Saying Goodbye to Summer

As of last week, summer officially ended and gave way to fall. While Autumn admittedly brings a lot of things to look forward to from the changing of the leaves, harvest season, hot apple cider,  the excuse to wear fuzzy socks and of course all the fun of Halloween and Thanksgiving! Fall offers a lot to be sure, but here at McDonald’s Studio, we can’t help but have a soft spot for summer. The bright blue skies, scorching temperatures and sunshine are easy to love, but our favorite part is the numerous senior photos we get to take. So, as fall officially starts, we wanted to look back at our summer and count down our top forty senior photos from summer 2019. However, we realized upon consideration that no one has the time to read that so we have cut down the number to ten: here we go!

Number Ten

 

Coming in at number ten is a photograph which we think captures one of the best things about summer in Minnesota: going to the lake! Put simply, going to the lake and fishing is one of the most “Minnesotan” things you can do in the summer. Therefore, it felt right to give a slot on our list to  Delano senior, Jacob VanBeusekom when Joe captured his fishing skills out on Lake Rebecca. Jacob showed off his amazing castings skills and we’re glad to say no one went overboard during this shoot.

Number Nine

You know you can find awesome locations right in your little town? We do! This shot of Watertown senior, Ethan Tang was taken behind an old industrial warehouse right here in Delano. With the unique location and winning half smile and the impressive jump to get up on the ledge, this photo takes a well earned place on our list.

Number Eight

Everyone who walks through the doors of McDonald’s Studio comes with a story and our eighth entry on our list, John Brand of Buffalo High School was no exception to this rule. This young man had spent his summer in Germany and recently returned to the States before coming in to take his pictures. A lover of both the United States, Germany and soccer John wanted to highlight them during his senior photos which is how we got this picture.

Number Seven

Our first lady to make our list is Delano senior Brynn Schwankl. A movie lover Ms. Schwankl wanted to highlight that passion in her senior photos and struck a pose in front of our world map with her Jurassic Park t-shirt. Aside from her excellent taste in films, Brynn also had a good sense of humor when she discovered we added another dino to this picture. Can you find it?

Number Six

Sometimes, the best photos are the ones you don’t plan on taking. When Preston Wagner came into McDonald’s Studio he came in with nothing more than a few changes of clothes. Despite being on the Long Lake Trap Shooting team, Wagner hadn’t intended to take a photo with his gun. At the end of the shoot, Joe heard of Preston’s involvement in the trap team and asked him to come back with his gun that afternoon. Preston obliged and that’s how we got this awesome picture. And don’t worry, the safety was on!

Number Five

Are you a dog lover? We sure are here at McDonald’s Studio and so is Leanna May. A Watertown senior, Leanna wanted to snap a few photos with her fur-baby Margo and not shockingly, both lovely ladies were incredibly photogenic and took a few photos together. However, our favorite was when the dynamic duo grabbed a chair and gave us their best smiles.

Number Four

At many senior photo shoots, the senior’s parents come along. In the case of Cheyenne Ticich, her mom Sarah came along and as you can see they bring the phrase ‘like mother, like daughter’ to life. Joe snapped a few photos of the mother-daughter duo and this one was their favorite. Truly, it must be a summer miracle that a mother and her teenage daughter can agree on something. For that reason, these doppelgängers made our number four slot for our favorite senior pictures!

Number Three

In our number three slot, we have for you Dunkin Bistadaeu, another Delano Senior who came in with the coolest jean-jacket we had ever seen. The unique design looked amazing in many photos but we especially loved it in black and white.

Number Two

It’s a special thing to have a sister, but it’s even more special to have a twin sister: something Lauren and Ella Foley can attest to. Giving brand-new meaning to the phrase ‘a brunette and a blonde with an unbreakable bond’ these Watertown natives took many photos both together and apart. However, the big smiles they wore in this photo as well as the contrast of their blue and yellow dresses respectively earned them a second slot on our list!

Number One

Finally, our number one slot goes to Elizabeth Mineheine, a Rockford senior who was all smiles, spirit and self-proclaimed ‘sassy’ that kept us all laughing and grinning during her entire shoot. A natural in front of the camera, Ms. Mineheine struck pose after pose that Joe captured on camera but her perfect twirl and classy necklace in this shot cinched the number one spot on our list.

That’s A Wrap!

And so, as we look back over summer we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the seniors whom we were privileged to photograph, thank you for choosing McDonald’s Studios for your portrait needs; we had an amazing time and we hope you did too! And to seniors overall, we wish you luck as you move forward in your final year of school. We hope you can embrace all it has to offer!