Welcome to 2022 ya’ll! I don’t know what to even think or say about 2021, except we made it? Some of us crossed the finish line running strong, some of us limping, and some of us being carried over the line by one of our peeps. Which one are you? One minute I may describe my finish as strong and the next minute I may describe myself as having limped over the finish line, as it was a long year. Someone else described it as 3 years combined into one, LOL!

Personally, we had some highs and lows in 2021…kids back in school in person - at least the elementary school kid - kids back to some form of cheer, seeing friends again; but then we had Covid exposures, quarantines, a kid got Covid and we had to scramble and cancel our spring break trip. Ultimately, during the summer our kids did get to go to sleep away camp for the 1st time, we traveled to visit with my family in LA after 18 long months, we visited with good friends in Dallas, we went to Vegas to see a concert of a lifetime, etc…All was not lost, but the level of mental perseverance it has taken to make it through another year of ever changing day-to-day realities has been a lot. I remain grateful that my business has been a slice of joy for me (and hopefully for my clients) as there were joyful moments to capture as we navigated all the unknowns.

Well, we made it through all the commentary, so its time to enjoy all the pretty! Let’s do this!!!!

Families with Little Kids

I say this every year, and every year it bears repeating; families with little kids will always have a special place in my heart because it is the audience I got my start with. My initial clients (really they were my friends) took a chance on me, helped me build my confidence and then told all their friends how awesome I was, haha! I was just starting out, so I probably wan’t that awesome, but hey, we all start somewhere.

It all paved the way for me to continue shooting and learning, which has allowed me to build new skills and provide different experiences for my clients. This year those experiences included welcoming a gaggle of llamas and horses during a session, photographing my first set of auction winners, and photographing my first family session in sunflower fields! I loved every minute of reconnecting with existing clients and meeting a few new ones. My existing clients had to listen to me say over and over, “I can’t believe how much the kids have grown over the last XYZ number of years!”

Families with Tweens and Teens

My families with tweens and teens have new drivers, High School (HS) juniors preparing for the ACT/SAT, and freshman college students. Most of them I’ve known since they were in middle school, so it’s hard to believe they are nearing adulthood!

Seniors

I started out as a family photographer because that’s how so many photographers start out. About a year or more photographing families, I started to dabble with High School (HS) Seniors and once I got more experience with them, I knew it was a group that I wanted to serve throughout the rest of my photography career. I have enjoyed being part of each of their unique celebrations and hearing about their future plans. My two “WOWSER” moments this Senior season were:

My first and last 2022 seniors had the same first name and last initial: Logan D….one Logan a senior at Grandview HS and the other a senior at Eaglecrest HS.

and

Two of my seniors are cousins and I had no idea that these two young ladies were cousins until their sessions were complete and their moms were talking to each other. You should’ve seen the look on my face when one of their moms told me. All I could say is, “That is crazy”…one of my typical sayings.

Milestones

I love that milestones were still being celebrated this year! I had a few firsts when it came to milestone sessions. They included a cap and gown session, a couple of sweet 16 sessions, a pregnancy announcement from one of my former bride and grooms, and sisters who were NCA championship winners. For those who don’t know what NCA is, it’s one of the largest competitive cheer competitions in the country, and in 2021it was virtual but still as competitive as it was when it was in-person. So when you see that both Sisters and Mom have on NCA championship jackets, that is 3 NCA division championships over the last few years - and a big deal worth celebrating with a photo session!

Headshots

Promotions and preparing for promotions was still happening in 2021, and I was happy to capture those moments for two ladies that are passionate about their careers and what they do!

If you stuck around to the end, slow clap!!!!….And if 2022 is your year for family photos, updated headshots, capturing a milestone, you know where to find me (don’t call me, LOL…I don't answer the phone)…e-mail me at: makiaimages@gmail.com. We can chat about what season you want your session to be in and then I will walk you through the process so we can get started. Can’t wait!