05 Oct Carter’s Senior Pics
The senior pic season is starting to wind down, at least that’s what I’ve been hearing from some of the students. Some schools are requiring seniors to have their photo turned in by the beginning of October. It’s been a while, but I wanna say that when I was going through the school system, it wasn’t nearly that early. Of course, I went to a small school, I’m sure the huge schools have to be more on top of it than the little guys.
You never know what you are going to get when you shoot a high schooler. Some show up, mother practically dragging them there, their want to get their picture taken is not exactly on the top of the priority list. Others show up in a good mood, still mom in the background, the ever watchful eye, making sure their kid stays on task, like the bad dude from Lord of the Rings. That’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s always the moms that are there, always, haven’t shot a senior yet without mom in the wings. Where are you dads? The moms are great though, always the first one to poke fun at their kid, banter passes back and fourth directly after. Anywho, regardless the senior’s state when they show, by the time we wrap the shoot they are having a good time, laughing, realizing that not all shoots are boring and lame, and infact they can be fun!
Carter was a smiling machine, holy smokes! I’ve never had to tell someone not to smile for a couple pictures before this shoot. I bet her face was sore the next day. They recommended the location you see above, and rusty old metal barn thingy. This wall caught my eye, and knew hitting it with a light would really make it pop. Each face of the building had a different style, texture, and color, so we had a huge variety within 60 feet of walking.
Used a two light setup to shoot all of these shots. A large Octabox to light Carter, and a bare bulb for rim lighting or background lighting for separation, sometimes gelling it for some color.
I couldn’t have designed a better location. This place just had that perfect rustic look, with things here and there that could be used as props, and just enough space to work in and around.
A pier was close by, the location for our last set of shots as the sun went down. It was a gusty afternoon, but it worked to our advantage, flipping Carter’s hair around giving it a nice look.
We also had fun doing mid-air jumping shots. These are some of my favs to capture because of the expression it generates. Freezing a completely uncomposed subject can create very interesting photographs.
Carter had her sister and good friend at the shoot, we threw them in at the very end for a quick group shot.
