“Mrs. Krupke, when you photograph my senior photos next summer, we’re going out on the boat. I’m going to wear a cap & gown while I’m wakeboarding.” I nodded in polite excitement while internally thinking, “How the heck is THAT going to happen?! I hope she knows what she’s doing.”
Girl, she knew exactly what to do. But I’ll explain more when we get there. First, here are the beginning photos from Emi’s shoot in Pella where we did her family session right before her shoot. While the girls were with my camera, the boys were getting to the lake to get the boat on the water & ready.
Emi was fresh off a missions trip and it’s safe to say she’s been bitten by the bug to go serve people with the Gospel. When she got out of the car in this gorgeous skirt, I knew the vibe we were going for, we just had a trek ahead of us & had to book it before the sun went down. This area of Lake Red Rock was set to close in 15 minutes from our arrival, the sun was going down on our time to get to the boat & on the water, so I’m sure Emi was livin’ it up on these rocks and trying not to fall, while I was internally freaking out about the Time Factor. I needn’t have worried-Emi did an incredible job with the little posing prompts I gave her prior to her going rock climbing. In a skirt.
We made the hike back to the car, zipped to the dock and for anyone curious, allow me to highlight how Emi did this without getting her hair or cap or gown wet:
-put hair up in a bun to get in the water
-boat gets you up on the wakeboard, surfing
-Dad hands you the gown, get dressed WHILE WAKEBOARDING
-take hair’s bun out to get hair down for cap-wearing, zip up gown
-Dad hands you the cap to put on.
-rock it for several turns around the lake, then de-gown, de cap and just enjoy the wakeboarding tricks!
(side note: Emi’s brother graduated May of ‘21 and she and her mom hemmed the gown from his 6’3” frame to fit Emi’s 5’6”-ish frame)
I had to include Emi’s “baby otter pose” as the last image. I’ve never been on a boat for wakeboarding before, so this experience was entirely new to me as a photographer. I am so proud of Emi, big bro Max for his boat driving skills to keep her safe & moving steadily in the boat’s wake, Dad Alex for the smooth hand-offs of attire and for Mama Angie for holding me steady so I could shoot without falling over & Emi’s little bros for the shouts of encouragement the whole way! It truly took a team effort and it was the best team to work with. 🙂
Juergens-Thank you SO much for having me out on a gorgeous night, for teaching me new things with such patience and grace. It was such a fun night and I’m so thankful to have you guys on my roster of #ckseniors.
All the best this school year,
Carrie
PS You can view the rest of their favorites HERE.
