Blog – Page 15 – Quad Cities Senior Photographer

8Sep

Quad City Senior Photography | Bryce’s session

I knew going into Bryce’s session that we were going to get some pretty cool shots factoring in his wardrobe looks, our locations and his passion for football. What I didn’t expect was how much fun we would have over the next couple of hours. We ventured from place to place and this Wethersfield High School senior absolutely came alive in front of the camera. I remember that he definitely leaned to having more serious images taken than smiling, so every time we would hear music from a car passing by, I would start dancing. Did I look completely ridiculous? Absolutely. Bud did I get some genuine smiles out of him this way? Yes, 100%.

Here is what Bryce had to say about his session with Moxie Design –
“It was a fun experience and you should get your pictures done by Karen. The most memorable part of my senior session was having so many laughs. Describing the experience in one word? Awesome.”

His advice to seniors getting ready to have their photos taken? “Be loose and act yourself.”
I couldn’t put it better myself, Bryce.
Cheers to an amazing senior year! xoxo

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 men about buy testosterone cream in australia what 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.

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3Sep

Quad Cities Senior Photography | Jaime’s Model Session

I knew the minute that I met Jaime that we would create some beautiful images together so I was super pumped for the day of her session… until I looked at the weather. The forecast showed 100% chance of rain for most of the day, but the radar map showed that it was hit or miss, so we decided to move ahead with her session and throw caution to the wind. Location #1 – Rain. Jaime worked through it like a pro and didn’t let it phase her. We had intermittent showers, but we also had the amazing cloud cover, so we rolled with it. Next up? Location #2 – More rain (however this time the storm was amazing because the sun peeked through the clouds and we were able to capture the most beautiful sun rays in some of her images. Location #3 – Rain again. By now, I was super frustrated with Mother Nature, but we scooted under a Willow Tree and waited for it to pass. Location #4? You guessed it – RAIN! We had our off camera flash setup ready to go and we shot in between rain drops and captured some absolutely breathtaking images.

Jaime was going for a boho chic look for most of her session, adding in some volleyball editorial images and she absolutely nailed it. Jaime said the following about her time with Moxie:
“My senior photo session couldn’t have been better. During my session the weather was unpredictable. It rained off and on throughout the session but it ended up making for some really cool shots. It was so much fun and I felt very comfortable modeling for Karen . Having a down to Earth, nice and funny photographer makes all the difference and that definitely shows in the pictures. My biggest fear for my senior session was how the pictures would turn out – and they turned out absolutely amazing. Karen is the best senior photographer in the area. The pictures turn out amazing and she makes you feel very comfortable (which is something a photographer should do because the pictures turn out better when you are yourself. My experience was FANTASTIC!”

Stay tuned for another blog post featuring the beautiful Jaime as we made our way to a sunflower field one afternoon this summer. Love you, Jaime! xoxo

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.

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28Aug

The Reader’s Choice Awards for 2016 have been announced…

I couldn’t be more excited/thrilled/ecstatic to announce that Moxie Design has been awarded the title of Best Photographer in the Quad Cities for the third year in a row! After getting word of this (and then subsequently dancing around the house for the next five minutes) I was so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from my amazing clients that I was rendered a little bit speechless (and if you know me, you know how absolutely out of character this is). I am so humbled by this recognition and I can’t even put into words my appreciation to all of you who voted for us.

In celebration, I am opening up my Class of 2018 Model Application early! That’s right, juniors – I’m talking to you. If you are currently a high school junior (or if you know one who would be interested) click here to go to the application & information page to learn more about the program. What are you waiting for?

A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to vote and a huge congratulations to all of the other winners & finalists! xoxo

Karen

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15Aug

Quad Cities Senior Photography | Amy’s Midwestern Session

To say that I was excited to shoot Amy’s senior session may be the understatement of the year.
Amy and I go way, way back… here’s the story:

Amy’s mom is my amazing cousin, Julie. I have always looked forward to their trips to the Quad Cities (as they live in Colorado) and have enjoyed watching Amy and her brother Matthew grow from tiny toddlers to (gasp) young adults.
I was so excited when I got the message last year that Amy wanted me to do her senior photos. Fast forward to this June, when the entire fam came into town and we got to spend a week together, which was so much fun!

