With two gallery wraps to hang on their walls of some of the most gorgeous images from their shoot, I wanted to also create a storyboard that showed off some of the other favorites. I LOVE how it turned out! And the fun sides is extra hip & cool.In addition to some sweet art for their walls, I also made this family some pretty sweet albums, one for mom and the other for Chandra. I wanted to introduce this super cool product to all my Seniors. I realize that you love your yearbook that you get in school, but one of the first things you do when you get that big book in your hands, is look for your pics. You get disappointed, because you look just ok in your senior pic and all the other pics of you suck, because they were taken by some random yearbook kid.  Well, look no further! A whole book of gorgeous images of you, all you, and plenty of room for all your friends to say how much they love you, is finally here. Look at all that space your friends can write about how much they love you! Bam!So the cover is a cool metallic photo of your gorgeous face and I even put your name and graduation year on the bind. This is one of the ways people will remember you! I know you want to be that cool!!!

I’m totally a life long learner and my favorite subject is photography! Why go to workshops, when I teach photography myself? There are so many aspects of photography, from composition to business and we can’t forget about the technical. And to run a successful business, you need all three. While in art school, I never learned how to use strobes and fancy lighting equipment, so with the desire to take my photography to a whole new level and to teach my photo students some cool lighting, a day with the Gray’s was essential!

Our first model was Keary Dee and she is actually a photographer herself down in San Diego. Isn’t she gorgeous?! And of course I love her jacket and those super cute shoes. She was a joy to photograph. But after using a strobe as I photograped her, I was giddy with excitement!And one of the other photographers, Shelli, brought her gorgeous daughter to model for us. Breanne was a trooper for sure! Having acted in a major high school play the night before, she drove all the way down with her mom from Bakersfield, to help us photogs out by modeling. And I am so glad she did, because she is stunning!!!One of the most magnificent things that I loved about working with artificial light is that you can make your model practically jump off the screen, as if they are 3D. So cool!And then we saw a rainbow. How cool is that?! Love it!And then we were graced with a rockin sunset and then BAM, got some pretty sweet shots!Ok, supermodel! Thanks so much for giving me your gorgeous eyes to photograph. And those cheekbones, ugh, I love! I hope you enjoy the rest of your senior year. Love every second of it!

A HUGE shout out to Zach & Jody Gray! You have been blessed with not only mad photo skills, but a special ability to teach super complicated stuff in the simplest of ways.  Thank you for opening a whole new world of lighting to me. I can now say, both figuratively and metaphorically…I have seen the light! Ha!

One of the things that impressed me most about Jessica, is her sweet and calm demeanor. She has a grace about her that shows in how she carries her self as well as in her awesome fashions.

Um, look at her gorgeous blue eyes. And notice, no roots at all. This is girl is for real! Just straight up naturally gorgeous!I love her vintage inspired jacket juxtaposed against a fun orange dress.I asked Jessica to imagine how she would feel in two months after graduation. A picture of freedom, this one is. Outfit change to another adorable dress from Urban Outfitters and a fun necklace from Forever 21. And what girl doesn’t love flowers! I love this time of year.

On our way back to the car, I saw this in the distance and I knew we had to shoot there. Industrial and very Russian, a masculine structure turned beautiful when juxtaposed with a gorgeous girl. 

Congrats Jessica! I hope that your future is blessed!

Out of two hundred of it’s pages, there was one photo of me, with long blond hair and tiny pearls. Fake pearls I probably bought at some cheapie store in the mall. I am not a girl who wears pearls and never was. I wore this ugly satin black shirt which my mom made me wear, because all my other stuff was too hippy or not appropriate. I waited in line for my turn, sat for what felt like 2 minutes and then it was done. It was like getting a shot. I look sweet and all, but I pretty much look like the girl above me and I am wearing almost the same shirt as the two girls on either side of me.  I don’t see the real me in that picture, I just see a girl blending in.

Even back then, I knew that I wanted to have a senior portrait that was different. I wanted a senior portrait that showed off the real me and one that was authentic. It was my senior year for goodness sake! I was going to UCLA! I wanted to have a senior portrait that celebrated this exciting time in my life. I wanted a collection of photos, not just one, that revealed who I was in that exact moment, happy and excited about my future.

So my friend was dating this older guy named Gunner who was a photographer. I thought it would be fun for us to all go out and take some photographs. I drove out to Hollywood. Natalie blew out my hair and did my make-up. I brought a whole duffle bag of clothes and we had so much fun putting together outfits that would work well for the camera and showed off my style. And I had a blast! I felt like a model for the day.

We took these first ones in a parking lot! So cool. I can’t believe how much body my hair had back then.

And then some outfit changes to show off my sweet side. 

In the end, the photo from the yearbook people was never purchased by my parents. But a decade and then some later, they have these bad boys up on the mantle. Oh yeah! Now that’s how I want to be remembered!

This fun outfit  is perfect for a Senior session. Lots of layers are great for mixing up the look and allows for quick changes. Stay away from logos and advertisements of brand names, because we want to create images that are timeless. So hurry up to American Eagle and get your layered look on!

Check out the Senior Portfolio to see more hip and happy seniors!

Jess is one of those girls that you just want to hang out with all the time. She is fun, creative and great at everything she does. Like myself, she teaches photography too, so that is a double plus in my book. Her dream is to be a wedding photographer, but at this point, she does it all, from prego photos to capturing someone’s wedding day. 

Good luck with your photography business Jess! You are going to be a rock star!

I am going into my ninth year of teaching photo, so teaching at this point in my career comes pretty naturally. Leading groups of 10 through an exercise called Sugar and Spice, I gave one photographer the opportunity to lead a 4 minute photo shoot of our two fabulous models, Hannah & Richard. For the first two minutes all the photographers in the group got to take pictures, but all posing directions were given by the lead photographer. During the last thirty seconds, the lead photographer was the only one allowed to take pictures, giving them the opportunity to get their golden shots.

Lots of sugar was given in the last minute, where I made sure the lead photographer was affirmed and validated for all the things they did well. But to really grow in our profession, it’s necessary to have some spice (a critique) in addition to all the affirmations. I know it was hard for everyone under the crazy two minute time crunch, but you all did spectacularly.

Thanks to Dane Sanders for giving me the idea to lead photogs through an exercise like this.

To see more senior portraits, check out my Senior Portfolio.

Other leaders included: Joe & Mirta Barnet, John Mireles, Bobby Brown & Jenn Disney

My models: Hannah & Richard. You guys were truly amazing! Thanks soooo much for being fabulous!

Accessories & Makeup: Nicole Enjoli

Location: Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach