Over the Years: The Harringer Family

The other day I was talking to my favorite person (my grandma Jo) on the phone and we ended up talking about the career paths we chose.  She was a nurse for most of her adult working years and I was an elementary school teacher for five years until I decided to resign and begin my photography business.  She told me there have been times when she thought about doing something besides nursing, but looking back now she couldn't imagine doing anything else.  She LOVED nursing!  Then she asked me what I career I would have chosen if I could start all over again.  As I thought, I honestly couldn't think of any other career choices I would have made.  

I loved teaching, but I didn't love the confines of teaching.  I loved that no two days were ever the same.  I loved having to adapt and be flexible throughout the day as different situations arose.  I loved the students and coworkers.  But I did not love the schedule.  I felt very confined.  When I decided to resign I immediately felt a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could now breathe freely.  

I absolutely LOVE being a photographer!  I love nearly everything about it - besides paying taxes.  I love making my own schedule.  I love creating wall art for families that will be treasured for years to come.  I love it when clients tell me that my work captures so many emotions.  But most of all I love meeting new people and connecting with them!  I love to capture them year after year and create beautiful wall art that showcases their family!  For this reason I have decided to begin a series which focuses on my loyal clients over the years titled, "Over the Years."

The Harringer Family

I have known the Harringer Family for several years. The Harringer boys played youth baseball with my oldest son. We would visit as parents who had kids playing on the same team in Riesel. In May of 2015 I was finishing up my first year of being in business and I was debuting a senior model program. Eric was one of the senior models for the upcoming school year. Since this first session I have continued to work with members of their family capturing memories during their years in high school. It is truly an honor to be their family photographer.

May 2015 - Eric was one of my first senior models.

September 2015 - Eric loved playing high school football in Mart, Texas.

May 2016 - Eric’s final senior session.

Later that year I had the pleasure of photographing one of their other boys, Mike. He was no enjoying his senior year of high school and also played high school football in Mart, Texas. I photographed Mike for the first time during senior night at a football game in November of 2016.

November 2016 - Mike with his parents at Mart High Senior Night during a football game.

April 2017 - Mike’s senior session took place in Personville, Texas.

A couple of years later in 2019 I was asked to photograph Eric again when he learned that he was going to be a father of a baby girl. During this session we also decided to include some photos of Eric wearing his bull riding gear.

February 2019 - Eric is going to be a daddy!

February 2019 - Eric wearing some of his bull riding gear. He competes in several rodeos throughout the year.

In 2020 COVID swept the area - as well as the rest of the world. This pandemic forced many closures of public gatherings, including schools. With that came the cancellation of school activities, such as prom. Mike’s girlfriend, Scarlett, was a senior and was going to miss out on her senior prom, but the mothers of Mike and Scarlett put their own prom together for the two.

May 2020 - Mike accompanied Scarlett to her senior prom.

November 2020 - Mike and Scarlett had a photo session in Personville - the same location Mike had his senior session.

I have captured many memories for the Harringer Family over the past six years and I LOVE being their family photographer! I am looking forward to capturing many more memories for their family for the years to come.

“We take photographs as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.”

— Katie Thurmes

THIS IS THE THIRTEENTH FEATURED FAMILY IN THE "OVER THE YEARS" SERIES.  CHECK OUT OUR OTHER FEATURED FAMILIES!

1. The Wier Family

2. The Lopez Family

3. Tana and Layla

4. The Dale Family

5. The Craven Family

6. The Carpenter Family

7. The Leonardelli Family

8. The Spence-Waldrop Family

9. The Schmedthorst Family

10. The Milstead Family

11. The Erwin Family

12. The Cardwell Family

Mighty Mart Panthers - Times Two

The 2015-2016 school year is well underway and many seniors are now scheduling their fall senior portrait sessions.  Some seniors choose to wait until the spring season for their senior portraits.  Others prefer to have senior portraits taken year round.  This week's blog post is going to be all about two Mart seniors - Eric and Alyssa - that decided to have their senior portraits taken in the fall.

There's no buts about it...Mart is a HUGE football town!  Every Friday night during football season the town is literally dead.  Why?  Because everyone is either at the game or at home listening to the game.  Mart is serious about football.  This coming Friday is going to be especially eventful due to all the Homecoming festivities.  This Friday - Homecoming - is going to be a great day to be a Panther!

Meet Eric.  He is one of the football players that will entertain the crowd on Friday night.  He is a handsome young man with a bright future ahead of him.  He isn't quite sure where he is headed after high school just yet.  There are just so many things to consider.  After all, what's the rush?  He still has several months to narrow down his amazing plans.  One thing is for certain, he LOVES football!  He LOVES being a Panther!

Meet Eric.

Eric is always ready for gameday!

Senior Portrait sessions with Smith Family Photography are fully customizable based on the specific memories that the senior would like to help capture.  For Eric, this meant the Mart Football Field.  For his mother, this meant the Mart Football Field and the grassy field behind the stadium to showcase his "country" side.  Many guys don't really care for the photographs to be taken.  They do it for their moms.  During Eric's session, he put his foot down and said he was staying on the football field - no grassy field photographs!  THAT is how much Eric loves football! 

I recently stated that I truly enjoy senior portrait sessions for several reasons, but most of all I enjoy interacting with the young adults and capturing their personality within the portraits.  As the session proceeds along, they start opening up more and more and finally they just seem to forget about the camera and just be themselves.  To me, that is when I capture the best portraits!  Things weren't any different with Eric.  At first, he was very attentive to what I was asking of him.  As the session progressed, he would wonder off to play football with his little brother, Alan.  He was relaxed and completely in his element.  He is a Mart Panther. 