We took time the day before her shoot to get her outfits selected, pull some props from the Moxie Style Closet and get everything loaded and ready to go. We kicked off Amy’s session at the amazing Haus of Heir boutique salon in Davenport and they made her feel & look absolutely breath taking. The only thing that Amy knew she wanted in her images were some balloons and she had the perfect dress to compliment that look. I LOVE the images that we captured because they look so playful and full of color (good call, Amy)! When we finished Amy’s session, we headed directly to Whitey’s (one of a few trips we made there during their week long stay) and I couldn’t say enough about how wonderful the images were going to turn out. Below are some of my faves (shout out to Hannah at HOH as she makes a guest appearance in the first few images – Hi Hannah!). Congrats on your senior year, Amy! I am so glad that I got to be a part of kicking off your last year in high school and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. Love you bunches! xoxo

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.

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13Aug

Quad City Senior Portraits | Maya’s gorgeous senior session

Maya’s senior session was my first official Moxie model shoot for the Class of 2017 and we couldn’t have kicked off the season any better! This Geneseo High School senior is not only absolutely STUNNING, but she is as sweet as can be. This soon to be fashion merchandising / fashion design major wanted to incorporate some vintage vibes into her images as well as a high fashion look, which we were able to do by playing with some accessories & off camera lighting. Maya brought four looks to her session, which she thought made for the perfect amount of wardrobe changes with the amount of time we had to shoot. I can’t pick just one thing that I love about this girl and her session, but one of my faves is that she didn’t shy away from LIP COLOR! I tell this to my girls all of the time and they never believe me / want to take the plunge on experimenting with some bold lip colors (even in the last few images). Maya’s bold choices made for some killer images, one of which was featured multiple times by numerous national high school senior publications (get it, girl!). I love her fearless attitude and the fact that she hiked for what seemed like miles in the most gorgeous prom dress that I’ve ever seen. Top that with the fact that she even climbed a tree wearing said dress and I mean she basically wins an award for being super AHH-Mazing.

Maya’s feedback from her session revealed that she would tell her friends that “a senior experience with Moxie Design is the best experience you will have” and that we will “take the the best photos ever.” Bonus in that she left her thoughts with “Karen makes it so fun and makes you feel super comfortable” and in one word, she would describe her overall experience as memorable.

Look for more on this gorgeous girl come winter time… we may have something in the works.
Sending lots of love and hugs your way, beautiful! I’m so happy to have your beautiful face representing Moxie Design for the Class of 2017.

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.

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12May

Quad Cities Senior Photography | Austin’s Session

I knew that Austin was going to have some spectacular images from the first shot
that I took when we were testing the lighting.To say that he is photogenic is the understatement of the year –
let’s get this guy set up with a modeling contract – STAT!

I was so proud of him – he came prepared with some killer style and wasn’t afraid to try different things in front of the camera (which always produces amazing images – future seniors: take note)!
Special shout out to Austin and his amazing mom, Teena for helping me capture a creative image. I had read in Austin’s information sheet that he enjoyed fishing. Being the daughter of an avid fisherman, as soon as I saw that I knew that I had to try to capture something epic.
I will tell you that anyone that saw us taking this shot would have thought we were crazy, fishing off the wrong side of the levee – Teena pulling down on the line to get a bend in the rod, etc. but I was able to piece together a pretty fun shot through photoshop that turned out well.
Cheers, my friend, on your graduation!

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.

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12Apr

Meet the Class of 2017 Faces of Moxie Design

I am so pumped to debut photos of all the models representing Moxie Design for the upcoming Class of 2017 school year.
This team is filled with so many amazing soon to be seniors that I can’t even wrap my head around how much fun we will have over the next year and what amazing images are soon to be captured.

