The Graduates, Part Two | Chicagoland Senior Portraits

Time for the sequel to our first group graduate portrait session!  Our first group session was held at a local playground and forest preserve, and was accented by rain, steadily getting worse as our session continued.  This second session started out overcast, and started to rain just at the end.  At least the overcast skies provided similar lighting in each session!  I would've hated to have had one rainy session with one blue-skies-and-sunny session.  ;)

Luke showed up early to get in some portraits he missed due to last session's rain, so I took him to my two pre-chosen spots in this particular park.  The first spot was at the footbridge--I loved the vertical and diagonal lines, and we could easily eliminate the houses that could otherwise have shown up in our prints.

 Luke, high school senior.

For the second location, we ended up under a willow tree at the edge of a large pond.  Although it was shadier, I loved how the willow branches framed the background.

Luke left and the rest of the graduates arrived, so we took care of the group portrait first.  I didn't want to run out of time, so we did a minimum of group shots and moved on to the individual poses.

HEART students, group shot.

Now that I had some group session experience under my belt, I was able to get shots off quickly, and cycle through all the graduates in a timely fashion--plus get some bonus images for each one!  That's always nice.  We started the poses at the bridge, with their caps and gowns.

Gideon, eighth-grader.

 Sophia, high school senior.

We then moved the graduates near the willow tree, where I had placed a stool for posing.  We had to contend with flat light, and a light breeze that wanted to push the girls' hair into their faces.  We dealt with it, and got some very nice shots.

 Kayla, high school senior.

 Danielle, high school senior.

 Teah, high school senior.

 Noah, high school senior.

Candid shot of Sophia.

The students were allowed to bring "props" with them to include in a special pose, if they desired.  In my mind, I was thinking of maybe a book, or a musical instrument, or flowers.  Although the students from the first session didn't bring props with them, this group delivered in spades.  I loved these images I got with them.

Lucy, high school senior and chef extraordinaire!

Gideon in camo gear, complete with Airsoft weapon.

Danielle with book and flowers.

Teah the Awesome (she was so sparkly in personality!) with iPod and earbuds.

Kayla with a pink rose.

Kayla's mom had done all the coordinating with the entire group of students and their families, scheduling portrait sessions and locations, and getting all the students together.  I was happy to get one extra post for Kayla by the bridge with her flute.

Again, with group sessions like these, the number of portraits for each student will be pretty low--maybe four or five--but a group session will fit pretty much anyone's budget.  Plus, it allows the students to have beautiful images done by their own personal, professional photographer at a location of their choice!  I think it's a win-win situation all around, and I love serving the homeschool community in this way.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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