campo verde high school senior | courtney

I went to school this week.and before some of you gasp at this ;)no, it was not traditional school.I took a few photography/lighting classes online through creative live.two of my favorite artists/teachers were teaching and aside from paying thousands of dollars for a workshop with themthis was the closest I could get to spending time learning from them!I seriously love and am thankful that creative live puts these classes on...I'm a big fan of always learning about your craft and getting to learn "first hand" from the Sue Bryce made for a seriously good start to my week.for those of you who don't know who Sue Bryce is...check out her work here.she is globally known as being one of the best woman's portrait photographers utilizing natural light of my generation.I love how she strives to take every woman that comes in front of her lens andopen up their eyes to see the beauty that they possess.she celebrates womens curves, lines, + softness and puts them in the best light to create incredibly beautiful fine art.she quoted audrey hepburn a while back and it's still resonating with me as I finish shooting out this busy senior season:"the beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.true beauty is the caring she lovingly gives and the passion she shows.the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years."Sue happened to be photographing a beautiful older woman at the time when she quoted audrey...but that quote came to mind as I photographed this particular girl.that particular quote coming from the mouth of one of fashion most iconic women relates largely to the younger crowd in my mind.take the beauty of courtney's eyes...her eyes are undeniably captivating with how blue they are.but if I'm being honest...I've seen a lot of striking eyes - that yes, are indeed beautiful.but the quality of this girl and the passion she has for life that I learned about in conversation and through her social media posts(side note, I LOVE when my clients follow me and I get to see a little bit more of what makes them tick through social media...this girl surprised me and solidified the passion for life comment, typically you see a ton of pointless selfies in social media - not this girl...hers is filled with her friends, with her family, with her boyfriend who she loves, with her dog...with her LIVING life...the only duck lips I saw - and it made me laugh - was with her grandpa...seriously cool.)made whatever beauty she possessed only that much MORE because of the passion and love that just comes out of her.yep, courtney - you are one seriously cool girl in my bookand I am so thankful to have gotten to spend the afternoon with you and your just-as-cool mom!UofA doesn't even know the awesomeness that is coming their way next year! :)