P.S.  Are you a senior still needing pictures?  Are you a junior ready to get on the schedule for next year?  If you know Kyla be sure to ask her for a card with a special offer, and mention her name when you book.

For her senior session, I met up with Chassie, her boyfriend, and her mom.  Chassie had some great ideas and I was so excited to try out some new locations for a change, too.   I had a lot of fun with all of them, zipping around from spot to spot.  They had me cracking up the whole time.  I loved that Chassie was up for whatever I suggested, and her boyfriend was also a great sport … and on their anniversary too!

My favorite so far!  I just love gorgeous lighting and a beautiful senior to photograph.

I added the B/W version here, you can see the color version on Facebook.

Such a sweet couple!  I hope you had a wonderful anniversary after your session.

Remember, there will be a different 2011 Spokesmodel featured each day.  After all 10 girls are featured, I’ll announce the contest and voting details here on the blog, on MONDAY.  The spokesmodel who receives the most votes will win a special prize (its a secret!).  And as an added incentive to vote, I will randomly draw one voter’s name for a Starbucks gift card.

Next up is Kei, a 2011 Senior from East Limestone High School.  If you know Kei and would like to schedule a session, be sure to ask her for a card with a special offer.  Don’t forget to mention her name when you schedule your session!

I  asked each Spokesmodel to tell me which was their favorite image from their spring mini session, and why.  And I did a little Q&A with each girl to get to know a little more about all of them.  Read on to learn more about Kei  …

Q:  Which is your favorite image from your spring mini session, and why?
Kei: Its really hard to choose since I liked them all, but I would have to say the sunflower field one because the lighting was just perfect and it’s definitely my all time favorite flower!

How did you hear about Marla Laramie Photography, and what made you want to be a spokesmodel?
I heard about her from my friend Maegan who was a spokesmodel last year and she told me about all the freebies she got just for promoting, plus I LOVED all of the pictres Mrs. Marla takes!

List 3 random songs on your ipod play list:
Love you out loud- Rascal Flatts
Kiss a girl- Keith Urban
Ridin Solo- Jason DeRulo

My ideal way to spend a free day is:
Catch up on sleep, play outside with my puppy, blast fun music to drown out my singing voice and dance around haha:)

After graduation I can’t wait to:
Cruise to the Carribean!
Spend the summer at the beach or on the river:)

My dream car would be:
I really don’t have a dream car.

If I had 24 hours to live I would:
Spend it with my family and closest friends
Skydive, scubadive, hike up a mountain, suit up in football gear
and run into somebody haha and tell certain people certain things:)

Last movie you just had to see on opening day:
Eclipse

Celebrity crush:
Ryan Reynolds!

Three things you could never live without:
My brother
My bible
Coke icee’s

Three things that annoy you without fail:
Mosquitos, someone bouncing the basket that is connected underneath my desk at school, hearing rude comments about people

Where do you want to go to college and what will your major be?
University of South Alabama, or Tuscaloosa (ROLL TIDE)
Children’s Nursing

If you had an extra $10K to spend where would you go and what would you buy?
Greece, Japan, London, and Australia… probably food and clothes

Three random things people might not know about you:
I am a quarter Japanese, Ambidextrous, and I have always had a thing for working with little kids

Describe one or two images that jump out at you as being favorites from the marlalaramie.com site or Facebook:
1. The really pretty girl laying on her horse in her purple prom dress
2. The duo of the guy who is leaning against/sitting in front of a rusty red car.. so pretty!

Next up is Hannah, a 2011 Senior from Sparkman High School.  If you know Hannah and would like to schedule a session, be sure to ask her for a card with a special offer.  Don’t forget to mention her name when you schedule your session!

I  asked each Spokesmodel to tell me which was their favorite image from their spring mini session, and why.  And I did a little Q&A with each girl to get to know a little more about all of them.  Read on to learn more about Hannah  …

Q:  Which is your favorite image from your spring mini session, and why?
Hannah: The one up close that is black and white on my cards! its my favorite because its vintage looking and makes me look older!

How did you hear about Marla Laramie Photography, and what made you want to be a spokesmodel?
I heard about you from Kandi Armstrong. I knew you took good pictures and senior pictures are very important to me. So I wanted to be a spokesmodel and then you take my senior pictures!

