The other weekend I had the opportunity to shoot with my friends daughter for a senior portrait. This was my first time shooting a senior portrait so I did come in to the shoot a bit nervous. Luckily Taylor was easy to talk to and after some basic chit chat she really began to open up and take confidence in her poses and general attitude. I think it really shows in how the first few pictures came out versus the ones at the end.
As a dancer, she wanted to incorporate some of her moves into the shots and after throwing out a few ideas (and a little encouragement from her Mom & Friends!), we started getting really creative with the poses. Again, with the confidence in place you can see how much she began to enjoy herself. We moved to a few different locations using a few different outfits. We really had a lot of fun knocking out some of these poses and despite the hot ground, she held it all in place like a champ while I snapped away.
Finally, Taylors little sister and best friend wanted to get involved in the shoot. With some helpful guidance from her Mother (and my dear friend) Ryan, we were able to get in a few more fun looks. My favorite from this set is a totally relaxed shot when she's leaning against a sign pole. It was a totally candid moment but came out so well. At the very end when we were getting ready to go I had her do a few more solo aerials for some nice action poses to round out the day.
The day turned out to be a very great experience for everyone involved. Taylor and her Mom were super excited about the photos and loved them all. I do have a few more ideas that I want to incorporate with her and her friend involving some long exposures around downtown Los Angeles and light painting. Those will make for some great photos!
Cheers!