I didn’t have my daughters until I was in my late 20’s so most folks my age already have high school seniors. Many times I have had or heard conversations about how much Senior portraits have changed. Boy have they ever.

When I was a senior in the late 90’s, senior pictures were done at the school by the school photographer. Everyone went through the same poses on the same backgrounds. They sucked. You know it did too. While I do still have the proofs from them, I was NOT happy with them. First off, I had an angry enormous zit appear randomly on my collar bone. (What the crap?) When I posed for my drape shot it was right there staring the photographer in the face like an evil villain. He saw it, I know he did. Ugh. Anyway, when it came time to order, I asked if it would be retouched. They assured me that anything I ordered was fully retouched. So of course my mom ordered my drape shot in a 20×30. You know, billboard-esque.
— They didn’t retouch it. To this day the picture is tucked away in storage. ugh- lies.

Anyway- things are SO different now. Most seniors want to break free of the mundane, assembly line photos. I can’t blame them! After all, this is a big moment for seniors, and it’s a time in life that needs to be remembered. Think of it as a landmark in life. When babies are born we document every moment and milestone for the first year. Without Senior portraits one might go portrait-less until their wedding day!

Youth is fleeting. There will never be a more fragile and emotional time in their lives as now.
As dorky as it may sound, I know that photographing Seniors is my calling. I LOVE the fact that at this age in life, each senior is on the cusp of something unknown. The possibilities are endless, and there is so much up in the air for them. It is so exciting to spend time with them and get to know them. Seniors (both young and old) are the most interesting subjects for me. The senior portrait experience is so much more than photos- at least to me it is. It’s about showing someone how awesome they are in everyone else’s eyes- even to a total stranger like me.

I guess part of it is that I so vividly remember how it felt to be their age, and how scary and hard it can be. I’m no therapist, and I certainly don’t think I’m “cool” like them…BUT- I feel like in some ways I can sympathize with them.
High school for me was HARD. I was going through a lot of things and the last two years I felt like I just didn’t belong anywhere. I looked like a regular teenager but on the inside I felt, i dont know, DIFFERENT. In my class I often felt insignificant- outcast, and just really mixed up. I didn’t really fit in to any groups and I certainly was NOT popular. I was just THERE…kind of lurking in the shadows, biding my time until I could get out of dodge. Of course, if I had it to do over again I would change a LOT. Most of my misery was self sabotage and I am not blaming anyone else.

If I had had the chance at that time to have Senior portraits made that were unique to ME- I would have loved it. If I could have had a photographer interested in ME who wanted to amplify all my facets and embrace my oddities, if I could have had photos that made me look and feel as cool and different as I wanted to be- Man. I think at times that it might could have changed a lot for me at that time.

The Senior Portrait experience at SHP is different than most. It’s not an assembly line, or all about committing to minimum orders, or  all about excursions and locations, and it’s not about a high fashion trendy thing. Of course, picking outfits, working efficiently, and running a business are all part of it- but for me- the real challenge is to bring that Senior out of their shell and find out what makes them “tick”. Then, we do our best to make the coolest, most unique, most bada** photo of them they have ever seen. There’s just nothing like it. Showing a senior a photo of their self that makes their jaw drop and they go, “OH WOW SO COOL!’ and then smile at how cool they look- that’s the million dollar prize of what we do.

It is SO easy for kids these days to feel depressed, defeated, and outcast. I couldn’t imagine being a senior and dealing with social media these days.
I can’t tell you how utterly sad it is for us to hear from a senior that they “aren’t cool because they don’t do sports” or that we can’t get cool photos of them because they “don’t do anything”. EVERYONE is unique in one way or another- all of them!

If I could shout one thing from the school rooftops it would be that ALL of them are interesting- all of them matter, and that they all have something “cool” to show the world. I would LOVE the chance to show them ALL the proof in a photograph.

So, if you are a high schooler- or a parent of one- and you think that just because you aren’t on the football or cheer team that you can’t be cool- let me prove you wrong. I would LOVE to get to know you-

So in closing- here at SHP we want everyone. Bring us the ball players, swimmers and cheerleaders, dancers, all you blood sweat and tears athletes, you guys work so hard to perform in your sport flawlessly and your dedication should be celebrated through stunning images….but also bring us the:
gamers
social media gurus
makeup enthusiasts
budding photographers
obsessive music listeners
professional couch potatoes
free thinkers
Chess club
Mathletes
Book club fanatics
Harry Potter fans
band gurus
chorus/glee club

hunters
theater/drama kids
literary buffs
colorguard
artists
writers
readers
philosophers
Let us show you what we can work together to create.

“Normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it” -Vincent Van Gogh

 

 

WOW. Just wow. What a year 2017 has been. For us, it has been a year of many changes, lots of “ups” and a few “downs” a lot of “firsts” and a couple of “lasts”, but definitely lots of CHANGES!!

In January I took my first (and likely last) plane ride when we went to San Antonio TX for the annual Imaging USA convention. Yeah, it was also my first full blown panic attack. You can read all about that another time though haha. I’m still not ready to relive that. Here are a few photos from our trip- although they have been posted in a previous blog-

 

 

 

 

FEBRUARY was spent doing various planning for the year, and setting up our Easter scene. Easter is a big production for us, but we will get back to that in a few. Mostly we spend Febraury plotting, planning, eating way too much, and pondering the correct pronunciation of “worcestershire” sauce. The local Daddy/Daughter Dance came around and my oldest decided she was now too old. Tears flowed. You know, just random-ness.  And George Michael died. I had such a mega crush on him as a little girl. So sad.

March is when things started to pick up for us. It usually works that way because- well, EASTER. But this year we also started early on lots of Senior sessions. I will tell you a not so big secret- I SUCK at decorating. This makes it REALLLLY hard to set up holiday scenes for me.  This past Easter was particularly difficult in that respect- and also quite a big financial undertaking. It’s so hard to know what clients will think looks good or what will just “flop”.  I decided to go with an outdoorsy “pond scene” with ducks (instead of the usual chicks). Of course we also had our lamb and bunnies as well. After rebuilding and changing out decor multiple times, I finally got it set and was happy with it. Wouldn’t you know bird flu came about and we couldn’t use the ducks (due to USDA regulations). So, photoshop to the rescue on that one lol.  I dunno, I’m not gonna sit here and say Easter sessions had a huge turnout, but I’m gonna say it all went just fine and well, I wont do that idea again haha. Just always know that no matter what the idea for the scene is, Easter is a HUGE undertaking on a photographer. Not only is there a lot of hard work involved by several people, but there are lots of logistics, ANIMALS, and money. (I think I spent a couple of weeks worth of paychecks at Hobby lobby on flowers!) And let me just say THANK GOD for Jessica, our WONDERFUL animal handler. There’s just no way I’d do Easter sessions without her. Here are a few :

 

 

 

 

This one below- I don’t know if you can tell that I had just had a crying fit in the bathroom, but I had. This was taken right after we found out that we would have to take the entire scene down that night after sessions because the studio house had been rented out the following day. So, after doing 8 hours of Easter sessions- we had to spend a few hours taking everything down and packing it up in our studio upstairs, only to set it all back  up a few days later. And that’s all I have to say about that.

April! Most every spring break we go to Panama City Beach for a “Work-ation”. This year was no different. We spent a week at the beach doing senior sessions, and it was great! I LOVE doing senior sessions, even if it is during my “vacation”. Love them. LOVE them. I mean, how can you NOT- look at these beach photos!! DAAAAANG!!! (if I do say so myself!)

I don’t like to dwell on sad things, but from April- October, Lonnie lost all three of his grandparents. His grandmother died 2 weeks after his grandfather right at Easter, and then his paternal Grandmother passed on Halloween. It’s never easy to lose a loved one, but it was extra hard for Lonnie to lose all of them in one year.

May brought about full tilt wedding season, and also a whole lot more high school seniors! Weddings kept us busy for the majority of the year- which brings me to the first huge decision we made this year. We’ve decided that in 2018 we will only photograph 10 weddings. We do love weddings, there’s nothing like them – but we also love our two little girls- which we didn’t get to see much this year. Also, let’s be honest- Lonnie and I are not spring chickens anymore, and a 10 hour day of wedding photography wreaks havoc on our bodies. We need to start passing weddings on the the younger crop of photogs. Let me tell you, it is a WHOLE lot more physical than you would think, I promise!

