Mickala - Cherokee Trial High School - class of 2025
OMG! Sweet Mickala - just looking at her, you get a high of sweetness! That smile did not come off this sweet thing’s face for 2hrs. Alina and Mickala came just around the corner for an in-person consultation. They live in walking distance from my house. I always love meeting my client’s before the session. This way we build that initial rapport.
Mickala without a doubt wanted fall foliage. So, I suggested a great spot in the Littleton Area. They booked their session for the end of September with the expectation we would shoot October. My awesome mom did reconnaissance for me before their session. With the trees barely turning, we pushed their session into October. With CTHS’s deadline looming and my fall break excursion, we had to get the session in regardless of peak colors. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Mickala asked me at the consultation if I could do less blur (bokeh) in the photos and more of the scene in focus. I admit, that request was a bit out of my comfort zone; specifically for portraits, this isn’t my style of portrait photography, buy I told her would do my best to get some without the blur. Yes, there are trends in photography. Apparently this was one of them.
I am so happy with how Mickala’s images turned out. Alina and Mickala both got what they wanted. I absolutely loved Mickala’s look - I’ll call it, bohemian goth.
Jake - Cherokee Trail High School - Class of 2025
Jake - just a big smiley teddy bear! Sherry’s consultation for Jake was for a location more on the urban look, but she wanted a photo with a fence to go along with his older sister’s senior portraits. This particular location has the urban/industrial/nature scene in one spot, so we got the fence with the greenery in.
Jake was so awesome to work with! He was all smiles and easy to talk too. He looked like a guy who should be on the field, but is more interested in physics. Sherry was such a pleasure to chat with too. Their session flowed from beginning to end. I loved Jake’s session!
Hannah -Chaparral High School - Class of 2025
Hotel. Alfa. November. November. Alfa. Hotel. Hannah, my sky girl. When Hannah’s mom booked and put airplanes down on the intake form, I was keeping my fingers crossed for another airplane shoot. Ka-ching, easiest consultation ever! Yankee. Echo. Sierra.- airplane and girly time!
Sierra. Hotel. India. Tango - we have turbulence ahead. I meet Stephen (the owner of the plane) at Centennial Airport an hour before the scheduled session to figure out plane placement. The pistachio ice- cream had already turned, but the session needed to go on. Stephen and I thought maybe an indoor session with all the nice expensive jets would be a nice option, and we had access to it. Hannah wanted her session outdoors . . . cancellation ahead . . . down pour! My client’s all showed up on time for their session, but our chat was to figure out our next reschedule date.
No extra fees with Stephen! He was so awesome and very flexible with his plane and scheduling. Our next shoot started out iffy with the weather. We did have a short weather delay, but managed to get a 90+ minute session in. For our patience, we were rewarded with a rainbow and an awesome moody sky at the end.
Hannah was so, Foxtrot. Unicorn. November. to shoot. She went with the flow and popped out her own ideas and worked that camera!
Deborah -Grandview High School - Class of 2024
Deborah, she’s got skills! When I held Deborah’s consultation, I spoke with both Charlotte (mom) and Deborah. It’s very nice when I can chat with the one I am supposed to photograph, too and not just mom. I get their perspective and not just the parent. Deborah, without a doubt, wanted her shoot taken in her backyard. I had no problem with that other than I need to stop before hand to scout out their yard. This was considered a new location and I needed to see what I was dealing with in terms of lighting and backgrounds. I got to meet both of them before the shoot which was very nice, too. I gave Deborah the opportunity to show me her outfits she was planning on wearing for her phootshoot. The fact that she was going to be in her own home, she had the ability to swap out outfits more. Deborah really impressed me, she really does have skills, she sewed her own dresses, she plays instruments. You rarely see kids with home ec skills these days. Geez, I can’t even sew. Deborah was able to incorporate her projects into her shoot which I just loved for her.
The day of her shoot, we had impending weather. I live about 10 minutes away, so we decided to go for it. We were about a half an hour in when the weather turned. Deborah looked so disappointed, but I reassured her that we would reschedule, and that I wouldn't short her photo session. She was very relieved and we rescheduled. Her second session went perfectly! NO WIND, perfect lighting and smiles - everything a photographer could ask for!
Deborah was a sweetheart and I admired her humbleness and DIY projects. Both Charlotte and Deborah were such a pleasure to work with!
Choosing your perfect senior portrait location
How to pick out your favorite outfits for your session GIRLS and GUYS
Emerson’s senior portraits - Grandview High School - class of 2024
Run, Emerson, Run! Pace yourself with this delightful young lady . . . a cross country and track athlete at GHS. Emerson opted for a Track and Field session at Legacy Stadium to showcase her sport. Any time an athlete wants to showcase their sport, I try to encourage them to be in their element. If it’s on the court or on the field, let’s show that off. Incorporating a sport with a traditional session can be unnatural looking and tricky. It’s like sticking a cactus on top of a mountain, it can be very weird! So, I was ecstatic when Emerson was willing to take on the ‘Climb the fence’ for her shoot on the track. Turns out, Emerson’s track shoot was scheduled on the same day as a football camp was going on. Katy (mom) and I decided to wait it out and it was so worth the wait and we didn’t have to scale the fence to get in. We had a perfect evening for her shoot. All the football peeps moved out fairly quickly and we had the place to ourselves! We did have to climb the fence on our way out, though.
Emerson’s traditional shoot was held in Evergreen for the natural, mountain scenery look she wanted. With natural settings, I come with a truck load of props for variety. Katy brought Emerson a bouquet of real sunflowers and they added a special touch to her photos. Emerson claimed she wasn’t a hat person, but for sh!Ts and giggles, I had her try one on, and OMG, she looked stunning! The hat even mad her dad (Scott) gasp.
Emerson is genuinely a sweet young lady. I enjoyed my two session with her and getting to know the rest of the Rohrig Family. They were all so patient and helpful during the session. I also love when my client’s can chat with me a bit, too.
Equipment used
Courtney - Littleton High School - Class of 2024
Courtney - The Baller! The football kind. Courtney is on the women’s flag football league! Boy, it sure piqued my interest, so I picked Courtney’s brain about the whole process. We had a lot to talk about and she was so willing to talk to me, too. She was so much fun - all smiles even without the camera. She was so ready to get her photos done and she was going with the flow (wind in our case) so easily. We had wind from the southeast, sun from the west and I wanted her to face north so I could get the backdrop from the south, so, it made for an interesting shoot. You would have to be a photographer to understand my conundrum. I always bring along props just in case I need to add something, and in my stash, I had some hats. Courtney claimed she was not a hat person, but I felt we needed something to tame her hair from crossing over her face constantly. She put on a hat and Sara ( mom ) and I just gasped, she looked to freaking cute and it gave here a different look. Some of the shots with her in the hat, were her favorites. It pays to be open minded.
When Sara booked Courney’s session, they initially wanted to go to the Paint Mines for their location, a couple of weeks out, Courney wanted to change her location for somewhere in the mountains because it was more her. Clients always feel bad when they want to change, like it’s a inconvenience for me, but it such a relief and never inconvenient when they switch. Courtney absolutely seemed in here element at our mountain location, she was even willing to walk a short bit so I could perch her on some rocks for the sunset! She even brought along her best bud!
