Senior Portraits with a Future on Broadway – Dallas Frisco Family Photographer – FIORIA by Me Ra Koh

Zoie’s fierce spirit and strength of character was an honor and JOY to capture!

THE FIORIA DIFFERENCE – SENIOR PORTRAITS

Senior Portraits at FIORIA are not your typical experience. 

Zoie hasn’t liked photos of herself in the past and wasn’t excited about doing this. But we’re not just doing Senior Portraits. This is about EMPOWERING your kids before they leave home. Before the photo shoot, we do a call with each person in the family to hear what they love most about the graduating senior. This huge milestone is something the whole family is experiencing. Doesn’t it deserve a powerful, meaningful experience where everyone gets a voice? 

I also find that parents don’t realize they need to know what their graduating senior has taken from them. It’s like the thing we didn’t know we needed. And so we do a special call with the senior too that draws the whole family closer. 

On the day of the shoot, we share all these amazing words of life with the senior. The confidence, joy and pride that surfaces is transformational and amazing to photograph!

Once Zoie and I did her call, she felt a little better about coming. But here’s the BEST part…She loved ALL her photos and the words! And that is a MAJOR win before going to college!

LIVING A PASSIONATE LIFE

We had the MOST FUN with Zoie and her entire family on this portrait session. We could not wait to introduce you to this passionate, zesty, effervescent senior! Zoie embodies everything we want for our children.. a love for life, a love for others, a glowing warmth that makes everyone around them feel seen and cared for, an undeterred determination that would inspire anyone to hope for the future.

Zoie’s FUN and creative spirit is so evident in each portrait.

ART IS EVERYTHING

This ‘broadway baby’ is all about her art! Zoie’s incredibly creative, having spent many years in the musical theater realm. She’s musical, not just using her voice to bless others but has taught herself how to play the guitar thanks to a show role. She’s even been a dancer!

Zoie loves theater as it gives her an excuse to explore a wide variety of passions and avenues to get her creative juices flowing.

WHAT ZOIE LOVES ABOUT HERSELF

We asked Zoie to give us her top 3 favorite qualities about herself and like any great artist, she ‘broke the mold’ and gave us 4. We would not expect any less from this full-of-life young adult! Zoie’s favorite qualities she uses to describe herself are as follows: Creative, Empathetic, Funny and Unpredictable.

Zoie gave us a great example of her creativity as she describes what it is like throwing herself into her roles on stage. “For one show I had to learn how to play the guitar. I learned to embrace this new art form. It was a little difficult but I found it genuinely doable to pick up. For another role, I had to be in love with a slot machine, addicted to gambling. This role was crazier than my normal conservative self, but it was fun and I became so close to the cast. I remember after I did the first read through and when I was done singing, everyone cheered!”

Zoie’s ability to portray nearly any character speaks volumes of her skill and natural talent. We absolutely believe she has a future on Broadway!

WHAT MOM HAS SHAPED IN ZOIE

Zoie describes her mom as being incredibly kind to others, which clearly has rubbed off on Zoie. “My mom is helpful, independent, and aims to do everything with excellence. She’s the first to drop everything and help others.”

Jennifer (mom) shares Zoie’s love for talking, music and having fun to debrief and unwind!

These two know how to LAUGH. We love watching them together!

ZOIE LOVES HER GRAMMIE

Zoie expresses her awe for the women in her family when describing them as strong, valuing authenticity and having a clarity in knowing what they want and how to get where they need to be. All of these qualities are evident in the beautiful matriarch of the family, whose love and leadership are a beacon, guiding them forward.

Zoie LOVES her Grammie and the emotion behind her words are palpable. “Grammie is so funny, creative, unique and knows how to make us all laugh. She’s always there for us during special occasions.” This love between a grandmother and her granddaughter is so tangible and moving.

WHAT DAD HAS SHAPED IN HER

“All of my creativeness and introverted side comes from him. My dad has taught me how to take time with my art, as he is very deliberate with his. He also likes playing board games with me and my friends, which I love!”

The same emotion and energy was present when speaking about her dad and how he has helped her become who she is today.

“My friends play board games with my dad every night! He’s really good and makes everyone laugh.” Zoie truly feels honored to have the parents she has to help mold and guide her as she enters into adulthood.

WHAT MOM LOVES ABOUT ZOIE

Jennifer’s favorite qualities of Zoie’s are her creativity, her stubbornness and that she lives to do EVERYTHING. Jennifer says Zoie isn’t just creative in an artistic way, but also in how she views the world. She has a unique perspective. She’s also extremely stubborn – Jennifer doesn’t ever have to worry about people convincing Zoie to do things because she’s so very secure in what she wants to do. She will never say, “I’m tired and need a night at home. Never. She wants to be in the middle of everything!”

Jennifer tells us of a time when Zoie was 10 or 11. She wanted to be a dancer in one of the shows she was doing but wasn’t as good as her peers. She didn’t get the role. “There has to be something I can do to be a better dancer.” Zoie said. She set a goal of working 4 hours a week on dance to be one of the main characters in Newsies. She worked her butt off! Because of that dedication, Zoie is now known as a dancer in musical theater.

“The dedication paid off. I remember driving to pick her up from dance class at one point, having forgotten my glasses. I kept wondering who the new kid was that was so good and realized it was my kid!! She got to do a tap solo in Newsies and I was blown away. She changed so drastically in a year. It’s hard to remember that she’s only 17 and still has a lot to learn.”

