I had been watching the weather all day..."Scattered slow moving Thunderstorms," they said.....at 5:30...when I was going to meet Shelby and her awesome mom Jane for a Senior Session. Of course we would be sipping on some coffee over a little bit of chat before the session started..but still, they said slow moving. On any other day I LOVE the rain, its the happy in my day and no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I was secretly excited that it was going to be a rainy day. But I wanted to do this shoot with a little dry-ness and did not want to have to reschedule since they would be leaving for England soon and not coming back till the middle of the month. so jealous of that by the way.
Well, it ended up being a perfect day and a perfect shoot. Jane told me, before the shoot, that Shelby isnt a casual kind of girl, she is usually dressed well...to this I imagine schoolgirl type outfits...you know the nerdy kind. which I was totally fine with...if it fits her personality Im down with that! Well Shelby just made my day when she came in her 'most casual' outfit which was this:
the PERFECT Senior shoot outfit. The first photo will fit just right in my "what to wear guide." Oh and I guess I forgot to mention that Shelby is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. Guess you figured that out yourself just now. Sorry guys and gals, this firecracker is taken. : )
Well after we got some awesome photos of her in the 'casual outfit' it was time for me to see the rest of the session wardrobe. Shelby and Jane wanted some of my input on the outfits and when I saw them my jaw dropped! I thought I won the 'photographer who loves taking pictures of awesome people in awesome clothing' lottery. She had already told me that she loves to wear heels and besides the flip-flops she was wearing, that was all she had. *serious swoon Well the outfits to go with them were super fun! I could not stand it...Ill just shut up already and let ya'll see for yourself: prepare yourself, image overload...I could not pick just a few, they were seriously all my favorite...all 600 of them
Tried something different...
I hated this photo in camera, but then I uploaded it and fell in love! I was telling Nicholas the little story behind it and some of the others and he said to me, "You really loved them, didnt you?" referring to Shelby and Jane. The stories went something like, "they knew exactly what I was getting at, we were always on the same wavelength, they happily put up with my tendency to get overexcited and silly and they were just such awesome women."
Shot with my br-and new lens that I just got in the mail only 1 hr before our session. Love it. Seriously.
The sun was amazing...such yummy light. This my friends, is why I wont do sessions any other time of the day, there is something about the light and the mood during this part of the day that makes my heart all skippy. Add a gorgeous Shelby and a TEAL adirondack chair and my heart is doing kartwheels. 
Sometimes I almost forgot I was shooting a senior session, it so much felt like a high fashion shoot. Only she was so much more beautiful than any other model. 
I had this photo in my head going to this session, I met Shelby beforehand and this is the impression I had of her...so chill. 
but still fun. love love love this spot. Made me love Safety Harbor so much more...
LOVED this capture...I think its one of my favorites ever. If and when I have a studio, you can bet this photo will be Ha-yooge up on the wall. 
I have been GLUED to my computer since Tuesday playing with these photos...you would think I was a complete weirdo if you could hear the sounds and see the faces I make during the first couple of scan throughs after they've been uploaded to the computer. My little Aly always looks at me, but I dont think she is judging me...I wouldnt be surprised though. : )
Now this is where it really got good. She brought her Homecoming dress that was to die for...Im so glad that we got some good shots of it...they both loved the dress so much. And of course she works it well, total natural in front of the camera. 
Does she not look like Jennifer Love Hewitt here?! Only way better. Seriously. 
But seriously...she has the whole package...Smart, involved, big plans, steady boyfriend, great taste in music, chill, super sweet and magazine cover beautiful. We seemed to have so much in common, minus the drop dead gorgeous part, and we totally clicked. I really really had so much fun during our shoot and loved getting to know her.
Shelbs, thanks SO much for being so fantastic. I can NOT wait for Juan's session and getting to capture a little bit of your relationship. Jane, thanks for being such an awesome Mama, I truly enjoyed our time together!
OMG-She is beautiful. That homecoming dress is to die for. Love all the heels she was wearing too...Those photos Theresa are so awesome. Great job...Love everyone of them and they all came out awesome...Saftey Harbor is an awesome place for photos!!
Posted by: Jeannie | July 25, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Wow!! What an amazing set of photos!! She's a beautiful girl, and you captured her so brilliantly!! I think you really showed her personality in these photos. I feel like I know her just by seeing these. Thank you for sharing them!
Posted by: Elli | July 25, 2008 at 05:49 PM
Girl you rocked this shoot. Absolutely fantastic stuff. All stellar stuff.
Posted by: Chris | July 25, 2008 at 08:03 PM
Theresa! These pictures are absolutely gorgeous! Is that really me? Your talents are genuinely undeniable. You're so young and so blessed already! Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments. Any the senior would die for an opportunity like this! Thanks again <3 S
Posted by: Shelby Welby | July 25, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Stunningly beautiful young woman - you did an excellent job capturing these!!! A+++!!!
Posted by: Jake~ | July 25, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Really nice shots, great lighting and the backgrounds are not competeing with the subject at all - really high level work!
Posted by: Steve | July 26, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Wow The photos are just beautiful. She just captured the essence GREAT!!! Laura
Posted by: laura | July 26, 2008 at 06:54 PM
These are fantastic Theresa!
Posted by: Dennis | July 26, 2008 at 07:34 PM
CRIMENY! Girls who look like Shelby as a teenager are the reaso my ovaries have not been put to better use. What a brave mom Jane is. Love the sun effects you have in the fifth shot and the one in the chair with the sunflower. As always, you leave me WISHING IT WAS ME in those photos! Well, one day soon! Keep up the awesome work. And take Nick to see The Dark Knight - it was great, batman begins was not so good, but don't let it stop you from seeing this one. And GIVE ME SOME CARDS ALREADY! I totally forgot at photo class. See you soon!
Posted by: Cathy Nelson | July 26, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Are you kidding me? She looks like a movie star! Can she take me shopping because I love every single one of her outfits!
Posted by: Becka (Studio222 Photogrpahy) | July 26, 2008 at 11:26 PM
These are incredible! Amazing session :)
Posted by: Matt Dorroh | July 29, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I loved these the first time I saw them, I just didn't comment. Your backlighting is delish and she is gorgeous.
Posted by: Brandi | August 01, 2008 at 01:57 PM
I just realized I never commented on this! These are GORGEOUS! She looks absolutely amazing and you just ROCKED this totally!
Posted by: Lindsey | August 02, 2008 at 03:05 PM
Absolutely stunning!!!! So what time is your magic hour of light?
Posted by: Deb | August 05, 2008 at 08:28 AM
Wow! She is gorgeous! Your photos turned out beautifully! I am so jealous!
Great Job.
Posted by: Jamie | August 05, 2008 at 01:45 PM
Wow , I had a look at the photos and they are stunning!!
Posted by: Heather | August 16, 2008 at 10:33 AM
The photos of Shelby are gorgeous, well, because she is gorgeous of course! Lucky photographer.
Posted by: Leanne Nowell | August 16, 2008 at 10:39 AM
They are absolutely fantastic photos. She looks so different in all of them.
Posted by: Amanda | August 16, 2008 at 10:47 AM
oh wow they are amazing photos.
Posted by: Petra | August 16, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Shelby you are absolutley beautiful. Theresa Marie , you are one awesome photographer. Shelbys naturally stunning but you really brought out her best feature...herself.
Posted by: Juan | August 31, 2008 at 08:08 PM