List 3 random songs on your ipod play list:
Our God- Chris Tomlin
The House That Built Me- Miranda Lambert
Airplanes- Beob

My ideal way to spend a free day is:
To sleep in late.Eat yummy food.
Do my quiet time.
take a shower.
and just relax around the house or go shopping!

After graduation I can’t wait to:
Be in college and on my own!

My dream car would be:
Range Rover

If I had 24 hours to live I would:
Tell everyone about Jesus as fast as i could.

Last movie you just had to see on opening day:
Twilight

Celebrity crush:
Channing Tatum

Three things you could never live without:
Parents, Friends, and God

Three things that annoy you without fail:
Clingy People
Boys
Stalkers

Where do you want to go to college and what will your major be?
Alabama, or UNT and nursing

If you had an extra $10K to spend where would you go and what would you buy?
New York! Shopping!

Three random things people might not know about you:
I’m very open.
Used to be cross eyed.
Sister slambed my pinky in the door when I was little.

Describe one or two images that jump out at you as being favorites from the marlalaramie.com site or Facebook:
I like the image of the girl on the back of the horse in the dress. I also like the pictures of Kolton on the old car.

This session was a milestone for Ashleigh, she’ll be a senior this year.  But this session was a milestone for me, too.  It marks the first time I’ve photographed a senior whose MOM I was a senior with … way back when.  Yep, I’m officially old.  Ashleigh’s mom and I grew up together.  We lost touch after high school but recently re-connected on Facebook.  So I was beyond thrilled when Kristy asked me to photograph Ashleigh’s senior pictures.  And let me just say, she is every bit as sweet and lovely as her mama.

It was so much fun, meeting them downtown … in my hometown of all places, for her session.  Then we headed out to the barn where Ashleigh rides horses.  Ashleigh is such a natural with horses after many years of competition events and riding.  There’s something very special about the connection between a girl and the horses she loves.  It was so sweet to see how jealous the other horses were when she was paying attention to another!  But never fear, they each got a bit of love when all was said and done.

First up (in no particular order) is Kyla, a 2011 Senior from Westminster Christian Academy.  If you know Kyla and would like to schedule a session, be sure to ask her for a card with a special offer.  Don’t forget to mention her name when you schedule your session!

I  asked each Spokesmodel to tell me which was their favorite image from their spring mini session, and why.  And I did a little Q&A with each girl to get to know a little more about all of them.  Read on to learn more about Kyla  …

Q:  Which is your favorite image from your spring mini session, and why?
Kyla:  “The one with my hair blowing because it’s me and I look relaxed.”

How did you hear about Marla Laramie Photography, and what made you want to be a spokesmodel?
I heard through seeing my friend’s pictures on facebook.  I figured I would be representing and promoting my photographer anyways so I figured if I got a bonus doing it then that would be awesome!

List 3 random songs on your ipod play list:
Breakeven-The Script,
Sweetly Broken- Jeremy Riddle,
Wonderful Tonight- Eric Clapton

My ideal way to spend a free day is:
Swimming, shopping, Spending time with friends, helping in the community

After graduation I can’t wait to:
Take a backpacking trip to Europe with my brother and uncle and then get established on my own in college.

My dream car would be:
Blue 2011 Corvette

If I had 24 hours to live I would:
Make hospital visits and touch as many lives as I could by sharing with them the joy I’ve experienced through Christ and show them how to experience the same.

Last movie you just had to see on opening day:
Batman

Celebrity crush:
Taylor Lautner

Three things you could never live without:
My family, Friends, Food/Water

Three things that annoy you without fail:
crooked pictures
kids who pick their nose then eat their food

Where do you want to go to college and what will your major be?
University of Mobile- Elementary Education

If you had an extra $10K to spend where would you go and what would you buy?
I would go to Trinidad and work with the orphanage I worked with on a past mission trip then buy them food and save the rest for my wedding day.

Three random things people might not know about you:
I used to Buckdance (like clogging)
I want to adopt a special needs/disabled kid
I am afraid of the dark

Describe one or two images that jump out at you as being favorites from the marlalaramie.com site or Facebook:
1.  I like how she’s off centered and you used her surrounding with her outfit.
2. I like the angle and the background in this one

Starting next week I’ll be featuring each of my 2011 Senior Spokesmodels. Look for their favorite mini session images, some fun facts about each of them, and a contest at the end. Each day I’ll feature a different spokesmodel. At the end I’ll be opening up a contest where you can vote for your favorite. The one with the most votes will get a surprise gift. And because I’m a big fan of bribery, I’ll do a random drawing from voters for a $5 Starbucks gift card. Stay tuned for all of the details starting on Monday, 7/5.