With that being said, we also have a lot of fun times- because we work with some of the greatest vendors and families. Proof Below:

                                                                                                                                               http://https://giphy.com/gifs/3ohzdFYcdOqFtxx0Xe

June was another month of weddings, but we also had to figure out how to squeeze in the sudden awesome flood of Seniors we had! I’ve always known I loved shooting senior portraits, but we decided this year that it’s what we really want to specialize in. i can’t WAIT for next year. SO MUCH FUN.

July is usually uneventful but this year was different. We found out at the last minute that we had the wonderful opportunity to move our studio to an official retail location downtown!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!! I waited for this moment for a decade!!! When I say last minute, I mean, like we had a week between finding out and having to be completely settled and back open for business. WHEEW. BUT YAAAAYyyy!!!!

August was a blur. We worked. and worked, and worked some more. Not only did we have a 1700sq ft new space that needed a complete remodel, but we were in the midst of the busiest senior season of our career! The building was already great, thanks to the previous tenant, but for what we wanted, a lot had to be changed. Things are still coming along here at the studio, but we have totally changed it up and I LOVE it. I can’t say it enough, this new studio is everything I have ever wanted! We couldn’t have done any of it without our wonderful clients, and definitely without the help of my dad and brother Donald. He’s super. You can’t have him.

A few before and afters:

It’s come a long way! More coming soon and we do plan to have a grand re-opening maybe in January 🙂 Such good stuff! I would show more progress photos, but we are kinda in Christmas disarray right now with Santa sessions going on and such!

 

September was more of the same. Work, studio reno, work, studio reno, hahaha. ‘Tis our life that I love.

October was the start of my mini mid life crisis! Yay! I  cut off nearly 8 inches of hair and dyed pieces of what was left blue.

And I bought myself a scooter.  Ahhh….the last year of my 30’s. It’s swell. I’m trying to handle things well. I may or may not be doing well with it. It’s ok. Moving on.

 

 

November as usual was Santa session prep, and fall sessions- Along with many more senior portrait sessions. We have been absolutely slammed! Here is my most favorite capture from the month. Leah’s senior session at Berry College:

And here we are approaching December! Santa sessions are in full swing:

 

 

Our Santa is seriously THE BEST.

And I guess that’s a wrap for 2017. We have exceeded my expectations this year by a long shot. We are LOVING high school senior portraits and can’t wait to roll out our 2018 Senior model program soon. We have taken some AMAZING portraits this year, and I have to say I am pretty proud of us. We have had the chance to photograph SO MANY outstanding families and seniors- we really do have a wonderful life.

What an exciting year of changes . During the midst of all this Lonnie and I also finally kicked a bad habit of smoking. Sure, we are slightly fatter, but our lungs are happier! We have a few loose sessions to tie up , a couple of Santa dates, and we will excitedly await to see what 2018 holds! Thank you all so much for allowing us into your lives and supporting our American Dream!

Much Love!

( a few of my faves from this year- but definitely NOT all! These were already on my desktop haha)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was asked by PPA (Professional Photographers of America) to be a guest blogger to help promote their upcoming Imaging USA convention.

I stewed on it a few days and thought, “is this something I really want to do? How will it affect my image? What’s in it for MEEEE?? Do I even have time to help this organization out right now?”

I’m totally lying- I was like:

“AWWWW HECK YEAH! Of course!!!!!!” I dropped everything and immediately got started. Mama didn’t raise no fool. PPA is to photographers like the bar exam is to lawyers….I guess….idk about that analogy, but it’s a BIG organization that I’ve been a member of for over 5 years- they’re a big deal to me.

 

I’m not sure when they will publish it, but I thought our own little blog would be a great place to share it. Many of our clients ask how we got started in this business, and this blog is a little peek into how Lonnie became the photographer he is today.

A little background: Imaging USA is a national convention held every January for professional photographers. It’s in a different city every year, and is put on by PPA.  It’s 3 days of non stop learning and FUN! (5 days if you attend pre-convention classes).  In January 2013 I attended my first one, and took Lonnie along for company. The rest is history! We’ve been every year since, including this past January when we went to San Antonio Texas!

Here’s a visual for you of how the trip getting there looked:

Scroll on down for the blog post I wrote 🙂

 

 

A life changed- Imaging USA.

Karen & Lonnie Bentley

Strawberry Hill Photography

Bremen, GA

That’s me, the “other photographer” as I am now lovingly yet jokingly called.

