Posts Tagged 'Seniors'
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!
The lovely folks at Good Day Sacramento took an interest in our awards from SPA this year and asked to come down to the studio to chat about them. They also decided to have us do some shooting with Lori & Cody (the morning anchors) to “relive” their senior portraits. Lori was a natural. Cody was…well…Cody. Big thanks to both Lori and Cody for having us, Dale for taking care of us, Ashley for all the communication, and last but not least, Ann Wokas for the hookup. It was a fun time for me and a great TV debut! Here are a few images from the shoot. Enjoy! 
Meet Cat, Bella Vista class of 2010. Cat arrived to her consultation just about every cool outfit available. Boots, scarves, necklaces, dresses and oh yeah…a black guitar. So again, off to the woods we went to chase some light. It was a perfect day and as you can see, Cat did great. About halfway through the session, she suggested climbing a tree for a few shots. I wasn’t overly eager for this as my last tree experience ended with me falling out of it and a nasty scrape on my knee. (I was trying to show a senior how to get up in it) Cat seemed pretty confident in her climbing skills so we went for it. Glad we did as they were some of my favorite images of the day. Thanks Cat for all your efforts!
Last week James and I were in San Diego for the SPA event 2010 (SPA is short for Senior Portrait Artists). This organization attracts some of the most talented high school senior photographers in the country and hosts one of the premier educational (and social!) events of the year for photographers. After James attended last year’s SPA event in Las Vegas without me and came home completely fired up, there was no way I was missing this one (especially because it was at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado). Aside from meeting up with hundreds of others talented photogs and hearing loads of great speakers, a main attraction and highlight of the event is the competition, which many of the attendees enter each year. This was the first time James entered the SPA competition, which included categories for senior girl and senior boy folio (a composite of multiple images from the same subject) as well as a single-image kids competition this year. Now, James has entered and done well in competitions before, but never anything quite like this. After all of the folios and prints have been judged, they are displayed all over tables so everyone can look at all of the entries. James felt quite intimidated when he saw the caliber of artists entering the competition. You can imagine the thrill we both felt when his name was called not only once, but SEVEN times at the awards ceremony! I thought he might pass out from the excitement (or the weight of all of those beautiful statues!)! I’ve included a photo of James with six of his gorgeous (and heavy) glass statues (the biggest one shattered in shipping and is being replaced), as well as a few of the winners. The awards he won are as follows: Top scoring folio; First Place girl folio; Judge’s Choice senior folio; People’s Choice folio; People’s choice single image; 2nd & 3rd place single image kids. James is so humble and if you know him, you know that he would never go out of his way to tell you about this amazing honor, but I can’t help myself, mainly because he works so hard and I think it’s so well deserved. Way to go babe!
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!!
