Congratulations to El Dorado High school senior, Jakob, who I photographed at Larsen’s Apple Barn in Camino recently. Senior year. The big finale.
Jakob is crazy about soccer (as you can see from his images) and he plays for Ethos Academy, which is an affiliate team for the San Jose Earthquakes. You could see him really come alive as he practiced with the soccer ball.
Mom, Andi, is an old friend of mine(and a fabulous, sought after Real Estate agent). The Wagners used to live up here locally and I photographed their family a few years back. As always, it’s crazy to now think about Jakob heading off into his senior year, driving himself to school each day. Right now it looks like he’s planning to start in Junior College to avoid racking up those massive student loans, before heading into a four year university for his final two years.
Although I always encourage parents – particularly moms – to hang out with us during senior sessions if they feel their presence would help us capture the best images. Andi was reluctant to be around for the session in case she cramped her sons style and so instead chose to show up at the end. But, in reality, I feel these shoots ARE for mom, about capturing those last few glimpses of their child before they head off to become their own, separate person, with their own, separate life. Yes, they are also a celebration of an amazingly exciting time in a teen’s life, but it’s mom that’s going to print these and put them on the wall. And this is what I told Jakob as we walked around the park, hunting light and dribbling the ball. Jakob has an amazing smile and a great sense of his own style, which made him fun to photograph. Even so, those moments after his mom arrived elicited some of the best expressions – even the ones of exasperation as she tried to get “that look” from him that she hoped to preserve.
Special thanks to my assistant for the day, Rachel, who is also Jakob’s aunt, and Lynn Larsen for allowing us to explore her park after hours.