In my opinion, the key to a successful session goes way beyond the photos. It’s about getting to know each of these amazing people and capturing who they are at this exciting time in their lives, showcasing their personality in the final images. I can say, after getting to know each of these outstanding teens that I am so proud to have them representing Moxie Design and I’m even more excited to be a part of their senior year.

Cheers to an exciting journey, my friends!

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.

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29Mar

Quad Cities High School Senior Photography | Kat’s senior session

It was amazing for me to photograph Kat for her senior session for a variety of reasons. For one, we had been chatting it up for a little while before we met up, deciding the perfect wardrobe selections for her shoot. For another, she has the most amazing sense of humor and I was literally cracking up for the entire three hours of her session. Last, but certainly not least, Kat is one of those people that absolutely comes alive in front of the camera. I remember the first shot that I took of her was with her pups and I remember thinking – wow, this is breathtaking (and the pups were running and jumping all over the place but Kat looked amazing). And add to that Kat had some great ideas on how she wanted to show her personality and interests, incorporating her love for music into her senior photo shoot – I loved that she knew what she wanted. We had so much fun during her session that we were shooting even after the sun had set, experimenting with off camera lighting. When I got home and uploaded her images, my jaw literally dropped to the ground – these were some of my favorites from the entire season. It was a no brainer that I wanted to shoot with Kat again, so we did a little in studio mini session and she absolutely rocked the socks off those images. She soon became the new face of Moxie Design, with her face adorning the cover of the Class of 2017 Welcome packet as well as the Class of 2016 Moxie Style Guide. I hope that I get a chance to work with this beauty again in the near future (if you’re reading this Kat – hint, hint). Whatever this girl puts her mind to, I know she will succeed. Congrats on your graduation, Kat! xoxo

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.

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14Mar

Quad Cities Senior Photography | Mitch’s double session

I first met Mitch last fall, when I photographed his super awesome girlfriend’s senior session (Hey Lauren!!). I remember during Lauren’s shoot that Mitch mentioned he was on the bowling team for Bettendorf High School and my wheels immediately started turning. I LOVE taking an activity or sport and thinking outside of the box a little bit and I’ve never had the opportunity to do a bowling shoot. Hmmm… “Mitch, have you had your senior photos done yet?”

When I got a call from his mom the next week I was so excited. Not only did I get to work with Mitch and Lauren again, but we would be able to rock the bowling images.
The day that we met up for the first part of Mitch’s session was awful. It was around thirty degrees and sleeting for the first 45 minutes of his session but my fall had gotten so busy that I didn’t have a rescheduling date available so we worked through it. Karen, (Mitch’s mom), Lauren, Mitch and I went from location to location, taking some much needed warm up time in our respective cars and I have to say, Mitch was a serious trooper. It was such a windy day, but you’d never know that Mitch was dealing with the wind and cold by the way he rocked it! We met up for the second half of his session in January at Miller Time, where he bowls regularly. This was my first time on the wrong side of a bowling lane, but it paid off. Literally, within minutes of posting Mitch’s bowling teaser, the image got picked up and circulated by a national high school senior photography affilate, which is awesome. Below are a few of our favorites from his sessions – enjoy!

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.

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4Mar

Quad Cities High School Senior Photography | Will’s Session

So last year I got a lot of calls from mothers of senior boys. Over half of these conversations started out by asking “Do you photograph senior guys?”
My response was always the same “of course I do,” which I thought went without saying. Taking a look at my website after the first few calls, a light bulb went off in my head – I completely understood why I was getting this question so frequently. There may have been a handful of shots incorporating the High School Senior guy, but 90% of the images were featuring senior girls. I get it, the girls are definitely more focused on the fashion aspect of their senior photographs, where as the guys are typically getting their photos done to appease mom & dad. What could we do to get the word out there that Moxie Design wasn’t a studio who shot senior girls exclusively? We decided to make a marketing video showcasing what a session looks like for the senior guy.