Professional Photographer- it’s a title that I (Karen) dreamed of since I was a young teenager in the mid 90’s. A lot transpired to get me safely into my 26th year of life, but for the sake of time we will start with the facts.  I was a mom of two small children, married to Lonnie, a factory worker who labored on a rotating shift, and the kids and I rarely got to spend time with him. I’m not gonna lie, we struggled…Lord did we struggle,  but in late 2006 I  finally had the courage to take the leap by starting my own photography business. My first studio originated in an old storage building on our property-(oh how I cringe about it now but it was a starting point!)  and things have been slowly yet steadily progressing since then, but this blog isn’t about all of that.

A few years went by and my little business was actually a  smooth sailing success, but as a mom I was sinking. I was overwhelmed, I was overworked, I was burnt out, and my home life was a disaster. My husband and I fought a lot, especially when I came home from a long day of sessions and he’d say “oh gosh, whatever…all you do is click a button”. (yes, insert the world’s biggest angry photographer emoji right here!) Don’t get too mad at my husband Lonnie, he didn’t know any better, and bless it, he was so tired all the time. One thing I could tell you at that time, was that he had absolutely NO interest in photography. In his own words, he was a “grunt laborer” and that was just how his life was.

I don’t remember where I heard about Imaging USA the first time.  All I remember was that it was coming to Atlanta (which is only an hour drive from my town),in January 2013 and that I was really excited to learn new things.  Driving in Atlanta is simply not something I can do sanely, so I begged Lonnie to come with me. “Think of it as a mini getaway for us” I said.  He finally agreed.

I remember being so amazed at how many photographers were at this convention- and how everything was so HUGE to me that year. (Imaging USA 2013):

Here we are at the Social Box booth in the expo that year- poor Lonnie still had no idea what was about to happen to him at this point.

I wanted to take EVERY class, but I tried to be choosy as to what I thought would help me most.  Photography in a small town gets really cut throat- no one shares their secrets, and here I was in a vast pool of open knowledge!  

One day I had chosen a maternity/newborn class by Julia Kelleher I think. Lonnie immediately said “oh no, I am NOT sitting through that with you.” hahaha. He said he would just go sit in whatever class was next door instead and meet up with me afterwards.

Lonnie ended up in a class called “The power of light” by the one and only Jerry Ghionis.  I will never truly know the power of what actually happened in that class…and believe you me, I have kicked myself over and over for not being there. All I can say is that when Lonnie came out of those doors, he was a different man. His first words to me (excitedly) were  “oh my God Karen, I’m a photographer….I can do this…I get it.”

(of course the one time he gets a selfie with his idol I take a blurry cell pic!)

Now you can imagine that I had the most enormous, super exaggerated, see the your own brain kind of eye roll-  I was beside myself with laughter and disbelief.

And guess what happened after that? Well, within 3 months Lonnie left his factory job and became the full time lead photographer for Strawberry Hill Photography.  Where I lacked in technical know-how, Lonnie excelled. Crazy, I know, but it’s true! He’s an amazing photographer and it has truly been a whirlwind. He said Ghionis played a slideshow that used the song “Secrets” by One Republic and we play it a lot on the way to big sessions-  we say it’s Lonnie’s “theme song” haha!

We talk shop everyday about our idols, Ghionis, Dan Rowe, Ben Shirk, Gary Box, Fuzzy Duenkel, Dan Frievalt, and agonize over how we can do better, take better photos, how to save up for even better gear in future.

 

We have both been full time photographers for four years now. We share the load and tag team every obstacle. If you had told me in December of 2012 that Lonnie would be a photographer, I’d have laughed myself into hysteria. If you had told me then that he would be doing it full time, and that our sole income would be from photography, I’d have just screamed “LIES!” and walked away.

 

It has been an incredible ride- and I know without a shadow of a doubt, that Imaging USA changed our lives. Had everything not fallen into place the way it did, I just don’t want to even think about what state our life would be in right now. My husband and I are together 95% of the time, and I love it. We are able to take time off for our girls activities when we need to, and life is good for us. Lonnie never knew he was a photographer-I guess we just needed Imaging USA and Jerry Ghionis to shine the light for him.

Imaging 2017- San Antonio- we made a few selfies in our awesome Hotel:

I always hope that the speakers at Imaging know how much they influence other’s lives!

Be kind and take epic photos ya’ll!

Karen & Lonnie