When she first emailed me about taking senior portraits, she mentioned being a cousin to Caitlin, a senior I had the pleasure of taking portraits for last year. Immediately, I knew I was in good company! We chatted back and forth and she mentioned doing the session at the beach. Um…yes, please!!!  
 
So a few weeks back, I met Paige and her sweet mom in Santa Cruz to document her senior portraits. She chose Santa Cruz for her session because it is a place very near and dear to their family. It is a place that holds many memories of growing up over the years, of countless summers spent there, and still a place they go to gather together as family. For all these reasons and about 100 more, I adored my time with these two in Santa Cruz….

Paige is dearly loved by her mama, and I was so happy to have her along as we roamed through Santa Cruz. I don’t think I had even picked up my camera and the tears began to form in her mom’s eyes as she watched her daughter document her senior year of high school. 
 
Ah, this warmed my heart to the core….

Santa Cruz is absolutely gorgeous! One of my favorite features of that area is the railroad tracks that wind along the coastline…

This gorgeous gal will be graduating from Kingsburg High School in just a few short weeks! Following graduation, she is attending College of Sequoias and later plans to transfer to Fresno State to pursue her degree in Enology.

Okay, if you are like me, I had never heard of Enology prior to this. Paige enlightened me to this major, which is the study of wine and winemaking!!! How neat is that?

Paige has this amazing sense of determination you can see in her eyes and hear as she speaks of her plans for the future. I was totally impressed with this girl’s strength of character and her purposefulness. Seriously, amazing!

Paige, you are beautiful!!!

My favorite!!!

Love the pops of teal in this one!

As the sun began to set, we headed to Seacliff Sate Beach to take some pictures along the gorgeous Pacific….

Paige brought along her prom dress which was SO gorgeous and fun to photograph on the beach!

How cool is the ship at the end of the pier? Apparently, the cement ship was built by a Norwegian civil engineer in 1917 for World War I, but never used. A company bought the ship and brought it over with the intention to use it as amusement, but went broke shortly after opening. Although closed to the public, it has remained an iconic landmark to this beach…

A few weeks following our session in Santa Cruz, I met Paige at her school’s track, another place that holds many memories as well. It is here where she trains for her track events, the 100M hurdles and 300M hurdles.

Loooooooved her neon track shoes!!!

Had to end with this one..a sweet send-off for this rad senior. Paige, can’t tell you enough how much I loved my time documenting your senior portraits with you and your mom in Santa Cruz!!! Thank you thank you for the opportunity and FUN afternoon! Congratulations on your upcoming graduation and best wishes as you begin college! I am SO excited for you and all that is in store, and KNOW you will be AMAZING at whatever you do!!!