Berit | Lifestyle Portrait Photography | Senior Session

"Hi Heather, Berit asked me the other day if she could have you do her senior pictures. Yes... I said Berit and senior in the same sentence."

Hold the phone. Wasn't that sassy little thing just turning five last year? There is no way she's seventeen. And now I have a five year old. Will it go by just as quickly? Eeeek! Time really does fly!!!

So we met for coffee and I got to know Berit. The seventeen year old Berit. The Berit who loves being outdoors and shooting a bow. The Berit who is both sweet and reserved as well as ferocious and focused. The Berit who grew up into a woman without me ever realizing it.

The girls met me first at Mulhall's where we traipsed around foliage and flowers. And LOOK AT THOSE BOOTS. Aren't they adorable? I kept thinking they looked like bright red cherries, their color jewel-toned and perfectly juicy.

After playing in the greenhouses, we left for nearby Tranquility and had the park to ourselves. No biker would attempt such muddy trails, but we were dauntless and did our darndest not to slip and ruin outfits and gear. We hiked quite a ways to get to some favorite spots and then went off to catch the last light at Standing Bear Lake.

To my surprise there was no dock (where did it go?!) but Berit was fearless and marched right into the cold water, ready to splash and coax some curious ducks our way. And that light...oh my. It was perfection.

Berit, I hope you love these pictures of you at seventeen through my lens. You are so playful and quietly beautiful and fierce. I just love who you've become.