Christine Kozlowski was being featured in South Mississippi Living Magazine as a local girl vying for the title of Miss Mississippi.

I wanted to get a "girl-next-door" look for the article so I used natural lighting, with just a hint of fill flash to highlight her hair and soften the shadows.

As soon as I turned in the assignment, I asked the editor to hold off because the actual contest was going to held the following month. 

As luck would have it, Christine won the title. So now I had to go back and re-shoot the story in order to feature her on the cover. But after winning the crown, her schedule became so hectic that she could only give me 30 minutes --and only if I could get there in the next hour! So I raced off, and met her at a local beach, where I got this cover shot.