I’ve been meaning to put together an online client site for some time, and while I still have more I want to do (a what-to-wear guide, session tips, etc), its mostly finished. This will allow you to book your session, fill out all of your client forms, and pay your session fee all in once place. You can find the link at the top of the blog. Under news, click on client information site and enter the password get_info to get started. I hope this will streamline the process and make it easier to get your session scheduled. To celebrate I’m feeling pretty generous so I’ve decided to do a ONE-DAY SALE on session fees. If you use the form on Wednesday, 7/7 to book a session (I will follow up with a call to work out the session date with you) you’ll receive 50% off the session fee (a $75 savings). Already booked or completed your 2011 senior session? No worries, I’m not leaving you out … you’ll get a little surprise gift with your order.

I’ve been tossing around lots of new ideas for this summer, and I’d love to get your input on some of them. I’ve been considering adding one day per month of mini sessions. These would be 30 minutes sessions : one outfit, one location, one person per session, with approximately 10 images to choose from. If there is enough interest I’ll start offering these on a limited basis. Email me your thoughts (marla@marlalaramie.com)!

Speaking of mini sessions, would you like to have a session with your very best friends, get super-cool images, and a memory to last forever? Each mini session is a set fee of $350, to be split between each friend (up to six). It includes a 5×7 and a photo strip (see below) of 5 images for each friend.. Additional prints/products can be added on separately. And here’s the good news … this isn’t limited to seniors! Yep, these mini sessions are for ages 8-18. Only a limited number of these sessions will be available and locations will vary.  Email me (marla@marlalaramie.com) for more details.

Rachel contacted me way back in August about scheduling a senior session.  She was waiting to get her braces off in the spring.  After a number of talks and emails trying to decide on the *perfect* locations for her session, we had it all ironed out.  We planned on mixing up with some downtown urban shots and some shots in an overgrown field.  We almost had to reschedule due to the weather, but as luck would have it the storms mostly missed us and we were able too proceed as scheduled.  Everything went according to plan and we hurried to a local overgrown field to finish the session before the last bit of daylight was gone.

As soon as I saw Rachel’s deep purple prom dress, I knew it would really pop against the drab, dead brush and the overgrown, green weed and trees.  We mostly were shooting on the flattened-down dry brush area and had been there about 15 minutes or so.  We were almost finished when we decided to move to the edge of the area, but still on the flattened-down part.  Rachel was twirling in her dress for some shots, lost her balance and fell.  None of us expected there to be a snake!!  Rachel was bit on the leg and had to leave immediately for the ER.  Luckily her mom was along and stayed calm.  I stayed behind to take a photograph of the snake (to assist the doctors in identifying the snake bite).  The snake turned out to be a poisonous Copperhead!  The doctors were able to quickly administer a dose of anti-venom and kept Rachel overnight for observation.  I’m relieved to report that she is doing well and no permanent damage was done.  Through the whole thing Rachel has held on to a positive attitude and her sense of humor.

I can’t even begin to describe how horrified I was by this whole event!  I’m terrified of snakes and don’t go near these fields during the hot summer months.  None of us expected to find a snake in this location (next to a busy highway and a small strip mall) this time of year.  The main reason I wanted to share this story is to warn everyone to be aware that you CAN stumble on a snake this time of year, in a populated and busy area.

And now for Rachel’s sneak peek (already on Facebook), which she was has already informed me that she LOVES.   And I’m adding one extra image because she deserves it. 

Ok, at 5′2″ myself, can I just say how completely pea-green-envious I am of those gorgeous long legs of hers?!

I saw this little patch of light as we were walking back and immediately had to stop.

P.S.  Check back in a day or two to see a sneak peek of the first of my four pre-prom sessions.  This first one was So. Much. Fun.  I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.  If you can’t wait, go check out my Facebook page, I already posted them there.

For once the wind was working with us.

Don’t you just love how her green shirt really accentuates her beautiful eyes.

Can I just admit that I *squealed* when I saw Shelby’s bright, red high heels?!  Oh to have gorgeous long legs like that … sigh …