Senior Pictures . . . Then and Now

If I were back in my Freshman Composition teaching days, these two pictures could be a study in contrasts: a senior picture from 2008 and a senior picture from . . . not 2008. (I'm cringing as I type this and for the first time realize that my daughter is graduating from high school almost thirty years after I did. No wonder these pictures look so dang different! I'm feeling incredibly ancient at the moment.)

Anyway, the experiences themselves were incredibly different, in the following ways. Homeschooling friends, feel free to use this as a writing exercise; here's the outline:

1. Location, location, location: Back in the Mesozoic era in Wauseon, Ohio, there really weren't a lot of options for photographers. Most of us drove about three miles west, to the booming town of Pettisville, and were photographed at the studio of Dick and Dee. There were a few props, maybe a mirror, a desk as you see here. It was all very contained. On the other hand, Katie's senior pics (or should I say photo shoot) were all over downtown Grand Rapids, but mostly in places where drug addicts and alcoholics hang out, except early Saturday mornings when we were there. Truly--at one site, we had to kick gin bottles out of the way, and at one spot, Leda, our fearless photographer, warned Katie to stay out of the poison ivy (which I would have thought we wouldn't need to worry about downtown, but the grassy areas around some of those falling-down buildings--the best backdrop for a photo shoot--are not well tended. My photographer did not risk his life in any way to capture me; indeed, he did not break a sweat. Leda, however, stood in the turn lane at the corner of Fulton and Division to get this picture of Katie. And at one point, both Leda and Katie were lying on their stomachs in a parking lot, facing each other. Frostbite and pneumonia were definitely realities for both of them at that point.

2. Wardrobe: I wore a nice church dress, as you can see. To be honest, this was my second attempt at getting decent senior pics. In the first, I had a couple of wardrobe changes (two other nice dresses), but the end result was not good, and so I went back for round 2. Katie started out wearing jeans and a sweater, then changed to a jumper and top--complete with tights and heels--in the middle of the sidewalk on a brisk November Saturday morning. At some point she changed again--back to the jeans and a black sweater, with two different scarves as accessories.

3. Final product: I had some proofs to choose from, with the end result being this nice, old-fashioned photo of a demure young lady headed for Christian college in the fall. Katie's photographer, Leda, first posted several of her favorite pictures of Katie on her blog only a few hours after the photo shoot here (scroll down to the November 1 post for Katie). This past weekend, Leda finished all of her editing and left us with no fewer than 119 poses to choose from. Please note the caption under this particular photo of Katie on the blog: S.M.O.K.I.N. In another HUGE contrast, I have never been described as "smokin."

And there you have it: senior pics of mother and daughter from a very long time ago and 2008. If that doesn't produce at least a 500-word comparison/contrast essay, I'm not sure what will.