Dance like there is no one looking…well, except me and my camera…

Meet Kayla, Rocklin High class of 2010, dancer extraordinaire.  And meet Kayla’s boots!  She had some great ideas for what she wanted her senior portraits to be, so off to old Sac we went.  It was a perfect weather day and once again I was overwhelmed with photographic possibilities here.  Kayla was great at climbing, walking, and jumping on things to keep in character with her footwear.  Boots for some, tap shoes for others…perfect!  We finished off back at the studio for a moodier dramatic look with that snazzy blue dress.

Thanks so much for another great adventure. 

Meet Chelsea, class of 2010.  Not to sound like a broken record again, but here’s how you do it folks.  Chelsea had the hair, the makeup, the clothes, and most importantly, the sense of adventure. I continue to be impressed at our senior portrait design consultations how organized and well planned these seniors (and incoming seniors) are with the look of their session.  Chelsea was no exception here.  A perfect pairing of clothing & makeup with the environment.  She was also masterful at giving different expressions, and it was quite fun giving her “scenes” to act out. Chelsea also brought her entourage of expression coaches and clothing consultants:) who were a big help, thanks!

Thank you Chelsea for another inspiring session, you were wonderful!

Some faves.

I love it when clients have specific locations in mind for their senior portraits, and I really love it when the locations look like this!  Meet Bridget, Oak Ridge High class of 2010.  Bridget decided to have us up in her neck of the woods for her portrait session, and the day was perfect…so was the light.  She also brought along a personal make up artist to help with different looks during the session, very cool!  I had a great time here and Bridget made things easy being so comfortable in front of the lens.  She was particularly good about acting out “scenes”, especially the “I’m lost and wandering around in this gorgeous dress” story:)

We ended with a few photos on the balcony and Marti (mom) was kind enough to serve up some spinach dip, pita chips and mini hot dogs…perfect way to end a session.  Thanks so much!

Meet Bronte, Casa Roble class of 2010.  Full of life, energy & adventure, she had all kinds of ideas for fun with her senior portrait session.  Cool clothes, cool attitude, and oh yeah, she managed to order the best looking sky I’ve seen in a long while.

Bronte came to us from her friend Kayla (the now famous VW bus girl), who also came along for the session.  Kayla played the part of Bronte’s personal assistant, coat rack and expression coach.  Such a good friend, she even gave Bronte the shirt off her back…really.  Thank you Bronte for being so inspiring, and thank you Kayla for the introduction (and the help!)

Some of my faves.

Meet Haley, Granite Bay High 2010.  I’ll never forget Haley’s senior portrait consultation.  As I recall, she and her mom showed up well, empty handed.   We always ask for a variety of clothes for this consultation and we have seen everything from duffle bags, to clothing racks, even grocery bags full of clothing…but nothing?  So we spent the time chatting about different looks, and what Haley had in mind for her senior portraits…and laughed a lot.

p.s.  Haley is a hoot.

So is her mom.

Put them in a room together and the place cracks up.

We got the details nailed down and off they went.  About an hour later Haley’s mom called just to say she was all over it and was totally going shopping for some new duds. “We’re excited and we will definitely be ready!”

The day of the session, Haley arrived with all kinds of cool stuff as promised, and those red shoes…  We had a great time out and about and Haley looked wonderful.  Here are some of my faves.

You might have seen our earlier post with the fun images James shot while having fun with the Good Day Sacramento folks, and now we finally have the video clips to share.  Good Day invited James down last month to talk about the many awards he brought home from the SPA (Senior Portrait Artists) event in San Diego, as well as do a mock senior photo session with their weekends anchors on air.  I guess they must have liked it, because they invited him back the following weekend to share the images he took of them on air.  The clips below are in order and include his appearances on both weekends.  James had a blast and absolutely loved everything about the fun group at Good Day Sacramento.  Thanks to their entire team for making it such a great experience!  We’ve also included his winning high school senior folio that garnered the most awards at the SPA event.  Click on the clips below to see his TV debut…

Good Day Sacramento pt. 1 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 2 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 3 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 4 from james on Vimeo.

Meet Riley, class of 2010 Union Mine High.  Riley decided to keep her senior portrait session close to home so we went exploring downtown Placerville.  It was a little chilly that day and her clothing choices were well…not.  Riley was a trooper however, even going barefoot for quite a while in some deep ivy.  After some time shooting I asked how her feet were doing, and she said “Not sure, I can’t feel them”.  That was my cue to move on.

Next was a trip to a nearby vineyard Riley had scouted out.  It was perfect and had everything we could have asked for.  Great light, beautiful old structures, and a cool old truck (actually a COLD old truck).  Toward the end of the session Riley was shivering between takes and even then  wanted to keep going but at last, the sun went away and it was time to go home.  Thanks again to Riley and her mom for all the efforts, and of course the location scouting, it was a great help!

Meet Christine, Roseville High class of 2010.  Another fun session here at the studio & around town.  I almost didn’t recognize her when she arrived with her fab hairdo (it was down at her consultation).  She had it done up that morning and it just looked fantastic.  We started in the studio and then went out for a bit before the sun went down.  As you can see in the first few, it was just a perfect glowy day and Christine had the look to match.  Toward the end of the session I asked if she might want to do a few photographs with her hair down.  15 minutes and 35(!) hairpins later, she let it fly for some great shots.  Thanks for all the effort Christine!

Meet Mallory.  From the moment she arrived at her consultation, I knew we were in for something special for her senior portraits.  Great clothing choices, gorgeous hand made accessories & scarves, and very specific looks in mind.  Among Mallory’s many talents was dance choreography, and she was kind enough to perform for me to capture.   At the end we ran outside to capture the last bit of dusk…and some more dancing.  This was very much a collaborative effort and Mallory’s input was wonderful.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Meet the lovely Lauren, Woodcreek High 2010.  Can’t believe I hadn’t photographed any seniors in Old Sacramento before, so I was all over it when Lauren suggested it.  Seemed like every 10 feet there was some new texture, or light pattern that had me yelling “Stop! Don’t move!” every 20 seconds.  Lauren got used to it.  She also got used to the curious onlookers (including the Sac Police) and still was game for everything.  Our last bit caught some attention from railroad employess, but in the end they were good sports about everything.  Really a great time.  Thank you Lauren!