A Senior Session with Waffles, Chunk, Poncho, and Madison…

I have chased many things around with my camera at my photo sessions. I’ve chased dogs, cats, large extended families, baseball players, soccer players, basketball stars, and very energetic toddlers who don’t want their picture taken! But shooting a senior session that involved chasing around a beautiful Heifer and two lambs was a first for me.

And I must admit, I’m pretty sure this city girl (me) had more fun than anyone else at the photo shoot! What a wonderful, exciting adventure I had with Madison and her family. Her mother sent me an email asking if I had ever done senior sessions with livestock (or if I was willing to), and as you guessed, my answer was a very excited YES!

What a fun opportunity. I know very little about heifers and lambs, but I know a lot about cameras and photos, so I felt like I was ready for this challenge. A typical senior photo session usually involves 1 graduating senior, a few different outfits, and a couple of location changes. Including a Heifer and two lambs as part of the session was new to me!

I was so excited to meet Madison and her family. We met out in Lucas, at a location I picked based on the animals that would be joining us. We had considered meeting somewhere in Allen (maybe Dayspring), but I wasn’t sure what the HOA in Twin Creeks would think of me chasing around Waffles, Poncho, and Chunk (Madison’s Heiffer and 2 lambs) with my camera.

Not to mention all the kids who would want to stop and pet them! I was worried that this photo session might take all day if we met somewhere like Dayspring. But the location we chose was pretty remote, and Madison’s mom only had to stop one time so some sweet little kids could meet Chunk and Poncho. Don’t you know that made their day? They thought they were just going on a boring hike with their Mom and Dad. What a surprise it must’ve been to encounter two sweet lambs (on leashes) while hiking! Right?

So off we went, with Waffles, Chunk and Poncho in tow, and I must say, these 3 were better behaved than some of the young children I’ve tried to photograph! I was so impressed with Madison and how she handled these animals. They adored her. Madison had total control (mostly) of 3 of them, and it was as if they had done this before. It was like they understood what I was saying to Madison, and they struck their poses perfectly for the photos.

Madison and her family were all so sweet to me, and didn’t ever complain about all my questions I had about Madison’s animals. After spending a couple of hours with them, I’ve decided that my new thing is going to be Livestock Photo Shoots! It was just so much fun, and who doesn’t love animals?

Hearing all about Madison’s journey with livestock amazed me. She has put so much energy and love into taking care of and raising animals over the last few years. I was so impressed with her dedication to them. I’m happy for Madison and this fun time. She is considering attending Texas A&M after graduation. What an exciting journey she has ahead of her.

I just love visiting with seniors and hearing all about their future plans. Best of luck to Madison! And many thanks to her mom for trusting me (and my lack of livestock experience) to capture some special moments for Madison with her babies. Here’s hoping she always contacts me when she needs/wants pictures with her animals!! If I can help you with a senior photo session, you can contact me at Paula Mason Photography.

After telling my family all about this amazing photos session, I think I might be in trouble… My daughter has now seen all of Madison’s pictures and has decided that when she’s a senior, she wants to do a “cool photoshoot like Madison’s. You know…with cows and stuff.” Oh my…

Until next time…