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.
