Meet Maddie Schlueter from Belleville East High School! She is a fiesty Senior, and what can we say? She is a girl who knows exactly what she wants in life. After photographing her older brother Ben’s senior pictures a few years back, we were so excited for it to be Maddie’s turn. But Maddie? Not so much. She wasn’t very excited for her shoot honestly, but we knew just what to do. A dash of glamour, fierce posing, and some friendly conversation…and we had ourselves a model. But my favorite part? A few minutes into her reveal she said those magic words that all of us love to hear. “Dawn, you were right!” I may or may not have jumped for joy. Read on for more!

Maddie thinks everyone should see the movie Life is Beautiful – it’s a story about the strength in love in the midst of the darkest situations.

Oh, and Maddie loves Shay Mitchell. I mean, who doesn’t love Pretty Little Liars?

Favorite high school memory? “The last day of school- we came to school at six in the morning decked out in our college gear and had a “senior sunrise” where we got to spend our last day as seniors together.” -Maddie

Senior Maddie’s favorite quote or piece of advice? “Keep moving forward.” -Maddie

“I loved that I was pushed to do things that made me uncomfortable at first- the poses felt weird. But gosh, they looked amazing. All I have to say is Dawn is always right!”

“The hair and and makeup was the best part. It looked amazing and really helped me feel more confident in front of the camera.” -Maddie

“Dawn did my son’s senior pictures 3 years ago and they were awesome. I trust Dawn to choose the right locations, outfits and best shots. All shots for Maddie’s session was shot within the same couple of blocks. We had rescheduled our appointment several times because Maddie just wasn’t excited about getting her pictures taken so we finally them taken post graduation. Dawn and Joe were professional, made it fun and in the end Maddie had a great day and the pictures were amazing!!” -Maddie’s Mom