this thing!  I’m just so tired of being all preachy about how busy I am, and I’m sure it gets old for anyone who actually reads my posts!  So here I go;  NO excuses, NO whining, just a fresh batch of senior pics with a promise that I will TRY to be a little more consistent with my updates!

I have lots more seniors to post eventually, and I will;  but for now I’m really excited about this batch.  Braiden is a graduating senior at Austin HS.  I went to high school in Rochester with his mom Beth, and she is just one more person I reconnected with at my reunion last spring.  He’s a cool, creative, and very active kid; into just about every extreme sport I can think of.

He had some great ideas he wanted to try, and he really forced me to go out on a limb with a couple of these.  I wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out since this is a direction I’ve rarely gone in, but he really wanted his photos to mimic some of the images in his Thrasher mags.  I think we were pretty successful in our efforts, and I am praying he does, too!

I went a little further with effects on some of these than I’m normally accustomed to, as well, but I sort of think these images were begging for it!  Oh, and I’m also thinking these are a little too bad a** for my standard rounded blog corners!

This was the one shot Braiden really wanted to try; and I didn’t tell him this, but I wasn’t too optimistic it would work.

But It did…

I want to bring everyone to Austin, MN now, just so I can photograph them in front of this school!

Shelby {Class of 1011 – Blooming Prairie High School}

It’s so wonderful to photograph someone who is as natural in front of the camera as Shelby.   Several times over the course of the session I would start to give her direction, but when I realized she already looked perfect the way she was, I would just say “Never mind!  Just keep doing what you’re doing!” and snap the photo!

Of course it never hurts to be this adorable.  I want skin like this!… I NEVER had skin like this!!

Kyle

I had so much fun with Kyle and his mom on Saturday.    Kyle’s mom was so youthful and cool, and when I first walked up to our meeting place I thought they were a couple of college kids!  He went along willingly with all of my suggestions;  his only request was that we get some shots of him with his trombone.  He lettered in band and told me they’re going to New York this year — I’m so jealous!  (I think the year I graduated our band went to Hawaii–I knew I should have practiced that clarinet!!)

Good luck to you Kyle, and have fun in the Big Apple!

Brandon

Brandon is graduating from the Math and Science Academy in Woodbury this year, and his session kicked off a full weekend for me.  (A personal record, actually!)  I was constantly changing gears;  from a senior, to a family, to a newborn, and back to a senior again, etc., etc…with not a lot space in between!!  My husband was at my parents house with my kids for a good share of it, so it worked out perfectly:  They didn’t have to miss not having me around, and I got to dive in and do my thing!

What a great way to start the weekend, though!   Brandon was a super nice kid and this weather we’ve been having is lovely.   (At the risk of sounding ungrateful, at least one more weekend of it would sure be nice!)

I’m just going to be making quick posts this week so I can stay on top of my workload, but I did promise some sneak peeks and I know they’ll be checking!

Sara

More Chelsea…

I just finished Chelsea’s gallery, and decided I’d better post a few of the studio pics.  I never seem to spend half as much time indoors as I do outside, but I suppose there’s something to be said for a controlled environment!  I just don’t have very many examples on my senior gallery!

Speaking of; I was in the company of some other photographers last night (which I’ll fill you in on later!) who told me they update their site all the time.  Kudos to them!!  My website really needs an overhaul, and as much as I’d love to add to the galleries there, I’d rather take a closer look and make it look shiny and new all at once.  I’m looking forward to December and January when I’ll hopefully have the time to make it over in a big way.   Until then, the place to see all my current work is right here!

Chelsea

Chelsea is the cousin of Marysa; the graduating senior I photographed a couple of months ago with the striking blue eyes.  (Good looks obviously run in the family!)   I was pleasantly surprised to see that Marysa came with Chelsea and her mom to her shoot…I’m always happy to have friends along!  It just creates a more relaxed and fun environment for the person getting photographed.  Plus, (although Marysa and Chelsea attend rival schools) they are going to have their open house together, and they wanted me to get a couple shots of them for their invitations!

Clearly another perfect evening…  You can’t take these for granted right now!

(This is my favorite one of Marysa and Chelsea together!)

Marysa

Meet Marysa!  She came all the way from Austin last Wednesday for her senior portraits bringing along her mom, her best friend, and her brother.  I was SURE the weather was not going to cooperate that day.  The forecast said rain, rain, and more rain… but for whatever reason we had good fortune on our side — and for just long enough to complete our outdoor session, the clouds parted and made way for gorgeous light!

Marysa is one of my favorite types of people to photograph;    She was fun, completely uninhibited in front of the camera, and  open to all of my ideas!  (She even brought along some good ideas of her own–which I plan to use again!)  Also, it goes without saying that she has the most AMAZING eyes!

I regret to say that I’m getting these posted  few days later than I promised.  I spent last weekend at the Kalahari Resort in the Dells with my kids,  my mom, my sister, and her kids.   (For the record, it was OH, so much fun! … but I fell a tad behind again…) Marysa, I hope your gallery proves to be worth the wait!

When Marysa climbed up into this doorway, birds flew out everywhere!  She was quite the trooper!!

It was Marysa’s idea to lie across these train tracks.  It sounded a little macabre to me at first, but when I was taking these photographs, I knew she was on to something!

We were starting to feel some sprinkles at this point, but the stormy sky was so beautiful, I didn’t want to stop!

STUNNING!…

Kayla

Meet Kayla;  a graduating senior at Montgomery-Lonsdale High.  She and her mother came last week–We started at my house for some studio pics and  then headed to town for outdoor pics…  Believe it or not; while looking for a specific area I got turned around in Lonsdale! (A downtown area of about 6  blocks!)  I’ve said this before; but that wouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone who knows me well.   It’s a really good thing I know how to laugh at myself!

Thanks for bearing with me, Kayla and Lisa!  I hope you love your senior portraits!