Abby's Senior Portraits

On October 4th, I was priviliged to be able to take senior portraits for a friend of our family. We had a beautiful day and lots of great places to take photos. I used natural light and a reflector. Abby wanted some fall colors in her photos which I was happy to do since I love fall and all the changing colors. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot which lasted about an hour and a half .

This is one of the early shots in the session. I was going for shadowy and dramatic light. I loved how the leaves made patterns on her arms and clothing.

As I mentioned, there were lots of  fun places for us to shoot. This was a ramp next to an old barn. I loved her smile in this one and the pink just pops against the faded wood

These plants were pretty and the light falling on her was just perfect. I asked her to sit comfortably and this is what we got. I didn't even have to coach her much ... 

On the other side of the barn. I loved the angles created by the windows and the door and the faded red made a nice backdrop. This is also one of the first upper body portraits that I did. 

Picked this spot for the lion head and fence which were interesting and fun and then for the tree behind them. The colors and the light drew us to that spot. It felt very fally to both of us.

This old wagon had a lot of character and with the leaves around it, it seemed like the perfect spot. I did pose her for this one but only a little. She just seemed to relax into this place. 

I liked this pose so much I zoomed in and converted it to black and white just to give us more options and because I like the added contrast of black and white 

Her cat walked through and I asked if she wanted a picture. Love the smile in this one and the cat actually cooperated too

This wood pile was down in the woods. I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to use it as a spot. At first I just had her stand by it, but then I had her put her hands on top and lean in. This is probably my favorite shot of the session

We moved to lots of different locations-- most were chosen because of the light and the colors or other interesting textures in the scene. This was mainly for the light and the way the branches arched.

I had to get at least one shot with her looking off in the distance. The cinder blocks felt like and appropriate location to do so. 

The porch was another of my favorite locations. I love to colors and contrast of the ferns and the corns stalks and then the orange in the windows behind her. Abby also looks very relaxed and natural in this spot. 

My Aunt who was helping us saw the trees and suggested that we get a few shots there. I definitely think is was a good choice

In this shot Abby is leaning on a stone that is on the edge of the yard. I saw this location and asked her to lean on it comfortably. She chose this pose and I think it worked really well. I love the simplicity of the background as well..

And another in black and white. So simple and beautiful. I love it. 

And one last photo from our session. . I wanted to get another shot that had a really fally background. These trees were across the yard and I had her stand so that we could see them in the distance.  simple yet colorful 

Thanks Abby and Gwen for letting me take these photos and for letting me share them on my blog. It was a pleasure to do this session and I am definitely realizing that I want to do more of this kind of work, especially if I can work with natural light. 

Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. Not sure what the next post will be, but I hope to continue practicing and expanding my skills. Until next time...