Enter Will. Will was a referral from one of my amazing Class of 2016 Moxie girls and I am so thankful that we were able to connect. The day of Will’s session was unseasonably cold, which was odd because fall was warmer than it typically is. The winds were insane (topping out around 50 miles per hour or so weather.com told us) and it was freezing with a capital F. Both Will & his mom Vanessa were troopers through the entire afternoon and Will absolutely rocked his images. The best part about Will’s shoot was that we were able to incorporate places that were special to him, along with one of his main loves & interests – Dirt Bike Racing! We had so much fun that afternoon, and even though I couldn’t feel my fingertips the entire ride home, it was way more than worth it. To see Will’s video, click here: https://themoxiedesign.com/moxie-designs-high-school-experience/

Cheers to your senior year, Will – I know that your future holds great things!

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.

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3Mar

Quad Cities High School Senior Photography | The SEEN Modeling Competition Finalist – Kat Baker

I am absolutely squealing with delight over the fact that my girl Kat made it to the finalist round for the SEEN national high school senior modeling competition. I’d like to say for the record that I’m not a bit surprised, but I’m so happy that this senior stunner’s inner and outer beauty is being recognized on a national level.

With hundreds upon hundreds of entries, Kat’s images & story were selected to be among the group that will now compete to make up the amazing group of seniors that will represent group III.

Stay tuned for the big announcement later in the month of the final group of 12. Fingers crossed!!

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.

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8Feb

Quad Cities Senior Portraits | Mary’s stunning session

The first thing I think I said to Mary as we met up for her session was “you are absolutely stunning.”
From her beautiful eyes to her hair that nearly everyone I know would be envious of, this girl has got it going on. I absolutely loved every wardrobe look that she had selected – I mean, she has some fierce style. What I loved about Mary’s session is that she never once said “Um, I don’t think so” when I would suggest something. She was up for every suggestion or idea and even threw in some of her own to mix up the photos. When I sat down to edit her images, I was literally squealing with delight because they all came out so beautiful. So beautiful in fact that Mary was the senior that I used to create my first Senior magazine sample. Her gorgeous face graces the cover (and all of the pages) of one of the look books on display in the gallery room for all of our clients to see – (Class of 2017, get ready – this item is HOT and started flying off of the shelves as soon as I made the first one). I am so excited that we have a second spring session lined up – I can’t wait to work with this beauty again. xoxo

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.

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3Feb

The Senior Experience Videos

Before we kicked the Class of 2016 season into high gear, we knew that we wanted to make two promotional videos that would showcase what a Senior Experience is like with Moxie Design.

Ladies first-

I absolutely loved working with Lakin and her family. We met up on a perfect summer day and had an absolute blast getting to know each other during the session. Lucky for me, my husband is a super talented, award winning cinematographer who came along with the sole purpose of filming a marketing piece that would show potential clients what a session including hair & makeup (from the talented artists at Haus of Heir boutique salon in Davenport). We traveled from location to location and experimented with necklaces, hats, smoke bombs, you name it. I couldn’t be more pleased with how amazing Lakin was to work with, not to mention how she came alive in front of my camera. This girl is so awesome and I’m so lucky that she agreed to let us capture her senior photo session to share with others. Thanks, Lakin! xoxo

We met up with Will on an absolutely freezing afternoon in October with winds up to 40 miles per hour. If this had been a session for a senior girl, we would have most likely had to reschedule for another day for hair purposes (40 mph winds + styled hair for a senior photo session = bad). Will and his mom Vanessa were totally in, despite the cold temperatures. They took us to some amazing locations that we had never seen before and we had so much fun getting to know them throughout his shoot. I couldn’t be happier to have such an awesome person representing the face of the Moxie senior guy. Thanks, Will! xoxo

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.

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2Feb

2016 Moxie Senior Style Guide Released

Hot off the press – Reserve your copy today!

