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With the click of a shutter, Annette Medford has preserved the images of hundreds of Skagit County residents as beaming 18-year-olds, some proudly clutching guns, guitars and game. The owner of Annette’s Photography in Birdsview estimates 75 percent of her business is senior portraits, and it’s easy to see why when you tour the backdrops at her compound off State Route 20: atriums, log structures, antique vehicles, vintage farm equipment, the swing over Randy Creek.

The camaraderie with her clients and the uniqueness of her outdoor setting helped propel Annette’s Photography to the number one spot as “Best Portrait Studio/Photographer’’ in the People’s Choice balloting. Sears Portrait Studio placed second, and Peeps third.

Medford also shoots weddings on site, still using film, while daughter Bobbi Jo Drysdale takes digital candid photos. “Photography is 90 percent psychological, getting them to loosen up and feel pretty,’’ she says.

Medford was working at Thrifty Foods when she became acquainted with the owner of Cascade Photography in Sedro-Woolley. He sold her a camera and gave her a few tips, and Medford began taking photos of her children and co-workers; two years later, she started working at Cascade Photography. When the owner retired, Medford considered buying the studio, but it was sold to someone else. “My husband (Ron) said, ‘I’ll build you one. You can stay at home.’’’

On their property almost directly across the street from the road to Baker Lake, Ron introduced fences, cars, ponds and the swing over the creek. He also built an indoor studio, but customers opt for the outdoor settings, designed to make the best use of the natural light. The subjects often show up with props. “Guns and dogs and dead animals — they bring their deer heads,’’ says Medford, adding that one Mount Vernon teen posed with his snapping turtle, alligator and cobra for his senior portrait.

The key is loosening up the subjects with jokes, and “make them feel beautiful while they were here,’’ Medford says. “I like teenagers. You can just tell them to shut up!’’ she says with a laugh, adding she needs more “finessing’’ with the females. “You can be yourself with teenagers. With weddings, they can be divas.’’

Medford continues to take classes to learn more about the technological side of photography, but she’s hesitant about one recent innovation: digital cameras. She says the quality isn’t as good as film, but might be within the next year. “I’ll always shoot some film,’’ she says.