Monday, June 21, 2010

Atkinson Nebraska Lifestyle and Art Photographer: A Reflection Inspired by I Heart Faces Challenge: Celebrating Teens

I've been dabbling in photography for going on 10 years now, have been a passionate wannabe for about 4, and have been REALLY serious about being a pro for about a year. I really love to shoot kids. That sounds so bad, but I think you know what I mean.

It is rather tongue in cheek to say that, as I am also a high school English teacher. I love working with kids, but working with teens is particularly fulfilling to me. A lot of people say to me "I don't know how you can do that everyday, I think I would go crazy". I would be lying if I said that I loved every minute of teaching. There are certainly days, or even weeks where I have asked myself the question, "Is this really what I am supposed to do?" There are times where I have caught myself asking myself the question that my friend Michaela posed to me one day..."have I been a blessing or a thorn today". There have been times where I was a thorn, and I resolved to make it right the next day. There are times where I feel misunderstood, undervalued, and downright abused. There are times where I question whether I am the right person for this extremely important job. After I finish having my pity party, I wake up and realize that it is because this job is so important that I must keep going, and it is because I love my students that I need to keep doing it. They deserve a great teacher, and it is my job to be that teacher for them. I make mistakes, just like everyone, but my heart belongs to this profession.

One of my goals for my business is to truly capture the essence of teens through their Senior photos. I battled with this idea, because being a teacher, I wondered if I should. It is a fine line to walk, being a teacher and being a photographer. I finally decided that if I could photograph teens, and connect with them through the camera, that it would help me connect with them in the classroom. I had two teens apply to be Senior Spokes Models for me this summer. I don't teach either one of them, but they have helped me so much. They were fun, creative, laid back, and super helpful! Being around them in a non-classroom environment allowed me to relax and get to know them on a different level. It was so fun to hang out with them and their moms! I am so thankful to them for being such willing participants. We captured wonderful images, and I feel like I have made some new friends because of this experience.

This week, over at I Heart Faces, a teen is the guest judge, and the subject matter is "Teens". I decided that now would be a good time to post this tribute to celebrate my two teen Spokes Models; Addie and Cody. Thanks for being AWESOME!


I just love this image of Addie, the delicious light just made her glow. It was one of those moments where I was metering my light and caught this ethereal image in the process.

Cody, his mom, and I wanted to capture "a different kind of sports image". A great athlete, we wanted to show his love for the game without falling into the traditional rut. So, experimenting with Off Camera Flash, we used the beautiful sunset as a backdrop for this image. Still one of my favorites and this image is actually my OFFICIAL I Heart Faces Entry for this week.

3 comments:

  1. Those are just beautiful photos! Love the football idea.

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  2. These are both lovely photos...the light in them is gorgeous!

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  3. LOVE the thoughtfulness of the first one! :)

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Katrina Lee Photography is a professional custom photography business specializing in natural light and location portraiture as well as fine art portraiture.