My favorite part of a senior session is that moment right after mom and dad have viewed their senior’s images and they say to me “You captured their personality perfectly!” Nothing means more to me than hearing that since THAT is my goal. So how do you go about capturing the essence of a senior’s personality? For me, it’s a multitude of factors that help me at a shoot. It’s a really simple idea, I refer to it as posing without posing. I don’t want it to look posed or unnatural for the senior and their surroundings. I really want to make it look like I just happened to snap the picture at the right time without her knowing it. And interestingly enough, those shots tend to be the pictures that everyone loves.
Many times while shooting, I give the senior an activity to do like walking toward or away from me, balancing on something, dancing/skipping or turning quickly from back to forward while tossing the hair. I also bring along props that require action like bike riding or skating on a longboard. The only posed shots (those that aren’t caught in mid action) are notoriously the ones when Seniors are laying or sitting. It’s about building a final gallery of both posed and relaxed images capturing your authentic self.
Thinking about having your Senior portraits with us!? If so, check out the link below to read more about the ultimate senior experience with Katherine Scheele Photography.
