Sara's Senior Portraits

Sara is one of the funnest models I've ever photographed!! (Although, if you were to ask Sara, she might argue with the label of "model".) When she originally contacted me, she said something like, "You're the only one I want to take my senior pictures. If you don't take them, I'm not getting them done." Talk about pressure!!! But it was also really cool that she valued my vision and trusted me to capture her spirit. She had so many ideas and so much inspiration to draw from!! She wanted her senior pictures to be totally original, unique, and creative. I don't think I took a single "traditional" photo the entire time... and it's nice to know that she's totally cool with that!



When I asked Sara what some of her favorite places were, she mentioned that her room was her favorite place to hang out, so it was fun to get a chance to see her personal space and be inspired by the things that she surrounds herself with. ;-)



Sara loves to read... and I love that it looks like her teddy bear is peeking out at me from behind the book...


This is an elephant. Sewn by one of her best friends. Made from old t-shirts. Love it.


She had an entire wall that was painted with chalkboard paint and when I came in the wall was covered with music! I was a little sad when she started erasing it all, but then we came up with this idea together... (if you don't get it, ask a musician ;-)


The day was very cold, very windy, and since we could only get together in the middle of the day, it was also full midday sun. Not my favorite conditions for shooting outdoor portraits, but Sara was incredibly brave and wanted to make this work no matter what- so I made the most of the conditions we had to work in! It really gave me a chance to use light in a different way, and I think the results are pretty damn cool if I say so myself!







Why do we love railroad tracks, as cliché as they are? Because they have cool lines and interesting backgrounds. ;-)


She loves these rainboots, and I love her bumper stickers. ;-)


I liked these boots the most... and they were vegan friendly. Sara - what was the name of the company?? By the way, this is a totally random porch in downtown Royal Oak, MI... which is also where we created the very first image at the top of this post. It's amazing what little things can look really cool. ;-)


Sara, is also an aspiring photographer- and this picture reminds me so much of Amelie.. and Sara reminds me so much of Amelie... with a beautiful and vibrant imagination. I was so lucky to spend a few hours of my life with her. ;-) Thank you so much Sara- you're an inspiration!! Don't ever stop following your dreams- they can take you anywhere you want to go!

Michael's Senior Portraits

Before there's any confusion... Michael is not a high school senior... he's a college senior at Indiana State University. I never really thought about taking "senior pictures" for college students until Michael asked, but now that I've done it, I kinda wish I had done some for myself!! I looked really different as a senior in college than I did as a senior in high school! Michael's reason for doing portraits was so that he could send a head-shot out on his resumes and applications for grad school, which is such a great idea. Of course, you could also use them for those online personal sites, because you end up looking like a model... but, we'll talk about that another time! Back to Michael... ;-)







I looove this next picture... the dichotomy of his button down shirt and tie with his jeans and chucks (converse)... and his one foot pointed slightly inward... it shows his shy nature along with his ambitious confidence, his ability to be professional along with his individual sense of style. It just says so many different things at once... and I love complexity like that.












Ever since I moved to Terre Haute, IN I had a vision of creating this next image with someone... on Ohio Blvd... in the fall. This is by far my FAVORITE image from our session... probably more for the artistic concept and execution than for any other reason.


I also love this shot... it's just fun, whimsical, unexpected, and a great way to end this blog post...


Michael - good luck in all of your future endeavors!! It was so interesting to meet you and hang out with you!! I see big things in your future!!! ;-)

Renee's Senior Portraits

Could Renee be any more GORGEOUS?!?! When Renee found my business card in a coffee shop near my old house and asked if I could take her senior pictures, I have to admit I was a little hesitant! Me... senior photos?! The closest thing I'd ever done to senior photos were models and headshots. Maybe I decided to do it because my middle name is Renee, or maybe it was because I wanted a new challenge... in any case, I took a chance and I think we even ended up with a few fabulous images (like over 100 of them!) I have too many favorites to post them all, so here are just a few...





Can you believe there's absolutely NO RETOUCHING going on here!? Seriously. I would kill for skin like that (OK, maybe not killlll... but at least throw a pointy shoe at someone)!!






Little bit of fun with lenses going on here...


The hardest thing to do with portraits, is to have a natural smile - especially after a full hour of shooting. Luckily her boyfriend was nearby to help bring a little cheese to the scene...


A little laughter goes a long way toward staying relaxed and natural...


Renee's mom didn't plan on being part of the pictures, but how often do moms get great pictures with their teenage daughters? Now you can see where Renee gets her killer looks. ;-) Thank you so much for putting your trust in me for your senior photos!!!