~

Well, that was fast.

After three months of what was starting to seem like endless winter — by Central Kentucky standards — it got warm, the trees bloomed and dropped their white and purple buds, ginormous bees started bumbling around and, click, it’s spring. That means we are now in senior picture season, spring being a time where current seniors trying to get things done and current juniors trying to get ahead of the game are ready for their closeups.

~

This is, of course, the time of the year where you’d really like to get your shots done if your tastes run toward blooming flowers and lots of vibrant green as your backdrop.

I have written posts before about how I approach senior pictures, but it is a topic I don’t mind revisiting because I love senior pictures and my approach has evolved. So, planning with me, here are things to keep in mind:

The place(s). I customize shoots to you in a style called portrait photojournalism. We want to get shots in places and doing things that say something about you, your passions and activities. For example:

Kevin loved Camp Burnamwood, so we went down there.

Damarcus is very into lacrosse, so we got him in that context.

Marylynne was a high school thespian heading off to study stage in college. So we got her at her beloved Lexington Opera House, and in her beloved Mustang pop top.

So think of a few settings that speak to you, and we’ll work to shoot there and put you in that context. I will frequently split shoots, at no additional cost, if you’re interested in two places that don’t necessarily work well for one shoot.

The clothes. Really, pick your favorites; clothes you look good in, that you are comfortable in. If you look good, you’re going to feel good, thus you will likely look good in your pictures.

One thing I do advise is pick at least one nice, dressy looking outfit. We’re not necessarily talking about a suit and tie or formal dress, but something you’d wear to an occasion where you want to look good, like, oh, graduation.These pictures are supposed to mark a moment in time, so you want to look your best.

What you’ll be doing. Not going to lie, there will be posing. But again, we aren’t aiming to make you uncomfortable and want poses that will make you look good. But I also like a little action in portraits. So, if your big thing is playing an instrument, we’ll have you do that a bit. I you play a sport, we’ll try to document that. When we shot Damarcus, a friend hung out for a few minutes to pitch lacrosse balls with him so we could get some  shots of him at play.

When we shoot. My shoots generally lean toward afternoons-evenings and weekends, though I am flexible. I try to max out at an hour a location. Just get in touch with me via  email, Facebook or Twitter, and we’ll get it set up.

~

~

~

~

Click here to see more senior pictures by Rich. (This post will be at the top, so scroll down.)