We are so excited to release the Class of 2016 Moxie Senior Style Guide. This one hundred and twenty two page magazine features our favorite images from the last year of capturing senior portraits for some of the most amazing guys and girls from the midwest.

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.

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27Jan

Quad Cities Award Winning Senior Photos | Paige’s Senior Session

As soon as I met Paige, I knew her images were going to turn out stunning. She has these amazing eyes, her hair is absolutely gorgeous and when you add in her super cool sense of style you have what look more like editorial photos from a magazine than senior photos. Paige has a special place in my heart because one of her images was the first to be picked up by a national senior publication and featured on their social media as a “senior stunner.” Big shout out to my friends at Haus of Heir for making Paige look not only uber beautiful but camera ready for her photos. Happy Senior Year! xoxo

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.

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20Jan

Quad Cities Senior Portraits | The Beautiful Taylor

I have to start this post by giving a huge shout out to Cameron at the glorious Haus of Heir boutique salon in Davenport because he introduced me to this wonderful family. I had worked with Taylor’s sister Maddie on a few fashion shoots before meeting up to do her senior photos so I already knew how beautiful this family was. That being said, Taylor absolutely rocked her session. The fashion styling that went into her session was amazing and she showed up to the shoot looking absolutely stunning (second shout out to Haus of Heir – her eye makeup was AHHH-MAZ-ING). We had so much fun going from place to place and we ended the session just walking around downtown LeClaire where we found some pretty rockin’ photo locations. Cheers to a wonderful senior year, Taylor!! xoxo

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.

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12Jan

Quad Cities Senior Photography | Cheyanne’s Session

Cheyanne’s senior session strikes an emotional chord with me because one specific location that both she and her mom wanted to utilize was her Grandparent’s old barn. The property had recently been sold, but the new owners allowed us to take as long as we wanted to in order to capture some truly meaningful images at a space that was extremely close to both of their hearts. The flipside is actually quite ironic as I had wanted to do a shoot at that exact barn for the past two years. What happened was the perfect combination of country chic gone glam. Cheyanne and her mom kept me laughing through the entire session and in between it all, we got some absolutely stunning images. A huge congrats to this beauty on her senior year! xoxo

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.

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8Jan

Quad Cities Senior Portraits | Erin’s Senior Session

When I met up with Erin it was like an all afternoon girl party. Her super awesome mom & aunt not only came along for the ride but helped during her session as lighting assistants, fashion consultants and prop movers (Thanks Julie & Sara!). This Moline High School Senior has the most amazing blue eyes, which absolutely popped in her photos -thanks in part to our amazing friends at Haus of Heir Boutique Salon in Davenport. They pampered her with hair and makeup and let me tell you, she looked absolutely stunning. We traveled to a few locations over the course of the afternoon and ended up at sunset with a perfect shot to showcase her amazing violin skills. Happy Senior Year, Erin! xoxo

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.

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1Jan

A look back on 2015

2015 was an absolutely crazy year for Moxie Design. We made some of changes, learned some awesome photography tips and tricks and got the privilege to work with and get to know some absolutely amazing clients who turned into friends. Being a bit nostalgic, I wanted to share the top ten moments, events and memories that transpired over the past 365 days. I wake up every morning so grateful to get to call my favorite hobby my career and I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store.

Cheers to these moments from 2015 in no particular order:

#10- Having images of my seniors featured on social media by the organizations that I have looked up to for years – Seniorologie, Seniors ignite, Modern senior, We are The Seen

#9- Appearing on Paula Sands Live. It was so awesome to be able to be featured on such an iconic show for the Quad Cities to share a little bit about my passion for senior photography. Thanks, PSL! To see our segment from the show, click here: Paula Sands Segment

#8- Having two of my Class of 2016 girls make it to the finals in the We Are The Seen national modeling competition. I’m so proud of you, Emma & Erin!

#7- Being honored with four awards – Seniorologie People’s Choice Award for 2015/ Senior Style Guide’s Hot 100 Senior Photographers from across the globe / Best Photographer in the Quad Cities / Named one of the top 25 Senior Photographers by the Twelfth Year (this one came last night before the ball dropped!!)

