Friday, October 24, 2008

The Unsinkable Mollie

5Yay, a duo of blog posts! I promised them both by the end of the week, and I am going to post these up and hit the road for my very last wedding of the year! Isn't that crazy? But first ...

Mollie!

Okay, so Mollie's mom actually found me for her senior pictures, I BELIEVE through Google. They had gone to a studio to get yearbook pics taken, but they didn't really like their options for other fun shots to buy, so they kept looking and found me!

Mollie and her parents are a dream. Her dad chauffeured us everywhere we wanted to go, which gave us more time for shooting. He even dropped me off at my friend's house when we were done, which was so beyond generous of him, and I was mesmerized by his magical skills of navigation. Y'all, I can still get myself lost using a GPS. Yeah, that's right.

And Mollie's mom, I would have to say, has probably been the second most enthusiastic person I've ever met about my work, and that is following only MY OWN MOTHER. She was on board from minute one for anything that we wanted to do, and emphasized that she wanted pictures of Mollie as she really is and as the person she's grown into in her teen years. Isn't that awesome? All anyone wants is to be loved as they are, so the answer is YES. Awesome.

Okay, so already we are off to a rockin' start, and then they deliver this gorgeous gem to my camera frame. Hello, hotness!

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Dude, I love Lake Michigan. It's been so fun to do senior pics on Navy Pier and get to work the water in. Mollie chose Navy Pier for all the happy memories she has there. And we got Dippin' Dots, Ice Cream of the Future, so I added to my happy memories also. (Rainbow Ice. Represent.)

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SO PRETTY. I was showing Billy these pictures the other night and he commented that in several of these pictures, he feels like Mollie has a sort of J. Lo look. TOTALLY. And that's awesome, because if I could pick anyone to play me in the movie of my life, that's who I'd pick. And don't worry, I look absolutely NOTHING like J. Lo, but I love her butt and her hot face and it's my movie about my life, so I can pick who I want.

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Something that I thought was really fun going on at Navy Pier that day was a big Halloween exhibit. We asked an actor to use this car for a prop, and then we ended up chatting with him/her. S/he was a bride and groom cursed to spend eternity in the same body, so s/he (okay, it was actually a he, but it really was an excellent costume of a bride and groom split straight down the middle so I have to respect it) spent some time entertaining us by arguing with him/herself. I do love all the free entertainment in Chicago.

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This is one of my absolute favorites because of the subtle reflection in the pirate ship (yup, still in the Halloween exhibit). Plus, I feel like Mollie was incredible at expressing a lot with her eyes, and you really see it here.

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Love this, and especially love the M. There were some people camped out in front of this for awhile, but we really wanted the shot, so we were prepared to wait. The nature of the beast of doing pictures in public is that you can't expect people to get out of your way. You can, however, be a little bit of a weirdo and make them WANT to leave. You know, sit just a little too close, take pictures not of them, but in their general direction. I mean, not that I would know anything about that ... (But seriously, I only bust out being a weirdo when all other avenues and patience have failed me.)

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Mollie wanted some pictures in the grass, and we were getting great light. Oh, and speaking of weirdos, and Gail will totally know what I'm saying, taking pictures while laying on grass ALWAYS brings the oddballs out of the woodwork. Mollie had a boy (man? manchild? who knows) dive into the frame with her. I mean, I guess I can understand because look at that picture ... she's SO CUTE, but still.

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Ahhh ... this picture feels so much like that day for me. I think before I moved here that I spent so much time fretting about the Chicago winter (which ... ugh, winter) that I didn't really consider how really, really lovely fall would be. How come no one told me?

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Do you guys remember the unbelievably fabulous pictures of Sharon in front of the fountain at night? This is the same fountain, totally different vibe.

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It was going on cycles and would shoot out this really thick mist every few minutes, which became so moody and awesome. I'm always wanting people to jump into mist for pictures, but this is the first time it's ever actually happened. But this is also the first time I think I've seen a mist while out shooting that wasn't coming up from a sewer. So, I don't know ... might be coincidence.

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I have no idea what this little area was called. I just know it's by the Hershey store (OMG) and reminds me a little bit of New York. It's like a little courtyard or something, totally picturesque.

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See? J. LO. Look at those gorgeous eyelashes.

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Isn't that beyond cute? And it's in a MALL! That's what the totally sweet background is. And I love how all girls play with their hair that way, but you never really catch pictures of that.

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I can't help it, I'm hilarious. It's how I roll.

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Such a city girl! And as a city mouse myself, this feels exactly what cute nights in the city are like. You know, you're all dressed up, wearing uncomfortable but fabulous shoes, running from one exciting place to the next ...

Okay, so that's not exactly my city experience, but it's what I imagine it would be like if I EVER ran around in uncomfortable but fabulous shoes. Most of my city life is spent collecting bizarre stories of crazy people and mooching free tickets to art events from Amy and her sweet job. And most of it is spent in Chacos, because they are the most comfortable shoes ever, although I do switch it up for winter. I'm sorry, don't hate! I became self-conscious of my height back in like sixth grade when I reached almost my full current height (five niner), and while I'm mostly over it now, I have horribly flat feet, and the combo made me high-heel-phobic. Of course, now that I realize all the great shoes are heels, it's possibly too late and I walk like a five-year-old in their moms shoes whenever I get a pair on.

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And finally ... ah, sigh. :) We went all the way until dark and I was so glad we did. I loved these, and just loved The Mollie Experience all around.

Thank you guys so so so much for having me do your pics, and I hope you love them forever. These and more are up on the gallery at http://sarahbrownphotography.instaproofs.com, and they are password protected. Not to worry, though! Friends and family should have no problem figuring out the password, which is Mollie's last name!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sarah, these ROCK! I think this is my favorite of your senior sessions so far. You did an awesome job, and I bet Mollie's mom (and Mollie) are going to refer you to tons of people.

Gail said...

I love these too Sarah! I love the "M" shot and I think it's funny you had a repeat oddball experience with the grass shot!

Lemongrass Photography said...

beautiful pics! She is lovely!!