Seventeen-year-old Mackenzie Skiff sits in a stylist’s chair, her long brown locks set in rollers, her makeup flawless, her wardrobe pressed and ready. She’s poised to freeze this milestone moment — entering her senior year of high school.

Top 40 music flows from the radio speakers at Alanna Rose Photography, where Skiff and photographer Alanna Rose work out the last details of Skiff’s senior photo shoot. Rose’s glam squad, which includes hairstylist Leigh Whitehead and assistant Kat Best browse through magazine clippings Skiff brought for inspiration nearby. Skiff’s mother, Amy, looks on.

“Her look will progress throughout the shoot,” Rose said. “We sat down with Mackenzie on the front end and learned about her style so the shoot will stay true to her.”

For Rose, senior photos are not the one pose and smile experience in front of a gray background; it’s an opportunity to capture the equally thrilling and terrifying transition between childhood and adulthood…

To read more about Alanna Rose Photography, check out the May 2014 issue of Hoover’s Magazine. Find your copy here.