#6- Working with the awesome folks at Milltown Coffee to provide some artwork for their walls. I fell in love with metal prints this year (along with most of my clients) and was so happy to collaborate with such an amazing local business displaying some QC landmark images. (Check out Milltown Coffee at 3800 River Drive in Moline – you won’t regret it)!

#5- Meeting up with the uber talented McClanahan’s of McClanahan Studio in Ames for an intense one on one full day workshop. I learned so much from Dan & Alex that my head felt like it was going to explode on the drive home. I have to credit Dan with ripping off my bandaid of fear when it came to off camera lighting – and in turn, opening up a whole new world of creativity. (and as you can tell by the photo, we had a bit of fun during the whole learning process)

#4- Moving into our new house. This one happened so quickly that at times, it still seems like a dream. We needed more room and toyed with the idea of building a new home and went to check out a house that was not to far away from where we were currently living so we could get an idea of what kind of square footage we would want to base things on (with no intention of buying said house). Two weeks later, we put in an offer on that exact home and then listed our house for sale by owner. We got a call within fifteen minutes of listing with a buyer and literally thirty days later, we were moving in to our forever home. A huge part of the reason we wanted to look for something larger was to accommodate Moxie with a new studio space and a gallery room for my premier viewing & ordering sessions. After eight months of pouring our heart (along with blood, sweat and tears) into the house, it is definitely feeling like home and we couldn’t be happier.

#3- Haus of Heir Partnership – I cannot say enough amazing things about Cameron, Ramiro and the amazing staff at Haus of Heir! Deciding to partner with this amazing boutique salon was probably the best decision that I made all year in regards to Moxie. Being able to add professional hair and makeup to my senior sessions is huge, but when you are working with a top notch salon like Haus of Heir, it is absolutely mind blowing. The talented artists at HOH truly understand what it takes to make my senior girls camera ready and their work always instantly boosts the girls’ self esteem, which ensures that their session starts off on the right foot. I LOVE Haus of Heir and I will continue to scream their praises from the rooftops!

#2- The scariest and single most important decision that I made all year – Deciding to be a high school senior photographer – exclusively. This one was tough for me because I truly loved working with all of the families, babies and couples that I have met over the last few years. I had spent days, scratch that, weeks building a website that offered examples of the many different types of photography I offered. The day that I made the decision to truly focus on the high school market, I panicked a little, even though I knew I was following my heart. What if it didn’t work out? What if the phone didn’t ring? Should I really commit to doing this? It was then that I had a conversation with one of my senior photog mentors who said that focusing exclusively on the senior market would be a game changer – and it was. I am SO THANKFUL that I decided to jump off of that high dive and never look back.

#1- Meeting amazing seniors and their families. Although this list is in random order, make no mistake, number one is definitely my favorite, hands down. I love that a senior session with Moxie Design can boost the self confidence confidence of my guys + girls, but that I often hear that the photo session was one of their favorite memories of their senior year. When I get an email with kind words from a parent or invited to birthdays and graduation parties for my seniors it is the best feeling. I make a huge effort to get to know my seniors and their families and those relationships last far beyond the pick up date of their canvases and grad announcements. I truly treasure each and every one of my past clients and can’t wait to meet the incoming Class of 2017! Let’s do this.

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.

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23Dec

15 of my favorite images from 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, I find myself looking back on my shoots from the past year and having such an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am able to do something that I am so passionate about for a living. What’s even better is that I have come across such an amazing group of clients and their families – people that I will call friends for the rest of my life. Last week, I decided that I wanted to showcase my ten favorite images from 2015. Yeah right, this task was much harder to narrow down than I had anticipated. My favorite ten became twelve and when I was done I had over three dozen images in the “Must have” folder. I have managed to whittle the list down to fifteen images and they are listed below in no particular order. Enjoy!

