There's a little stone building on a quiet street in Burnet that's been holding Girl Scout memories for a long time. Long enough that the troop leader, Shanna, remembers coming here herself as a girl — badges on her vest, friends at her side, probably getting into the same kind of joyful trouble that her own daughter would years later.
When Shanna reached out to me, she explained that her troop was facing a big change. The house where they'd met, laughed, earned badges, and grown up together was going away. Before it did, she wanted someone to capture what it had meant. Not stiff portraits lined up on the porch. Real moments. The girls just being themselves, one last time, in the place that had always been theirs.
I said yes without hesitating.
A Little Piece of Burnet History
The S.H. Reed Community Girl Scout House sits in Burnet, TX — just a short drive from Marble Falls and squarely in the heart of the Hill Country community I'm so lucky to call home. It's the kind of building that doesn't look like much from the outside until you know the stories inside it.
For Shanna, this wasn't just a meeting space. It was where her own love of scouting was born. And when she became a troop leader, she brought her daughter — and a handful of other girls — right back to the same place. That kind of full-circle moment doesn't happen by accident. It happens because someone decided the experience was worth passing on.
That context changed how I photographed this session. Every shot felt like I was documenting something that needed to be remembered.
What Actually Happened (Spoiler: Giant Bubbles)
I'll be honest — I wasn't sure what to expect when I pulled up. But the girls had a whole afternoon of activities planned, and the star of the show was a giant bubble wand that absolutely refused to cooperate at first.
There was a lot of trial and error. A lot of "wait, how do you—" and soap solution going everywhere. And then Shanna stepped in, showed them the technique, and suddenly there were massive, wobbling, iridescent bubbles floating across the yard while three girls absolutely lost their minds with excitement.
That's the moment I was there for. Not the posed shot on the porch (though we got that too). It was watching their troop leader do exactly what a troop leader does — guide, encourage, celebrate — and seeing the girls light up in response.
Three of the four troop members were there that day. One was missed. But the joy in that backyard was big enough for all of them.
Why I Said Yes to This Session
I'm a family photographer. That's my lane, and I love it. But when Shanna described what she was trying to preserve, I didn't think twice — because these girls are family. Maybe not by blood, but by the kind of bond that forms when you spend years earning badges together, showing up for each other, and sharing a space that feels like yours.
Shanna told me she became a troop leader because of what Girl Scouts had meant to her growing up. She wanted to give her daughter — and the other girls in her troop — that same sense of belonging and adventure. That's not a photography job. That's an honor.
This is the part of my work that doesn't fit neatly into a niche. Sometimes people reach out not because they need a family session or a maternity shoot, but because something meaningful is ending or changing and they want it held onto. I'm here for that too.
If You Have a Moment Worth Preserving
If you're in the Burnet, Marble Falls, or greater Hill Country area and you have something worth remembering — a troop, a milestone, a last hurrah, a first everything — I'd love to talk.
It doesn't have to be a traditional family session to matter. It just has to matter to you.
