Ott's Greenhouse Senior Portraits: Olivia

The story behind this session begins over 20 years ago. I lived on an air force base in California from the age of 1-5 while my dad served as a doctor in the military. One day this fabulous young (childless) couple moved in next door to our family. Mom talks about going over to meet the glamorous woman feeling rather disheveled as a mother of two kiddos at that point. Their names were Therese and Rich and we quickly became close friends. They married young and weren't sure they wanted to have children... until they got to know me. My family still laughs over how I wormed my way into their lives and hearts.

Therese and I with her horse.

Eventually my dad left the military and our family moved home to Pennsylvania. Over the years Rich and Therese visited as often as they could, having ridiculous fun at my family's house. We'd have massive squirt gun fights and Spanish fiestas, complete with sombreros and pinatas. Now, years later, Rich and Therese have two beautiful daughters. Olivia is currently a senior in high school and came to visit us over her spring break to shadow my dad at the hospital. While she was here I had the chance to do a senior portrait session at Ott's Exotic Plants Greenhouse. The light was beautiful, but what I really loved about this session was getting to know Olivia better. She's a well-spoken, hardworking young lady who is going confidently in the direction of her dreams. Olivia has this easy confidence about her that makes her seem much older than she is. We explored the greenhouses together and it was perfect for a plant lover like me!

After exploring the greenhouses at Ott's Exotic Plants we trekked over to the nearby Perkiomen Trail to take some more portraits. Olivia is from Florida, so our snow and cold weather was a bit of a shock for her!

Olivia, it's so exciting to see the young lady you're becoming and to know that you have such great things ahead of you. As the poet Mary Oliver says, I can't wait to see "what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life."