Senior Year Portraits

Senior year of high school only comes around once. It’s really one of the first big, transitional moments in life. A time when young adults launching into the adult-in-training years. Even though capturing pictures at this stage of life has been a tradition for a long time the method in how the tradition is executed has changed. I have my parents senior portraits they have one black and white image taken headshot style. My generation’s version of senior portraits was Olan Mills with fake back drops in studios. Then came the picture people with their jumbo graduation year props. Any 2005 grads out there remember sitting on a giant 05? With the birth of Instagram and the opportunity for nearly anyone with a DSLR to become a photographer, the senior portrait experience has shifted yet again. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of capturing senior portraits during this moment in a young person’s life.

Whether it’s one shot for the yearbook or a collection fit for a magazine, senior year portraits is a tradition worth its investment.

Lena‘s senior portrait session is a fantastic example of spending the time to create and capture images which will become a true treasure. After having her hair and make up done by Tiffany Winterton, Lena was looking fabulous and feeling confident for her session. We chose two different locations for her session. First we played on the streets of Downtown Fredericksburg. There were so many fun places which added elements of texture and interest to her images. Fun staircases, small town streets and beautiful brick allowed us to capture a variety of images in a short amount of time. After we had our fill of Fredericksburg we traveled to the west side of town to the Chancellorsville battlefield. Probably my favorite place to take clients because of the wide range of options the location offers.

During the session I took time to chat with Lena about what she was looking forward to this year. She was definitely excited about getting back to “normal” for her senior year. Specifically the hope of not having to wear masks. I think we were all looking forward to a day we can ditch those. She loves playing soccer and is excited about being the editor for the yearbook this year. I was very impressed to learn she was already committed to Bridgewater College. She will play soccer and get a degree in criminal justice and psychology. Bridgewater seems to be the perfect college. It has everything she’s looking for, great soccer team, excellent academics, and it’s close to home! Way to Go Lena!