We first met Erika and her mom Lise when her brother came to us a couple years ago for his senior portraits.  Adam’s session was pretty special for me so I knew Erika’s would be no different.  But let me back up a bit.  Within seconds of meeting this wonderful family, Stef and I knew we were in for an experience.  Lots of love in this family…lots.

At Erika’s consultation we talked about a lot of things, but couldn’t quite decide on a location.  So we set that aside for a bit and literally minutes before we were done it came to her.  A special place that Erika spent a lot of time at throughout her childhood.  So off to the nature preserve we went!  The day of the session the sun was glowing beautifully, Erika looked amazing, and Lise got lots of excersise(doing some yoga while we were photographing).  Probably the most special part for me is when brother Adam showed up for a few frames.  Erika was already “on” but when he jumped in she just lit up.  Standing in the tall grass together, she started singing and soon Adam joined and before long neither of them could keep a straight face.  It was something to see, and I feel privileged to have been there.

Thank you Lise, thank you Adam, and thank you Erika for an experience I won’t forget.

Howdy folks!  Meet Emily, class of 2010.  Now I know I’ve talked about this before but I really have to give some shouts to Emily for doing an outstanding job with her look for her senior portrait session.  This is classic matching your look with the environment 101.  But let me back up a bit…  When Emily came for her design consultation, she described (in great detail) the look she was going for but we didn’t quite have the exact location in mind.  Flash forward to just a few days before the session and we got the call.  “We found the place and it’s perfect!”  I went to check it out and yep, it was perfect.  Especially for Emily’s clothing choices!  A lovely vineyard, cool rock formations, an unused wine cellar,  and some delicious light.  Add a wonderful subject and you have the perfect session.  Thanks Emily (and Carolyn!) for the adventure, I won’t forget it.

Meet Kayla, soccer star from Franklin High.

Kayla and I first met when Stef and I photographed her family a few years back.  They are a beautiful bunch so it was no surprise when Kayla came for her senior portraits, she just lit it up.  Her session was later in the day and we spent most of our time lightchasing around the neighborhood.  After a short time, Kayla started seeing some of the same things I was.  “Ooohh James, I see some pretty light over there!”…and off we went.

A warm and inviting personality with all looks to match (no surprise with all the lovely women in her family!), it was a wonderful time.

Thanks Kayla, gorgeous job!!

Enchanted Seniors Website

Meet Annie class of 2010.  A Dancer/actor/singer(?) , Annie really got into character during her session and it shows.  We made photographs around town and the brick & mortar seemed to really work with her look.  Really nice Annie, this was fun!  P.S.  I’m still waiting to hear that singing voice…

Here are some of my faves.

Enchanted Seniors Website

Meet Julia, class of 2010.  Julia decided to mix things up a bit and do some of her senior portrait session in the studio, then head out to a location for the rest.  Another wonderful job with different clothing to match the environment, it was a fun time.  She was very comfortable in front of the camera, and how about that hair!!  I think she was ready to keep going but finally mother nature had her way and we ran out of light.  Sorry about the heels Julia, I forgot to tell you about all the gopher holes out there!  Here are some of my faves.

Meet Megan.  I just love it when seniors have a specific look in mind for their portraits.  Right from the consultation, Megan had some great ideas and looks she was after and she just nailed it.  She did a wonderful job of matching her clothes to the environment and really acted the part (and check out the cool necklaces!)  Thank you Megan for such a wonderful job here, sooo happy with how these turned out!

Meet Jessica!  A Roseville high senior with an award winning smile ( Actually she won the award in drum corps, but her smile really is that good.)  We decided to go for several different looks for her senior portrait session and she pulled off each one perfectly.  One of the faves was the garage door shot below, kind of looks like flag to me.  There was some other “colorful” artwork on that garage door that we ummm…opted not to show.  Thanks Staci for putting up with that.  We were about wrapped up when Jessica’s bo Joe made an appearance, and that lovely smile got even lovelier.  Awww…..

It’s not very often we get a call from a senior inquiring about a session including exotic birds, and when we met Alexia and her mom, we knew we were in for something special. Alexia’s family produces exotic bird shows around the world (Friends of a Feather), and it was important for her to incorporate the birds in some of her images. We talked about the look at the consultation and how we would capture the look we were after and hoped Alexia’s feathered friends would cooperate.

The day of the session came and when the birds arrived I was a little…intimidated. I am certain Athena (the owl) had the best intentions but I had never encounted an owl at this close range, and she..well…just kept staring at me.

“OK, calm down. The owl is not going to get you”, I told myself. A few minutes later, everything was fine, Athena was coaxed into perching on Alexia’s arm, and we got some really, really incredible images.

Thank you Stephanie, and Joe for the opportunity to meet your wonderful family, and for trusting our vision on this incredible session. And thank you Alexia for your fearlessness and adventurous spirit in front the lens.

Meet Sara from Bella Vista. Sara brought some energy and attitude to her senior session that kept me going. We made her session in our very own Enchanted neighborhood and did everything from jumping, dancing, lounging, and um…tying some shoes. Great job on your outfits Sara, love them shoes!

Sacramento senior pictures! Meet the wonderfully charming Chelsea. We had such a great time on her session, it went a little well…longer than expected. She also had some specific looks in mind (which we LOVE to hear about), and really was able to nail all of them. So full of life and excitement, it was just a pleasure to be around her. Thanks Chelsea for your input and energy, your portraits showed it!