Sometimes in life you meet people that you just instantly click with and they become more like family than acquaintances or friends.  That was definitely the case with Aleigha and her amazing mom Jennifer.  I was so excited for Aleigha’s shoot as we were going to be incorporating a lot of items from the style closet into her shoot AND we were heading to her grandparent’s farm as one of the locations for her session.  I LOVE when we are able to experiment with accessories on a shoot – a simple accessory or two can completely change the look of a photo and Aleigha was ready to experiment with a bunch of different looks.  When we pulled up at her grandparent’s farm, Jennifer opened the hatch on her SUV and it was like the angels started singing.  Not only did we bring along a bunch of things to incorporate, but she had so many options that were all pressed, organized and it literally looked like Charming Charlie on wheels.  We started shooting with horses and then were able to shoot in their stable, which made for some awesome and totally unique images.  From there, we headed to this super cute area in Fulton and I will never forget, I was showing Aleigha how to lean into this fence line from a posing persepctive and I came in contact with a huge burr bush.  I had hundreds of tiny burrs everywhere – in my hair, on my pants, covering my shirt – I literally was finding them all night long and into the next day!  After our time at that park, we were given permission to shoot at this awesome vintage gas station, which again, gave such a unique and editorial feel to Aleigha’s images.  We ended the night with some cheer photos at Clinton High School and when we left, I felt like we had captured some awesome images, but knew that we had made two new friends that we would have for life.

Here is a little about what Aleigha and her awesome mom Jennifer had to say about their experience with us:
“Our Moxie Senior Experience was the best decision ever!!! I will remember my photo shoot forever. Karen and Sam made everything easy. From start to finish, I felt so special and confident. The entire process, from the initial meeting, through COVID restrictions, the Moxie Closet, ideas and collabrations – the Moxie process is a well-oiled machine. The day of the photo shoot felt like a day spent with my best friends. The end result were pictures that my family and I will cherish forever.  I had a variety of looks I was going for. I had particular items from great grandmothers and grandmas that I wanted to incorporate into my pictures. I wanted very different looks for each shoot based on my interests: Cheer, Horses, Casual, Mod, and Retro. Karen provided great feedback and made each look happen. It was amazing. I did not have any worries, but I was concerned because we added my horses to the photo shoot and one was not on his best behavior. Karen was very patient and the end results were absolutely amazing. The shoot was so much fun, but I also loved the anticipation of the Reveals. My whole family was so excited. The first picture came and it was so awesome. My original locations were my grandparents farm because it is one of my favorite places and Eagle Point Park in Clinton. When the DeRecho hit our town a couple of weeks before, we had to find new locations at the last minute. We chose Heritage Canyon in Fulton and there is a beautiful old gas station in our town that worked perfectly for my Retro shots. For my cheer pictures, we used the CHS Football Stadium.  As for a favorite part, it was all amazing but Karen made me laugh so much when she was playing with my grandpa’s dog and then one of the horses became obsessed with her and kept following her around and freaking her out. Her and Sam just felt like family immediately.   If we were to tell our best friends about our experience with Moxie Design, we would say DO IT!!!!!! You will have the best time ever and take advantage of the Moxie Design Closet. I love Moxie Design because I have timeless pictures that my family and I will cherish always.”

One piece of advice that they have for other seniors getting their photos taken?  “Mix it up and try new things. Because we scheduled the shoot 9 months in advance, there was plenty of time to think about what I really wanted to express and find wardrobe pieces that were unique. Definitely take advantage of the MOXIE Design Closet…….it was so fun “shopping” for free.”

If they could describe their overall senior session experience in one word, they would choose  “memorable.”

Thank you for letting us be a part of your senior year, Aleigha!!

xoxo,

Karen

Moxie Design is an award winning boutique photography studio that specializes in providing a boutique high school senior photography experience in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas including but not limited to Moline &  Rock Island, Illinois, Davenport & Bettendorf, Iowa.  Karen Bishop, owner of Moxie Design, has been recognized on both a national and international level as one of the top up and coming high school senior photographers in the industry.  Moxie Design will offer you not only images that represent the awesome person that you are, but an experience that you will remember for years to come.