1. She is compassionate.

I already knew that Madison is a kind and caring person, but these qualities really shined through as she was posing for me in an old robe on our newest addition to the apartment: a dusty, old couch.

My sister has always been sweet and endearing to friends and family, in a way that I never had the patience for. I hope to mimic her qualities of patience and compassion one day. Despite her being the younger sibling, I have much to learn by following in her footsteps.

2. She is confident.

If there is one thing I have always admired about Madison, it is her confidence. She has the ability to own her character and her body, unlike any woman I've ever known. My sister is truly stunning and beautiful, and her confidence only makes it better. I see this every day I spend time with her, but her love for herself especially came through when she was striking poses for this shoot.

While she certainly does love the attention to camera gives her, it helps to have a subject who is willing to make serious faces without cracking up.

3. She is intelligent.

Despite Madison being 17 months younger than me, I often forget that she knows more about some things than me. For one, she is fluent in Spanish (which I think is so cool), and she can juggle so much drama at once she deserves an award for it. She also happens to be the most impressive dancer I've ever met.

As I was snapping pictures of Madison, I thought about the ease at which I was taking these pictures because she already knew exactly what to do. I think sometimes, being the older sister, I don't give Madison enough credit. A lot of people don't. I'm expected to be wiser, or smarter, or whatever, but that's not always the case. Sometimes younger siblings are looked over just for being younger, and that's not fair. I strive to give Madison more credit where credit is due in the future.

4. She lives courageously.

Spending 18 years with a person means you know a lot about them. Personally, I know Madison has been through some really tough times and come out the other end stronger than ever. Despite all that she has been through, she continues to be a role model for me when I'm going through something myself.

Women suffer through a lot of really tough times but never get applauded for what they're able to make it through. My sister is an example of this because she's already escaped death three times and no one has asked her how she did it.

I think photography can be really vulnerable at times; I think it can show us all of the love and pain that someone has suffered through in one single picture. Without even discussing it, I learned a lot about my sister's pain just by taking capturing tiny moments in her day.

5. She is unapologetically human.

Like most of us, Madison has made mistakes. We all have personal baggage that we carry and we try not to let it define us.

Growing up with Madison has taught me how to be human and why it's so important to embrace exactly who we are (even if that means were clumsy, or even stupid at times).

When I was editing the pictures from this shoot, I was careful not to edit every detail of every photo. I thought about the way my sister strolls through life, just being herself. I wanted these pictures to represent that; I wanted them to be unapologetically imperfect. I left some careless details in the pictures to illustrate all of the imperfections that make my sister who she is every single day. I think she is amazing and she's the reason these photos came out so beautifully.