I appreciate your thoughts. As you know, Joel Grimes uses a three light setup with an HDR background. Are they Joel Grimes look a likes? No, of course not. While learning his style, he critiqued numerous images I sent him. The problem was, my images began to look too much like a Joel Grimes image. I developed my own style with his as a foundation.
The girl in the shot you mention is created in DAZ 3D. It of course is not a traditional senior pic grandma will buy, that is the point. The first session with Nick was to capture his bowling image. We shot several others that are very non traditional, like the 2nd shot here. I set myself apart from the others by offering choices you can't get from every other photographer. The 2nd session is when I shoot the more tradtional shots.