by Shelly | Jul 30, 2011 | senior portraits, SPCcreative |
So . . . I just delivered another senior album to a recent graduate and his mom.
My job has lots of favorite parts, but one of the biggest rushes EVER is the delivery process. I get downright giddy to watch a mom beam and actually shout with joy when she puts her hands for the first time on the canvas wall portraits of her practically grown child. Seeing the kids themselves beam as they look over mom’s shoulder while she exclaims every single time she slowly turns the pages of the new shiny album . . . well,
WOW! THIS, my friends, is why I love doing what I do!
Senior portraits are a HUGE tradition in this part of the country. For most kids, this is the last opportunity they’ll have to be photographed professionally until (and if) they choose to get married. That’s why we take the time to explore the their personalities and make a fun-filled event out of their photo sessions. Even the boys who don’t usually start out too excited about “having pictures made” all admit — out loud no less — that they actually had a great time during their session.
Afterwards, we have tons of great images. Selecting just a few is oh-so-hard, but I have some great solutions. The absolute favorites become canvases and wrap prints for the wall, they go into custom graduation announcements, and of course gifts for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. Everyone loves tons of different wallet prints for passing out to friends. AND there’s nothing more exhilarating than taking the rest of our images, the ones that make us smile, the ones that make us laugh, the ones that make our eyes mist up, and compiling them into an heirloom book or album so that we can enjoy them all for YEARS and YEARS to come.
Here are some pages from Michael’s album that I just delivered.
Michael, who is enjoying his summer looked totally different the other day when I delivered his book. He’s fishing a lot, and sporting an oh-so-handsome Hollywood-worthy beard. That’s something you just don’t get by with in high school. He’ll soon be packing his gear and heading off to college, but his parents have some great prints on their walls an an amazing album to look at every time they get a little wistful. The holidays will come soon, and I hope he’ll come by for a visit while he’s home, because MY seniors become MY kids . . . and I get a little wistful too.
by Shelly | Jul 21, 2011 | senior portraits, SPCcreative |
Seems like everybody is dragging a bit in this dreadfully hot and dry summer, and they tend to think that it’s just not a good time to go outside at all, much less schedule outdoor portraits.
Well, I have news for you! My favorite tips for survival are to move slowly, know a good Air Conditioning Repair Guy, keep a big pitcher of iced tea close at hand . . .
and of course, NOTHING beats a little POOL TIME!
Inspired by Macon, GA photographer Lee McDavid who says that a $12 kiddie swimming pool was one of his best investments ever, I started thinking about new ways to keep our summer senior photography sessions super cool. After a visit to the Goodwill store with one of my favorite high school seniors, we hit the pool with prom dresses and cameras in hand.
Sooo much fun! After a little pool and waterfall time, we finished our session by breaking in my brand new bamboo shower wall.
I’m loving my private portrait park just a little bit more every single day.
Our summer may be flying by, but we’ve still got two or three more months of intense heat. We’re onto something very cool over here!
Don’tcha think?
by Shelly | May 15, 2011 | senior portraits, SPCcreative |
For Kandi’s senior portrait session, she wanted a fun and funkly urban look, and I believe we pulled it off beautifully.
I had first met her mother last summer when she and one of her very good friends rocked the camera in a Trash the Dress session that I blogged about back in July.
Anyway, and I could hardly wait to see her again and to meet Kandi.
We picked a Friday afternoon to meet in downtown Houston for a walking session that covered just a few city-blocks where we found a great variety of settings.
Oh my goodness it was fabulous, and I can hardly wait to go back down there to shoot again.
Here’s the album we created with her favorite images. I feel certain that she’ll enjoy showing these off to her friends and family for years and years to come.
Enjoy your graduation celebrations, Kandi, and have a wonderful time in college. I know you’re going to SHINE.
by Shelly | Jan 9, 2011 | musician, senior gals, senior portraits |
How exciting for the class of 2011! You have just started your final semester of high school. It’s going to fly by too, so buckle up for the ride and have a great time.
When I get to schedule band kids for senior portraits, I always get super excited. It means they’ll probably show up with musical instruments and maybe even their letter jackets in addition to a great selection of clothes and personal props. Fort he record, flute players always hold a special place in my heart. That’s because I was once one myself, — but that was back in the day when we rode dinosaurs to school.
It doesn’t hurt at all if these kids are drop-dead gorgeous like Hillary. She was such a natural, self-assured and fun to work with. We changed clothes several times, and laughed lot while we tried out some of the brand new background sets that my wonderful husband recently built for me.
The end result? Some awesome wall portraits for her parents, personalized graduation announcements, and a beautiful hard-bound coffee table book that I am delighted to share here.
by Shelly | Jul 21, 2010 | senior portraits |
WHOOSH!
Everyone expects their senior year in high school to fly by in record time, but come graduation, they all realize that it went even faster than they ever expected. With graduation festivities behind her, Kristyn, a 2010 graduate of Cinco Ranch High School realized that she she still needed a good set of portraits before heading off to college, so she gave me a call.
I’m so glad she did too.
We met at a park early one morning with skies threatening rain and a humidity level that threatened every trick known to moisture. Fogged lenses, frizzy hair, and just downright steamy conditions are the norm for Houston mornings, and this day was only a little more extreme than the rest. We were able to get a few outdoor images in the slow drizzle before quickly winding up our session under the shelter of a covered picnic area and an underground walkway.
I had recently picked up a colorful umbrella to use as a prop — so I was delighted to pull it out for a while.
With all those bright hues and Kristyn’s sunny outlook, we managed to pretty-well banish any rainy day blues.
Nice Day for Ducks — Seriously
Note to self: Always carry duck food for park sessions. You never know when you might need it.
This funny little guy followed us around pecking at our feet the whole time we were shooting, but every time we tried to build a good picture around him (or her), he just ran off quacking. The quacks sounded more like laughs if you ask me, and it was like he was playing a game with us. The punky topknot on his head made us both laugh right back at him too.
Rainy-Day shoots are fun. They create unique opportunities but it’s oh so tricky to deliberately schedule them.
Still, I do look forward to doing more in the very near future, especially with clients as easygoing and pleasant as Kristyn was.
