not everywhere gets to be pretty
Last year, I got to photograph my sweet little cousin's first birthday with a smash cake- FAR to few of those have happened since leaving JCP, by the way. He was sweet and fun, and it was a quick little session that just so happened to take place right outside of their apartment complex. Now, with all due respect, this is what I would call a solidly average apartment complex- not neglected, but they weren't trying to invest all their profits into top-tier landscaping.
BUT- that isn't even necessary. I, as well as so many others, tend to think too hard about photo locations. Of course they're important, but you don't have to hold out for the perfect photo, OR ignore somewhere like your front yard or hometown.
In a couple weeks, I'm doing my first Mini session day, which is exciting. My hometown of Rushville is charming in a truly distinct way to me, maybe just because of how real it is. Real people have really lived their real lives there for years, even generations. It has not become a hotspot to move to like so many other outlying towns have, and it doesn't have much in the way of shopping, jobs, or recreation. But the people there still seem to love it! They do what they can for the community, and try to make it better.
Out of little old Rushville, and its sister town, DeKalb, there are a handful of young adults graduating in May. While I only hold a mild attachment to the high school (I did not attend), I do think it is easy to feel a bit isolated and ignored in the area, and I'd love to help some kids have a true senior photo experience. I'm excited for it!
I actually think Rushville is quite photographable- interesting textures in its old buildings, plentiful and vast fields, and lots of wooded areas thanks to the bluff hills it sits in. I enjoy so many places I shoot in around St. Joseph, but when I really think about the specific settings my subjects land in, they never feel too different than the areas I first started photographing, in Rushville.
Pondering,
Olivia