Photo #1 – Lakin. To me, this image represents a great deal more than the awesome photo that it is for so many reasons. First off, I absolutely love Lakin and her family. I met them through my Class of 2015 model rep program (Thanks Kristie!) and we hit it off right from the start. What is so special about her session is that we made my first marketing video during her shoot. Shout out to my uber talented husband Matt, owner and cinematographer at MotionSix Creative for capturing The Moxie Senior Experience within a three minute video (to check out more of Matt’s awesome video work, click here: MotionSixCreative). Last, but certainly not least, this image shows me how far my photography skills & creativity have come within the last couple of years. Off camera lighting & smoke bombs? Yes please.

Photo #2 – Erin. This beauty is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. This image was chosen to represent Moxie Design on the We Are The Seen website and made the finals of a national high school senior modeling campaign. Work it, girl!

Photo #3 – Colin. This image is what I love to refer to as a happy accident. Although I always scout out locations before selecting them for photo sessions, this gorgeous ivy wall was an amazing surprise that we found towards the end of his session. The color, the depth, the texture – I. love. it.

Photo #4 – Will. Let me tell you, it was tough to narrow down my favorite image of this guy. What’s even more awesome is that he is just as nice and genuine as he is handsome.

Photo #5 – Rachel. I recently published this beautiful girl’s blog post and again, I could have chosen a dozen of her images to make the favorite list because she is photogenic with a capital PH. She is what I would officially call a classic beauty.

Photo #6 – Kennedy. The moment that we captured the image below, it was thunderstorming like nobody’s business. In hindsight, I’m so glad that the storms pushed us to think outside of the box to score some pretty phenomenal photos using off camera flash. Gorge!

Photo #7 – I had to select an image from my first stylized shoot with some of the Class of 2015 Moxie girls. I still remember how hot it was that evening with literally hundreds of mosquitoes surrounding us. I love each of you girls! xoxo

Photo #8 – Alex. This is one of my all time favorite sporting shots that I’ve taken. Alex is an all star on the football field and this image kind of gives you an idea of how fierce he is. Sidenote* This image was picked up by the national organization, Modern Senior and was featured on their social media sites – super exciting! Looking good, Alex.

Photo #9- Rachel. I mean seriously, girl- you have some absolutely beautiful eyes. I just LOVE this image.

Photo #10 – Mary. Mary, her awesome mom and I had a blast during her photo shoot and I knew the second that I took this image that it would be one of my faves. The pose, the hair, the wardrobe – stunning.

Photo #11 – Trevor. Out of over six thousand photos submitted, this image of Trev was selected and published in Senior Style Guide’s Hot 100 issue. That alone is pretty awesome, but the personality and genuineness that this senior possesses makes it outstanding. Rock it, Trevor!

Photo #12 – Emma. I was lucky enough to do two shoots with this senior stunner and I had a serious hard time trying to narrow down my favorites from her sessions. The sunlight in this one just makes me smile, so I chose it. I should mention that this gorgeous girl also made the finals of the Seen modeling competition (along with Erin from photo two). Woop woop!

Photo #13 – Kat. From the minute I met this awesome girl, we just clicked. I can’t even put into words how much my camera loved her and how much fun I had during her session. Looking forward to doing some stylized images with her in the near future…

Photo #14 – Bret. Bret Michaels, how the heck did you sneak into this top 15? You’re not a high school senior!
I felt compelled to put this image in because it was such an awesome experience, being able to work with someone who I listened to growing up (okay, so it was mainly my sister that bought his albums (tapes?), but I definitely knew most of the words to the songs he was singing during his show. Rock.

Photo #15 – Maddie. Last, but certainly not least, is this gorgeous girl. Maddie was one of my Moxie girls this year and it was so much fun getting the opportunity to work with her not one, not two, but three times over the course of the year. Looking forward to our next session, girl!

So that concludes my list of faves and as the album to 2015 closes, I’m getting so excited to meet the class of 2017 in the coming months. Cheers to a wonderful new year, my friends! 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.

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