A Cap and Gown Session on the Diamond
As graduation week unfolded, I met up with seven members of the Coloma Varsity Softball team for a cap and gown session on their home field.
As a senior photographer, I’ve photographed seniors on Lake Michigan beaches, in downtown St. Joseph, in wildflower fields, and all across Southwest Michigan. But there was something about this session that felt a little different.
Maybe it’s because the field wasn’t just a backdrop.
It was part of their story.
For years, this diamond has been a place where these young women have practiced, competed, celebrated victories, worked through tough losses, and built friendships that will last far longer than their high school softball careers. Every athlete has places that help shape them, and for these seven seniors, this field is one of those places.
As I photographed them laughing together and soaking in some of their final days as high school seniors, I found myself thinking about my own relationship with the game.
Why Softball Will Always Feel Like Home
Long before I ever picked up a camera, I picked up a glove.
I started playing softball when I was six years old and spent the next decade-plus on the diamond. I was a pitcher and first baseman all through high school, and some of my favorite memories were made on fields just like this one.
For years, I didn’t realize how much I missed the game.
Life got busy. College happened. Careers happened. Kids happened.
Then one day my children were old enough to start swinging on a pitching machine, and suddenly I found myself right back at the ball field.
Two of my three kids have discovered their passion on the basketball court, but my middle daughter fell in love with softball the same way I did. Somewhere between pitching lessons, endless buckets of softballs, and weekends spent chasing tournament schedules, I rediscovered a piece of myself I didn’t realize I’d left behind.
What surprised me most, though, was discovering that watching my kids compete brings me even more joy than competing ever did.
As much as I loved standing on a field with dirt-covered cleats, sunburned shoulders, and a game on the line, nothing compares to watching your children find something they love and pour their whole heart into it. Whether it’s a softball field, a basketball court, or a track, seeing them grow into who they’re becoming is a feeling that’s hard to put into words.
More Than a Softball Field
Maybe that’s why this session hit me a little harder than most.
As I watched these seven young women standing together in caps and gowns on a field that has been part of their lives for years, I couldn’t help but think about everything that place represents.
Because years from now, they probably won’t remember every score.
They won’t remember every inning.
What they’ll remember are the teammates.
The bus rides.
The inside jokes.
The practices after school.
The moments in the dugout.
The friendships built over years of showing up for each other.
Sports have a funny way of becoming woven into who we are. Not because of championships or statistics, but because of the people, experiences, and memories attached to them.
When I look at these images, that’s what I see.
Not just softball players.
Not just seniors.
A group of young women standing at the end of one chapter and on the edge of the next.
Celebrating the Coloma Class of 2026
Since these photos were taken, these seven seniors have officially graduated from Coloma High School.
And as it turns out, they were also the final members of the Class of 2026 to step in front of my camera this season.
I can’t think of a more fitting way to wrap up senior year.
It was an honor to spend the evening with these athletes on a field that means so much to them and preserve a small piece of their story before they turned the page to whatever comes next.
Congratulations, ladies.
Thank you for letting me celebrate this milestone with you.
And thank you for reminding me why softball will always feel a little like home.
Amber Karrels Photography is a Southwest Michigan senior photographer serving Coloma, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Watervliet, South Haven, and surrounding communities.
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