WHAT DAD LOVES ABOUT ZOIE

Oliver loves his daughter’s focus. He says she is so focused on what she wants to do with her life. She can forget a show and learn a whole different one. He also loves Zoie’s vulnerability. “She tries to hide it, but to be on stage and be as good as she is, you have to be vulnerable.” Oliver loves her friendships as well. He tells us Zoie’s close friends are like family to her.

Example of vulnerability: Oliver remembers when Zoie auditioned for the main part of Annie, in Oklahoma, the musical. “Zoie had to step completely outside of herself and not be Zoie anymore. She had to use a specific voice and accent. This character was flirty. Zoie is normally so reserved about boys. But she was willing to embrace it, even though it went against her nature. She got the role and received great feedback, listening to what they had to say. Her pride in landing that first major role she wanted.. the day she got it she was on cloud 9!”

“Knowing she is off somewhere doing what she wants in her life, makes me so proud and happy. And I know as an artist just how hard this can be. That’s making the hard choices. She revels in the choices she gets to make.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR

This portrait session was about celebrating Zoie as a senior. But it was also so much more. This session was about celebrating a family unit whose ties and love for each other runs deep.

Zoie’s grace in allowing us to not only shower her with our admiration but to step aside and let us showcase the light and character of her entire family, is inspiring on so many levels. What an incredible young woman they have raised!

We are so honored to be a part of this season in this family’s journey.

Grammie talked about how important it is to have a sense of humor. “I can see things and make anything silly. I am proud of my sense of humor! You have to learn to laugh at yourself. It’s the best way to get over things and go on and not take things personally.” We see where Zoie gets it!

WHAT GRAMMIE LOVES ABOUT JENNIFER

Grammie describes her daughter as intelligent, independent, and self-driven / self-determined. She says at her college graduation, Jennifer announced she wanted to go to law school. That was the first time they were hearing this. She chose it, and went to UCLA. Like Zoie, she’ll figure out a problem on her own and find solutions. She’s flexible and can change to make things work.

She’s always been so independent. At 5 years old, Jennifer announced, “It’s time for me to have my own apartment.” When we asked, ‘what is 100×100?’, she replied, “I don’t have to know that to have my own apartment.” Lol! Tenacity at it’s best!

WHAT GRAMMIE LOVES ABOUT ZOIE

Grammie speaks so fondly when talking about Zoie. She describes her as driven and ambitious, having a great heart, precocious and inventive. She says Zoie is so professional it makes her feel like she’s on Broadway to watch her perform!

“Since she was little, she always had something in her head about what we needed to do. At her directive, we’d make costumes, pictures, posters, etc. She’s always been so inventive. Her creativity shone in all she did!”

WHAT GRAMMIE LOVES ABOUT THE WOMEN

“The women in our family are independent. We are strong. We’re strong-willed. And we are curious.”

What beautiful qualities that shine through every portrait in this session!

WHAT JENNIFER LOVES ABOUT HER FAMILY

Jennifer LOVES that they giggle a lot! Her family has the best sense of humor. They sit and play board games for hours on end. Grammie can feel dumb and will make silly, funny jokes. Zoie and her cousin would go to Grammie’s and play dress up – they love doing Christmas Eve together.

She describes Grammie as the caretaker, herself as organized and business-minded and Zoie as the creative that keeps everyone cracking up. They are all diverse with different visions.

WHAT ZOIE LOVES ABOUT HER FAMILY

Zoie was so excited share her ‘spotlight’ with her family – a testament to the values deeply embedded in their DNA. We talked a bit about what Zoie loves about her family, her mother and her Grammie. We love being able to share her responses with them now…so special.

LEAVING A GENERATIONAL LEGACY

These portraits are more than just a recognition of one point in time for Zoie’s family. We absolutely honor this significant season in Zoie’s life and we celebrate her accomplishments as she looks to her future. But we also revel in the legacy this family is leaving on the world around them and generations to come. We honor the values they’ve established and love watching how these values manifest through each generation and the good they bring to the world.

We should all be so blessed to have this kind of family bond and love!

THE REVEAL

More than anything, Grammie hopes these portraits are a reminder that they are fun-loving. They laugh a lot and have FUN! Zoie says that whenever she is feeling down, she will love having these portraits as a reminder of what she loves about theater and how great her family and friends are.

They will be a reminder for everyone of the pure JOY they have in their family.

Give Your Graduate a Rising Senior Portrait Experience

This experience has been LIFE CHANGING for so many seniors! (Especially the ones who hate photos!)

Are you looking for a meaningful way to celebrate your rising senior as a family? When they go to college, what do you want them to never forget about who they are? What challenges has your rising senior overcome? What resilience lives within them and your family? That is what FIORIA captures–the Rising Phoenix within them. This experience is unlike any other type of senior portraits you’ve heard of. It starts with a Discovery Call.

Schedule Your First Discovery Call by Filling Out Our Contact Form. We are so excited to take you and your graduating senior on an unforgettable journey.

still we rise, Me Ra

*CLICK HERE to see Halle’s Rising Senior Portrait Experience with FIORIA!

*CLICK HERE to see another inspiring Rising Senior Portrait Experience with FIORIA!

GEAR USED

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