Daddy's Girl Photo Shoot

Photo by Angie Sexton

Daddy's Girl Photo Shoot

​Let me apologize for taking so long to get this up!  It has been pretty crazy around here, and ever since I got home from the St. Louis photo shoot, I have not been able to get back into the groove of things!  It feels like things are just all out of whack and unfamiliar!  So, sorry for the delay! 

This photo shoot was a series of new challenges for me!  New locations, a whole bunch of moving parts, borrowing classic cars, invading private homes, travel, getting my beautiful, yet shy grand-girl to bond (on camera, at least) with a total stranger... oh my....  I only had one shot to get everything together and pull it off.

My first pitfall, my nephew, was going to be the "Daddy" for the photos... well, he up and got himself transferred to Texas... (I know! How rude! Lol!)  Then, my make-up artist canceled on me.  Then my favoritest-favorite photographer had to cancel.  My daughter took forever to confirm if my Loralie was going to be the "Daddy's Girl".  The chance for rain was high.  The guys in charge of the classic cars forgot I was coming... To say that I was a little stressed was an understatement.

But God has a funny way of working things out.

Enter Daron Shanks.  I had picked this man's brain for details about Harley Davidson's for the book.  I had gone to the St. Charles, MO location and he was kind enough to to answer all of my questions, and even participate in my "what-if" scenarios!  It was truly one of my favorite interviews! I hated to leave!!  I had never seen him outside of the shop and really had no idea of what his personal character was like.  Had no idea of his personal life, but when my nephew couldn't participate, Daron was the one I thought of.  Don't ask me why, but it turned out that he was the perfect choice!!
He rode up to the shoot on a beautiful 2009 Harley CVO Springer Softail (that was used in the photos) and he was SO AMAZING with my grand-girl!!  He was patient and made her feel comfortable and even made her laugh.  Turns out that he has daughters of his own and that he does work on cars and motorcycles so he was comfortable in every situation I threw at him!!  He was a Godsend.  I am so grateful that he was brave enough to come and talk to me that day at the shop!  (And yes, I had to promise that when I buy my Harley, it will be from him!  ... It could happen!!)

Next, Angie Sexton saved my bacon!!  My very, very dear friend was getting married on my same trip to St. Louis, and she volunteered her photographer for me to use on this photo shoot.  Angie had been a photographer for years and I had seen her work in the past, but this photo shoot was a little out of her comfort zone.  (How do I always manage to do that to people!? Lol!)  But, she rose to the occasion and produced some beautiful shots!  I loved her use of angles and unique perspectives on the "usuals".  (She even got Darin to lift me over his shoulder!!)  I enjoyed working with her and she too, was so very patient with my Loralie.  She took shots where she could and if we needed to take a break to "re-group" she was cool with that as well!  I am very pleased with the way things turned out!

The family of classic car owners came through and went above and beyond to make sure the photo shoot was successful!  The Rowlett boys, (Gary, Steve and Jordan) provided the beautiful Mustang, Model-T and Chevy Truck and Steve actually provided his driveway and garage!!  A big and special thank you to you guys!! But, I also have to say an extra special thank you to Barb Rowlett.  Not only did we use her's and Gary's beautiful Mustang GT (which they cleaned and polished all pretty for me!) but she "found" every additional prop that I forgot and opened up her home to bathroom breaks and costume changes!  She and Gary even invited me over for a beer (read: water) after the shoot.  I felt very loved.

And finally, I need to thank my oldest daughter, Sarah, for allowing me the time to spend with my beautiful grand-girl, Loralie.  I hadn't seen her in so long and I just couldn't get enough of her.  When they are out of your sight, it seems they grow the fastest and this was no exception.  I was worried that we might have lost our connection, but it was a needless worry.  No matter how far apart we are or how often I am allowed to see her, she knows that I love her and nothing will change that.  I soaked up my Loralie time like nobody's business!!  I asked Angie to take lots of pictures of us together just in case it's a long span before we get to see each other again.  And she did.  I couldn't be happier.
Loralie was a trooper.  She did everything that was asked of her and put in a loooong shift!!  She's a natural!  She bonded with both Daron and Angie and you can really see it in the pictures.

And finally... the photos...  You will notice, that it is rare that you see their faces in many of the shots.  I did that on purpose because, when you are reading, Daddy's Girl, I didn't want to taint your "image" of what James or Danni looked like.  But the "emotion" I was shooting for, came through perfectly as you will see.  So without further ado... here's some of the highlights from the Daddy's Girl Photo Shoot!

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After Loralie and Daron were "released" for the day, Angie and I set about working on getting the perfect Author photo.  I wanted the whole "pin-up" theme to tie in with the classic cars and I think we got pretty close... They didn't turn out too bad for someone who is... uh... older.  Lol!

Anyway, we had a really great day for it and I had a lot of fun!  Oh yeah, plus we achieved our goal!  Thank you again and again for all who were involved.  I appreciate you SO VERY MUCH!!!

If you haven't read the synopsis for Daddy's Girl as yet, click here...

Daddy's Girl, by Elizabeth Bourgeret
released on June 16th!!
The wait for the next addition to the "Bakersfield Series" is just about over!!