Seniors, We’re Ba-aaAACK!

Seniors, We’re Ba-aaAACK!

It’s time to shake the dust off my blogging fingers and let the high school class of 2020 know that SPCcreative is back up and running and ready to create the perfect senior portraits for you.

The past two years have been hard for us here at SPCcreative. It was two years ago just last week that Hurricane Harvey ate our home and our studio, trying his hardest to knock us to the ground. The road back has not been a fun or easy one, but finally we are in a very good place and feel blessed beyond measure, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post.

Over these two years, I pulled back drastically from my business to take care of our rebuilding efforts and to do my best to stay calm and focused. During that time period I did not actively market our services, and only took on a few select clients one at a time. As much as I love working with seniors, it was my choice that I only photographed SIX of them over those two years. Yep, just six. But that was good. Each session brought us new challenges that made me wonder if I should be shooting at all. Some days I could barely even find my camera. Still in spite of our need to wing it, every single one of these kids absolutely ROCKED their sessions. Check ’em out!

You’ve got to hand it to them, the kids who came to us for portraits in 2018 and 2019 were great sports. We improvised like never before, providing hair and makeup in among hanging painters drop cloths while balancing ourselves on paint buckets and hopping over stacks of flooring material.

Oh … and it was all dusty. SO.VERY. DUSTY.

We blocked up windows with black plastic and moved backdrops and lights into whatever room could offer us just a little space. We adjusted our outdoor angles to cleverly hide the contractor’s porta potty.

We laughed.

What other choice did we have?

Thankfully most of the outdoor sets in our Studio backlot survived being submerged. We tossed a few things, hosed the mud off the rest, added fresh paint here and there, and brought in a few new fun props to pull off some fun fresh concepts. Oh, and the piano! What a find! How many studios do YOU know with their very own outdoor piano?

Class of 2020 — Here’s Lookin’ at You.

This year’s gonna be so bright you’ll def need shades.

We’re currently booking senior portrait experiences for the class of 2020. With only a couple of openings left in October and November, it’s already time to plan ahead into spring break. The best dates are filling fast.

Let’s mix your look and personality with our expertise. Together we’ll create the senior portraits you’ve dreamed of. Call the studio today at 281.773.7465. Let’s start planning your portraits now.

Congratulations Brandon, Class of 2018 – Katy Houston Senior Photographer

Congratulations Brandon, Class of 2018 – Katy Houston Senior Photographer

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This is Brandon. He’s graduating  in just a few short weeks from Kempner High School, and I’m so glad that we were able to photograph this handsome young man.

Planning his senior portrait session presented quite a challenge. He was scheduled to come in last fall, but because of Hurricane Harvey, our entire studio, both  inside and out was a shambles. He and his mom graciously and patiently  offered to wait while we mucked out and rebuilt our flooded home and studio, and we felt certain that we’d be ready to roll before Spring Break.  Then spring rolled around, and because contractors and supplies have been in such short supply, we were nowhere near ready.

BUT — I had committed to photograph Brandon and by-golly, we were going to make that happen.  I took it as added incentive to start whipping my studio backlot into shape. By the time his newly scheduled appointment rolled around, we had about half of our sets refurbished. Our landscaping was still a  big mess for the most part.

YET — with creative camera angles and a lot of hard work, there is always a way.

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It took a little extra maneuvering, but I”ll bet you would never guess that if Brandon (or the camera) moved just a few inches to the right or left, his portraits by the tree (below) would have included a…

wait for it…  wait for it…

A bright blue PORTA-POTTY!

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My absolute FAVORITE images, though, were the ones we created to highlight his weight lifting. I managed to rig up a makeshift studio in an empty room, and I’m so glad we did.

THESE simply couldn’t have come out any better.

I love working with dramatic lighting patterns!

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  Summer’s on its way in, so I hope Brandon gets a chance to relax at the beach with his family and friends before heading off to college

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I also LOVE the fact that we managed to catch a sweet “mom-kiss”   before everything wrapped up.

Brandon just might miss his mother and her home-cooking when he heads off to UT San Antonio in the fall — and I KNOW that she will miss him.  This fun image should make the road home seem just a little bit shorter.

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Senior Portraits for Valen – Bellaire High School – Katy Houston Photographer

Gamer, Guitar Player, Future Veterinarian.

This is Valen.

He’s a laid-back, casual easygoing sort of a guy who’s just about ready to walk the stage and collect his diploma from Bellaire High School.

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I loved his easygoing attitude about our portrait session together.  With an  air of relaxed confidence, he was super personable and seemed very comfortable in his own skin, up for anything.

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In his spare time,  he enjoys listening to music  and  playing video games, but as a member of the Guitar Honors Orchestra at  his school, Valen is quite a talented musician in his own right.

Guitar Honors Orchestra!  I didn’t even know such an ensemble existed.  How cool is that?

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And on the weekends, he volunteers at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists.

That place is super special to me and my family because they played a huge role in saving the life of our  Grand Dane a few years back.  Grand Dane… That’s what we call our  Grand-dog who happens to be a Great Dane.

 Through this work, Valen has become very comfortable working with all sorts of animals.  This internship is setting a great road for him. After graduation he plans to study biomedical engineering as an undergrad, and then turn toward something in the veterinary field, possibly even specializing in exotic animals.

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I was so glad that he brought his scrubs and his pup, Kaley, along to his session.

She is one of the cutest dogs I’ve seen in a long time and it’s obvious that she adores him.

