It's that time of year again, senior graduation portrait season! Since my brief hiatus while I was recovering, I actually had a short stint working for Lifetouch. I wasn't there long but I did learn that senior graduation photos are so exciting. Seeing young, vibrant people celebrating that big moment... It's a beautiful thing!

Trinity is celebrating her senior graduation from Royal Oaks! Her graduation cap was handmade as a dedication to her grandfather, which I just think is beautiful. It reads, I wanted to give up but then I remembered who was watching. I teared up almost instantly. Having thought of my father when I crossed the stage at my own graduation, I looked into her eyes and was absolutely grateful her and her mother had chosen me as her photographer.

Texas' Next Track Star - "I wasn't Ready!"

If you've never done senior graduation photos with a track star, you've never known how crazy it is to realize that at 31 years old, you're out of shape. When I was told Trinity was a track star, and we'd be doing some of her graduation photos on the field, I got excited! Something like this has never been featured in my portfolio. Let's be honest, there's not a lot of black athletes showcased much of anywhere outside of basketball... If you were to ask anyone to name three black athletes in another field, I guarantee two of them are gonna be Venus and Serena. Which is cool!

But these moments... realizing this was a high school track store, I found myself getting excited for what happens next for her. College is gonna be awesome!!

What I wasn't ready for was for her to take flight...

Fun Fact: I was actually a freshman in high school at a school called Trinity, whose mascot was The Trailblazers.. When I looked at Trinity, I realized.. She is a trail blazer FOR SURE! These weren't poses. These were Trinity running, doing her stretches.. really embodying all she'd learned in her high school years!

Finally, her senior photos...

There's always this sort of veil broken when seniors come out of the cap and gown. There's no theme at this point. Just commitment to memory. These are kids at the end of the day. Not models. So, you'd think it'd be... perhaps harder to nail those perfect senior photos but no.. Trinity was a natural.