Naperville Senior Photos at St James Forest Preserve
Against the canvas of fall’s vibrant hues, Maddy’s Naperville senior photos are like something from a fairy tale. I’ve been dreaming of this session for years now, considering I was photographing this beautiful girl when she was just FOUR years old! I remember when she was born, and I remember just starting in my photography endeavors as a young teen, using Maddy as my little model on Sunday mornings after service in the pot-holed filled parking lot alley. As she grew, so did my portrait experience, and I continued to work with her mom and her for yearly portraits until I moved to Southern California for a portion of my 20’s.
Now I’m here again in our hometown Chicago suburbs, and here Maddy is, graduating in the class of 2024 – grown up, ambitious, and simply stunning as ever!
Maddy chose the picturesque St James Farm Forest Preserve nearby Naperville, Illinois as the backdrop for her fall high school senior portraits. With her mesmerizing red locks, we knew it was going to be the most perfect place and time. Despite the chilly weather that had our poor girl shivering in her last dress outfit, the day exceeded our expectations. We had our design consultation in the summer where we planned out all the details, outfits, and locations, so it was awesome to see it all come together. It’s giving life, beauty, grace!
Incorporating Mom’s Vision for Her Senior Girl’s Portraits
Maddy’s mom Kim has been a longtime friend of both my mother and mine. I’ve always loved our talks about our mutual interests in the creative spaces of design, business, and the Lord. It was so fun to have her with on the session and get to experience her joy and pride over her beautiful girl!
As an interior designer, Kim has a keen eye and love for architecture. So her one request was that we incorporate interesting textures and architectural elements into the session. We loved utilizing St James’ beautiful variety of locations – like the silo, brick wall and archway, and black barn doors.
Poses, Playlists, and Pinterest, Oh My!
These next few are some of my absolute favs!! Aside from the traditional senior poses, I’m a big fan of playing with fun, interesting editorial type looks. Maddy was such a sport and totally on board with all my ideas and Pinspiration. (Did I mention we blasted Taylor Swift from a speaker in my backpack the whole time?! YESSS you get your own personal DJ and playlist to pump you up the whole time you get your senior photos with me!)
Enter: the grande finale outfit. *GASP* This color was beyond perfect and gorgeous on Maddy. It brought her dream of fall senior photos to life and encapsulated her and mom’s vision. The breeze started picking up a bit as the sun lowered a bit more (much to Maddy’s bare skin’s dismay). However, it did us a favor as it created some beautiful movement and flow in her dress and hair. Perfection.
I’ll leave you with my personal favorite image of the day. It was such an honor to work with Maddy again all these years later, to watch her grow and pursue her dream of beauty school next year. I can’t wait to see where she goes in life with her sweet spirit and drive!
Are you dreaming up your own Naperville senior photos? I would love to bring it to life for you! My full high school senior photos experience includes a design meeting, styling guidance, and ordering session. The power is yours to choose your package, select your favorite images, and create a beautiful collection from my studio menu. We’ll turn your beautiful images into custom albums, gorgeous wall art, prints, and more! Get started here.
Want to connect more personally? Let’s be friends on Instagram, or connect over Pinspiration and TikToks! 😉