Looks like the feeling is mutual too.

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Congratulations, Valen on your graduation as a part of the outstanding Class of 2017.  We’ll be watching for big things in the years to come.

Senior Portraits for Garrett – Katy Houston Photographer

This is Garrett — Class of 2017 at Cinco Ranch High School.

When we initially set up his Senior Portrait session, I knew right away that photographing him with his shiny red pickup truck would become a major part of our plan.

He showed up and there wasn’t a speck of dust on that vehicle.  If his mom hadn’t told me  during our pre-session planning consultation that he and his friends  love to take it out mudding, I never would have guessed it.

 That  mudding sounds like so much fun!  I really wish I could have gone along to experience the adrenaline-rush they talked about, but we kept the vehicle clean during our time together. 2017-03-16_0004We saved the truck for the end of our session so that we’d stand the chances of a good sunset or at least low, directional sunlight — and when we saw that angry  cloudy sky, we knew we were in for a  killer perfect image — and we certainly got  it.

Garrett’s also an accomplished athlete who has enjoyed playing LaCrosse with the Katy Cavaliers for the past seven seasons.

2017-03-16_0009 And he’s  smart too. With National Honor Society membership credentials to his name, he’s looking to study Mechanical Engineering in Colorado after graduation.

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For fun, he also enjoys snow skiing, water skiing, hiking, and riding his dirt bike on trails.  He and his friends like to wrap up their fun adventure-filled days  building bonfires and just hanging out.
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Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, Garrett.  I have  thoroughly enjoyed photographing you and getting to know you and your mom this year. Send me a post-card  when you get to Colorado, won’t you?

Senior Portraits for Nicholas – Katy Houston Photographer

Meet Nicholas. He’s a Senior at Taylor High School here in Katy, and an all-around great guy! He’s got so many unique activities and interests, and it was fun to capture the essence of this very special time in his life.  C’mon, let’s get to know a little bit about him.  You’re going to like him almost as much as I do.

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I’ve been able to photograph Nicholas several times over the past couple of years, and am always impressed with him.  Every time we meet I learn something new about him and his many interests.  Of course, I’m a sucker for horses, so when he first  introduced me to Smokey I knew I’d be smitten with just one rub on that soft velvet nose …. Oh, wait … this is supposed to be about Nicholas, not Smokey.

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But oh… SMOKEY!

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And then, there’s his gorgeous Australian Shepherd, Chief.   That dog is going to truly miss Nicholas when he leaves for college. 2017-02-07_0007

Only four percent of the Boy Scouts  earn their Eagle Scout Award, but Nicholas was one of them. He fulfilled extensive  requirements in leadership, service, and outdoor skills to achieve this high honor.
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And to top it all off, Nicholas is also a very creative artist working with multiple media.  His favorite works include  a stiff-cast shirt adorned with soda-pop can tab chainmaille, a golden sculpted hand, and a truly intricate cutout book. 2017-02-07_0002

One more thing– Nicholas is a fabulous big brother!

Naturally some of his younger siblings wanted to pop in for a moment or two to be photographed with him. None of them are getting any younger, so it won’t take long before they realize how very special these treasured prints will be.

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Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, Nicholas. You have so much going for you. I can’t wait to see what you do in the years to come. 2017-02-07_0010

Signature Storyboards for Seniors – Katy West Houston High School Photographer

“They are all so amazing!  I just don’t know how I’m going to choose.”

It’s something high-school seniors and their parents say every time they come back to the studio for their  senior portrait reveal and ordering sessions.

I love that! Really, I do!  It means I’ve done my job.  At least part of it.

The images are awesome!  If they weren’t, it would be time for me to find some other way to earn my keep.  Now the fun really begins. While some photographers simply send  out an online gallery with forty-eight bazillion images for the clients to sort through on their own, that can be terribly overwhelming.   I absolutely love love love the chance to sit down together with my seniors and their parents as they see their images for the first time.  Watching their reactions has always been one of my favorite parts of photographing people.

Sometimes it gets downright emotional for parents who suddenly realize the impact of their child transforming from a teen to a young adult ready to leave home for the next big adventure. That’s okay.  We have tissues!

The image selection appointment is an added level of personal service that helps set SPCcreative Photography apart from the rest.

In these appointments we  talk about where the artwork will ultimately be displayed and we put favorite images side by side to facilitate the selection process. Wall art, albums, and tabletop/gift prints  and CUSTOM GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS all come into consideration, but one of my favorite products is the signature storyboard that we include in a number of our senior collections.  These boards can be as big as the wall will allow or as small as 10 x 20 or 16 x 20.

 They are a collection of images blended into one piece of art.

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Sometimes we select several images from one specific set, while other times we pick from a variety of wardrobes and backgrounds like we did for Jonathan last year.

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Our Shabby-Chic Window always makes for a fun composite of images…

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As does the famous BOX!

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Here are a few more of our favorite examples.  The important thing is that we select images that work together and tell a story about a student’s high-school experience.

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There’s something magical, whether we look at athletics…

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Senior Storyboard

MUSIC

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DANCE

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OR THE COLLEGE PLANS TO COME

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Creating these custom composite images for my clients is one of my favorite parts of my job. I would love to create one for you too. They look great in living rooms, hallways, offices, and dorm rooms, and they make fantastic gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles, and best friends.

Call today for details about our specialized portraiture services. The senior will feel like a celebrity, and Mom and Dad will have the special memories preserved artistically to tide them over between holidays and vacation breaks when the kids come home to visit.

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