Let's take a look at another Mart senior.  Meet Alyssa.  She is one of the Mart cheerleaders that will entertain the crowd on Friday night.  She is an amazingly beautiful young woman with the whole world ahead of her!  She plans on heading off to college at either Baylor University or the University of Mary Hardin Baylor.  She plans on trying out for the cheer squad at both universities.  Alyssa LOVES cheerleading!  She LOVES being a Panther!

Meet Alyssa

This year's Homecoming game is especially exciting for Alyssa!  She is nominated for the Homecoming Court!  I will be at the Homecoming game this Friday night to cheer on Eric and the Mart Panthers, as well as support Alyssa...and capture a few shots of her looking dazzling in her gown!

Young women are typically less reserved in front of the camera than young men are.  They just seem to be more comfortable with having their photograph taken.  As their session progresses, their personalities shine through just the same.  However, with girls it seems to happen much quicker.  I think we have the era of new technology to thank - cell phones with nice cameras and selfies! 

As Alyssa's session was nearing the end, she had a few requests.  One, she loved sweaters so she wanted to wear one during some of the shots.  Two, she wanted to take some photographs on the tire swing.  And three, she had to take a special photograph for her close friend, Sadie.  I absolutely LOVE it when the clients begin to take ownership in their photographs! 

Alyssa with her sweater.  She loves sweaters!

Alyssa swinging on the tire swing!

Alyssa striking a pose for her close friend, Sadie.

Senior Portrait sessions are fully customizable based on the needs and wants of the senior.  After a session is officially booked, we begin collaborating on everything from locations, clothing, poses, themes, etc.  Senior sessions need to be authentic and really showcase the individual.  That is why it is so important that we work together to build a session that will let them shine and give them memories to last a lifetime.

If you are interested in booking a Senior Portrait session, you can message me or give me a call and I will give you more information.  Until next time, head over to Mart, Texas this Friday night (or any Friday night) and watch a football game!  It is an experience of a lifetime!

Sadie...the Senior Rep from Mart!

This is the first year for Smith Family Photography to have a Senior Representative Program.  Three high school seniors were chosen after careful consideration of their applications.  We chose seniors that were very involved in their school, community, and other hobbies or areas of interest.  It was difficult to choose, but in the end we could only choose three.  One of the senior reps (the only girl in the group) is Sadie from Mart, Texas. 

Each of the senior reps are rewarded for their time in assisting us with our advertising needs with cash incentives, product discounts, and freebies.  They each receive two sessions - a mini session and a full session.  The mini-sessions took place during the summer to ensure that their marketing items would be ready for the first day of their senior year.  The full session must be complete by November 1st, 2015.  This gives them plenty of time to show off their portraits.

The first senior rep to schedule the full session was Miss Sadie.  She is always a pleasure to work with!  She is truly beautiful inside and out. 

Sadie's magazine cover

Sadie sent me a Facebook message and told me that she found the perfect spot for her senior pictures.  She loved the area at the bridge on Thompson Road in Mart, Texas.  I did not know what bridge she was talking about, but I was dying to find out what made this bridge so perfect.  My husband and I drove out to the bridge and we immediately knew why she chose this particular location - it was gorgeous!  The bridge was on a nicely groomed gravel road with large trees making a tunnel over the bridge.  Absolutely stunning and so peaceful!

Sadie had plenty of ideas of her own and according to her mom, Sadie LOVES to be photographed!  I believe mom because Sadie is so natural and comfortable in front of the camera.  She is so much fun to photograph!   

The bridge on Thompson Road in Mart, Texas is a great location for portraits!

When I take senior portraits I prefer them to show a lot of personality.  Sometimes that involves some props if they want their session to be centered around a specific interest, such as football or softball.  Other times the session has very few props included.  It all depends on the type of portraits that the senior is wanting at that particular session.  As you can tell from the magazine article, Sadie's first session was focused on softball since she enjoys that sport.  However, this session was focused on her and her beautiful personality.  I brought two items to use as props - a suitcase and a vintage orange chair. 

Sadie using a vintage suitcase as a seat.

Sadie using the vintage orange chair during her session

We took several photographs on this bridge and then I suggested that we take some photographs at a nearby field that I've been longing to use for a session.  Sadie was up for taking more photographs! 

We arrived at the field just as the sun was going down and the light that was bouncing across the field was amazing!  We took several photographs in this beautiful location with gorgeous lighting and I had an idea for a pose using the vintage orange chair.  I asked my husband to get the chair out of the Suburban (aka Reliable Roger) for us and he brought us the suitcase!  I politely told him that we didn't need the suitcase, but we did need the chair.  He told us that we did not need the chair.  By the look on his face I knew that the chair was in trouble!  I asked him if my favorite chair was broken and he replied that it was in fact broken.  It was a sad moment in my life.  The photograph above is the last photograph for my favorite vintage orange chair.  So...if you have a similar chair, I am interested in purchasing it.

The sunset casted beautiful colors across the field

Sadie in the field with a Mart water tower in the background

After we took several photographs in the field with the amazing sunset, we went back to the bridge for one last portrait.  I really wanted to get a photograph of her laying down on the bridge, but did not want her to be dirty from the gravel road for any remaining shots.  I have a feeling that we could have kept on taking photographs if the sun didn't set!

The last photograph of Sadie's session

If you are interested in investing in senior portraits, you can always book directly through me or you can go through Sadie and receive extra savings!