Senior Session Locations: Think Outside the Norm

I love Senior Sessions. They truly are my jam! They are my favorite. They are the sessions I overly prep for and get excited about. All my seniors have a pre-consultation to discuss their visions for their session. I always tell them, and their parents, “These are not senior pictures of our day. Anything goes. You want to eat buffalo wings for your senior pics? I can make them look amazing!” I really encourage them to think outside the box.

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Outdoor setting produce gorgeous images. I love the big fat white clouds against the blue of North Dakota summer skies. I love a headed-out wheat field and I love LOVE our sunsets.

However.

I don’t like mosquitoes.

And flies and fire ants and snakes.

And rain (my camera especially doesn’t like rain.)

And I really loathe wind. Wind makes me so crabby…. (ask my husband how I feel about wind…)

So this is why I encourage to (in addition to outdoor images) think outside the box! Be unique and creative with an indoor location.

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Many people have come to think of Studio Photography as boring, old-fashioned, blah. The reality is the controlled environment of a studio is what allows for complete manipulation of the setting and the lighting. The majority of any images seen in magazines are done with studio lighting… even if they are in the middle of a desert. The skill-set knowledge I have in utilizing off-camera flash (that big old umbrella thing you will see Leah or myself lugging around), allows me to take any location, control the lighting and create studio-worthy images.

Riverside Gardens in Valley City was absolutely accommodating when I asked if I could shoot inside their greenhouses. I have wanted to do a green-house shoot for a few years, and this year, I had the perfect Senior in Brynn. Brynn is a lover of flowers and animals and exudes a modern day Hippie vibe. We collaborated on the styling for the shoot and she rocked it.

When utilizing indoor locations, I look for patterns, color, and textures. The greenhouse was full of them and we did an entire session inside their walls. I absolutely love these images and hope you can see why thinking outside the norm results in gorgeous scroll-stopping images!

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The Advantages of Studio Photography

I love outdoor photos as much as anyone! The big blue sky, the fields and water, the mosquitoes and 2000% humidity… It is awesome! BUT I happen to live in North Dakota, where 9 (10) months of the year are not so pleasant. So unless I was am going to just shutter the business, binge watch Netflix and eat Cheetos for months on end, I had better figure out studio photography.

When most younger people think of “Studio Photography,” they probably envision Awkward Family Photos. Boring backdrops, super staged, lots of props… But the reality is MOST of what you see in print magazines would be considered “Studio Photography.” Much of the images are on a set, or even if outside, they are lit artificially with off camera lighting.

What I love about playing in the studio is that I am in complete control of the lighting. I can shape it exactly how I want it to look , like in this image: I wanted Josh to be light solely by one light, with a bare flash giving him some fill and texture in the background.

In the studio I can play with fun gels, to produce interesting lighting, like in these images.
In the first, Talia said she loved blue, so I added a blue gel to the light source.

In this image, Abigail is a welder so I added a red gel to produce some contrast to her green welding jacket.

Another thing available in the studio is to play with a variety of fun backgrounds!

Here Lexi looks glamorous in front of a crystal chandelier.

Talia is playful in front of a fun beaded curtain!

Colored paper is always amazing for bright pops of color!

And I LOVE COLOR!

Katie and her camera pop off the turquoise background!

Abigail and her confetti are so fun in front of the green!

Talia is stunning in front of the blue!

The ability to create stunning, timeless photographs can be accomplished when I can control the light in the Studio.

Studio photography is an amazing option to offer my clients!

The options are vast and the results are beautiful!