You've got a couple hours to sum up a senior's persona in a nut shell via photos. To tell that story of "here I am, this is me" as a senior in high school. Ready, go! At least, that's what I try to achieve - something greater...
Senior photo shoots are always a treat. The kids are up for just about anything and ready to have a good time. The downside? I'm constantly reminded about how old I am getting with quick slaps of reality when I don't recognize one band or celebrity...
Snow. You can't plan for it. Well, at least not here in Tacoma, and especially not weeks out. But when it comes to a good snow, we are 2 for 2. The last time we got a good snow was a couple years ago, and...
Boy, do I have a great bunch of senior photo shoots to share with all of you! So many bright individuals, all with their unique approach to life already. It's a fun thing to be a part of - creating some character-capturing photos with them to...
Geez, how do you pick a headlining image from this gorgeous set of photos?! Close your eyes, point, and you'll pick a winner, guaranteed. This is how some shoots go - you can't make a bad frame, everything just stacks up. With a great set of...
I have a very fun set of photos to share with you all today. Carissa, a senior at Wilson High School, walked into the studio looking for something "different." She also desired a dramatic style with a fashion flair. Carissa, you came to the right...
There is nothing I enjoy more than capturing people doing what they love, whether that falls into the professional or personal categories. In Christian's case, it's the ball field. We gained access to his home field to make some memorable senior photos. Christian attends Emerald...
Spent a few hours in the sand with Alexia for some volleyball themed senior photos. These are the kinds of shoots that put me in my happy place. I love capturing people doing what they love. It's beyond a standard portrait of someone simply sitting...
Say what?! Senior pictures... this time of year? Yep. About a week ago, I captured, what I can safely say, will be my last senior picture session for the graduating class of 2011. Emily, a senior this year, works on the yearbook staff (I guess a perk is that you can submit your photo SUPER late - I tease, Emily), and with great responsibility comes... great procrastination? I don't know, and didn't care, cause all it means is that I got to have another fun senior photo shoot. We shot in and around my Tacoma studio. Speaking of perks, one of the major perks of my studio location is being a part of a large group of work spaces located inside of a large antique mall. Three floors of really cool, old "stuff." (Ok, not trying to hijack my own blog post here, but I'm in a coffee shop writing this right now and a 50 year old dude just walked in, and he is rockin' a seriously large mullet. What's the deal with that? People, come on. Joe Dirt called, he wants his mullet back, and even he said that mullets are out right now. Ok, sorry, I'll focus, back to the post). Anyways, the studio and the surrounding space is filled with all kinds of shooting possibilities, and a huge reason why I selected this as my studio location. Not to mention it is right in the middle of downtown Tacoma, so walking outside the doors puts you in some serious metro shooting locations, including a graffiti garage I frequent, all within walking distance.
So, I got an interesting phone call the other day from a girl named Hope. She wanted to do a senior photo shoot with me, cool I'm all for it. Next comes my standard question, "what did you have in mind, any locations or styles that sound fun?" The response, simply awesome. "I want it to look like I'm in a jungle," she tossed back. I'm sure a smile was detectable over the phone as I replied, "ok." The smile for a couple reasons. First, only a teenager would let that be the first thing spill out of their lips when asked what kind of shoot they want. Secondly, and most importantly, this is the stuff that makes photography fun for me. The challenges, even ones that arise by step-one in the profession of photography - the location. Brazil, maybe Central America, hell, even Miami that might be doable... but a jungle in Tacoma, Washington. Rare is a spot in Washington that screams "jungle," but fortunately a spot came to mind fairly quickly. There just so happens to be an exotic plant shop in North Tacoma, and the owner is extremely friendly, who had no problem with me shooting there. So, vuala, our jungle location is sewn-up, we were shooting later that week.
Spent sometime with Ray the other day, taking some senior pictures. He is also very involved in dirt bike racing, so he brought is motorcycle along for the shoot. The location for me was a no-brainer. I mean... I'm not liking the idea of Ray and his bike in the middle of the city. I'm all for contrasting subjects/environments, but I just didn't want to force this one. I decided on a wooded scene for this shoot. Ray is also flirting with the possibility of future modeling, so we shot these with a little more attitude than your normal senior photos.
Visited a newly developed park down on the Tacoma waterfront with Alyssa for her senior pictures. After looking through these photos, you might be like "...uh... waterfront? There is not a single photo here with water." I'd probably be thinking the same thing. Yes, this is a park right on the water, however, the pieces of the park that we used to compose Alyssa's photos didn't showcase the water. It was about 5pm and very bright out still. The better shots captured where I was using my light to control exposure on Alyssa. We first shot amongst these stone pillars that are staggered about on this path. I shot these mostly from below Alyssa, giving these a very non-Washington feel, almost like a Arizona type setting with just the pillars in the background.
I'm gonna bet that is the first time most of you have heard the name "Kaimi" (Ki-e-me), at least it was a first for me. Hearing it kinda inspires me to name my kid(s) something exotic, that is, if I ever get around to making a couple little Matty's. Boy... what a handful they will be. I shutter, roll my eyes, and smile all at the same time at the thought of a couple miniature me's running around. You'll know their my kids cause they'll be the ones on the kid leashes that are disguised as a monkey hugging the kid, have cool-aid mustache stains, and lacking the ability to hold still. The leashes will never have a second of slack in the line, almost like a sled dog constantly trying to push forward. According to my parents, I was walking/running at 8 months old, and I was quite the handful. I distinctly remember a story they told me about a day that I played so hard and non-stop that when they got me home, I climbed onto the couch, and while on my knees I fell asleep before my head hit the cushion on my way down, like a falling tree. Man, I wish I could have seen that. Wow, sorry... way off topic here. Kaimi, a senior this year in Bellingham. We decided on a local park that provided a variety of styles. Started with this wood walking bridge, had some character. Varied the lighting here between both a very natural and dramatic look.
A couple weeks ago, I spent some time with Grant, a senior this year, as well as an aspiring model. I have to admit, this is the first modeling/senior picture session I've done. It was setup more for a foundation for Grant's modeling portfolio, and we bent it a little to work for senior photos as well. We spent a little time on white seamless and then moved to some more colorful backgrounds. The interesting thing to note here is that we brought the seamless environment right to the same location. Roll of white paper, hanging stands, large flat surface, and there ya go. Two completely different shooting environments in the exact same location. Kinda funny to think that behind that clean white paper are walls covered in graffiti.
