Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Graduates, Part One | Chicagoland Senior Portraits

I'm woefully behind in my posts, both here and on my family blog.   And this particular post is waaaay long overdue.  I'm so sorry I've kept these images tucked away; however, they're here now and I hope you enjoy them!

Jeremiah, high school senior.

A local homeschool support group contacted me about doing portraits for the students in their group.  Specifically, they wondered if we could work together to create both 8th grade portraits and senior portraits, all at a budget that homeschooling families could afford.  Being a homeschool mom myself, I totally get this.  And being a photographer, I get that my fees and prices may not be within that affordability factor.

Chloe, eighth-grader.

However, by creating a group portrait session, we not only made a private portrait session affordable, we made some really great images!  I don't know about the students, but I sure had fun capturing them with my camera, and working with them, both individually and as a group.

First session group portrait.

Because not every student could meet at one particular time, we created two different sessions--both of which ended up being rained on!  Even though we shot at two different locations, at least the portraits were similar weather-wise!

I had to get pretty tight in on the students to eliminate various background clutter at our locations, but all in all, I think everything worked out great.  I really, really loved these students.  Really.  :)

Group portrait--the goofy one.

The first images were taken at a local park, surrounded by houses, telephone wires, traffic signs, and traffic.  But I think the shots (all above) turned out great.  After the group portraits were completed, we drove a mile down the street to a local forest preserve for a more park-like setting.  And that's when it started raining.  And then really raining.  But what's a little rain among teenagers?

Vadim, eighth-grader.

Brianna, high school senior.

Once it really started raining, we broke out the umbrellas.  What providence that I brought two huge black/blue umbrellas, and another mom had a huge black/gray one!  They worked perfectly in the images, and we were so glad we had them with us.


We tried several times to do a jumping shot, and the below was the best one.


I especially loved working with Ruthanna, below.  She has such a sparkling personality, and she has such a classic beauty.  Her images exude a certain 1950s style that I just love.

Ruthanna, high school senior.

Love my fast 50mm lens that captured all those raindrops!

Emily, high school senior.

A couple more images of Ruthanna.  I love, love, love these!



What's a little rain when you're graduating from high school?

With a group session, I don't deliver a large variety of portraits--two or three poses per graduate is all.  But considering budget restraints, a group session is a great way to get several friends/students/graduates/whatever together, share the cost, and get some awesome images!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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2 comments:

  1. Those are some great photos. Looks like a lot of fun. :)

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    1. Although I don't really like getting soaked to the skin, working in the rain with these young people was very fun!

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