First Senior of 2013 Class, Miss H

CYP: Class of 2013

And this ladies and gentlemen is what I love more than anything else. I love….love….<3…..<3 shooting senior sessions. Have I mentioned that I love senior sessions? I do. I really do.

I know everyone is in full summer vacation mode, but now is a perfect time to get your senior session scheduled and done, especially before that nice summer tan fades. I’m already scheduling into the fall, so don’t wait.  Contact me for more information or details on pricing.

Now with the business outta the way…. Introducing….Hannah

First of all, I want you to take notice of how incredibly stunning this young lady is. In addition to being beautiful she is incredibly sweet. I first met Hannah when she came to help out with a shoot back at Easter time. It wasn’t the best circumstances to meet someone since there were six small children, two lambs, and one huge bunny to keep up with. All of us “big” people were considerably spent by the end. Haha!!! That is a sign of success in this business, when you’ve played yourself tired trying to get a good picture. Then I had the opportunity to photograph Hannah’s prom on what could only be described as the rainiest, ugliest day of April, 2012. Anyway, I was so excited when Hannah agreed to be my senior girl’s rep from CGHS. I knew she would be perfect since the camera loves her and we already had built somewhat of a relationship. So, after a lot of begging, pestering and badgering, she agreed. (Just kidding, I only had to ask her once or twice….maybe three times at the most.)

Hannah wanted to do her session at her home on her family’s property. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little hesitant to go to a location without properly scouting the place, and I didn’t have a chance to see it prior to the session. This had nothing to do with Hannah’s judgment but my past experiences. I’ve shown up to a location more than once to realize that there’s not enough light or there’s too much light, or there’s too many power lines in the background or something else that only a picky photographer would pay attention to.  Not that I can’t work around these circumstances because I have, but if I’m honest I’d prefer to avoid it all together.  I’m a creature of habit….obsessive compulsive habit. I was a wee bit anxious about what I was getting into. I have a style of letting the location work for me and leaving the props and gimmicks to a minimum with exception to a themed shoot. So, again....anxious!

OH. MY. WOW.

This property was breathtaking and I was relieved to see barns, fields, fences and the most beautiful country farm ever. By the time I left I wanted to ask them to adopt me because I imagine it to be a wonderful place to live. (Sigh!) .  I was amazed how well this property worked for our session. I had an endless amount of what I call “opportunity” shots and despite everything else, those are always the best. 

It was hard to choose my favorites since we did so many fun things.

I told you she was stunning.

Just an everyday super hero life....

Can you believe I'm back already? What? What? I'm spoiling you dear reader! So, the absolute best part of being a photographer is that it's fun. I mean it's really fun. Sometimes it's hard, challenging, exhausting and stressful, but mostly it's fun. Add to that mix two sweet little boys in superhero capes and you get a double dose of fun. So let me introduce you to Christian and Connor. Now if you've followed my work for any amount of time you're probably familiar with them. I've photographed them a few times before and every time we've had a really fun shoot. We've used guitars, drums, pirates and and a Pinocchio costume (complete with puppet strings.) How can we not have fun?


First of all they're my buds and their mom and I go way back. As a matter of fact we graduated high school together fifteen years ago. Just typing that makes me feel old. Now I normally wouldn't expose personal information about my clients in a public blog but I know this is a cause very dear to Jen's heart and that awareness and education is something she is passionate about. I know she has fought hard to help her son and she's done an amazing job with him. Connor has autism. This is something that is deeply close to my heart as well and I hope to see a cure very soon. Autism effect one in 110 children. Those numbers are increasing every year. It is a growing problem within our society and without proper diagnosis and treatment these kids don't have much chance. These children are misunderstood and often times overlooked by society. It's easier to ignore a problem than fix it. But this problem is so huge that we can no longer just ignore it. I've never met an autistic person that hasn't captured my heart. Connor is no exception. He is one of the most brilliant kids I've ever met. I could honestly sit and talk to him all day. He has more knowledge about trains and transformers than Wikipedia. He explains things to me with such passion and and he looks at life with wonder and amazement. Not to mention, he's more polite than any adult I've ever met. In my book, he really is a super hero no cape needed.

Now, the little feller is pretty special too. That's Christian and he is equally awesome in his own right. He's funny. Laugh out loud funny. And he's so sweet and adorable. He's easy to photograph to just be four years old. I'm sure his momma might say otherwise, but he follows everything I tell him and is always agreeable. Children are such enrichment to our lives and these two boys have certainly made mine better just by knowing them. we had a lot of fun during this session (they got to see a train) and I can't wait to see what is next for us.

For more information on Autism visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/

CYP: The Blog

I’ve tried this blog thing a few times before and unfortunately I never stayed loyal to it. I don’t have high expectations this time either. (Gasp! I just wrote something truthful and uninspiring on a blog that is supposed to promote my craft and talent and be inspiring. I’m already a blog failure.)

Nonetheless, I have a new blog page for Crystal Young Photography and you’re here, right now, reading it. How lucky are you? Now, you have full access to all of those wonderful musings of my mind and a preview of what I'm working on.

So where to begin? I think the last session I blogged over on my personal and neglected blog was probably over a year ago. I certainly couldn’t pick up there. I’d be blogging to the cows came home with all the wonderful clients I’ve had in the last twelve months. (Sigh! I've been blessed and busy.) I suppose the best way to start a first blog post would be to properly introduce myself and my service.

Hi! I’m Crystal and I liked to take photographs.

Now that the introductions are out of the way let’s talk TURKEY (I don’t really know what that saying actually means. I hope it’s not offensive.) Anyway, my service…. (It’s like chasing your tail reading this huh? And you thought about encouraging me to blog more. Admit it, you did! Ha!)

Although, my repertoire of work includes pretty much every stage of life, I primarily focus on High-School Seniors and Teenagers. This is where I feel most inspired, most challenged and most purposeful. And with that said, the first image you see is of my eight year old daughter Lily. (So, I'm a wee bit inconsistent.) I thought it best to be impartial to my clients and use an image in the neutral territory.

This isn’t the most recent example I have. But it’s a favorite of mine. My momma made that sweet dress and headband. It’s nice to see little girls look like little girls and not miniature versions of the cast of Jersey Shore. 

Ok, well that wraps up the debut of CYP: The Blog. Glad you were a part of it. 

***All Images are copyright Crystal Young Photography. Please do  not save, copy or print***