Even when I was in High School, senior portraits were a big deal. Unfortunately, it was expensive and very typical traditional portraits. Which at the time was our only option.  Today things have drastically changed. Seniors have more options than ever. They can pick from a variety of photogs and shoot on location.  They can let their true personalities shine and become the rockstars/models they want to be.  With this type of freedom they can choose any style of look; urban, nature, fashion, or whatever they can imagine.

For this shoot we went to the outskirts of Vegas to use the awesome desert backdrop.  And of course we realized that the desert is not a very welcoming place. First of all, ankle high cactus… suck. It went right through my shoe and planted itself in my foot…  yeah no fun. (BTW anyone on the shoot will probably tell you I yelled like a little girl. I unequivocally deny that. I yelled like an adult woman at best.)  Then, it got super cold as the sun went down and the cold wind picked up. But I really can’t say anything because the models were so professional and didn’t complain one bit.  Overall it was actually quite exhilarating; the frigid wind blowing in your face, the awesome desert sunset, the models doing their magic, and us photogs trying to get the best shots. Good times!….(except for the cactus.)

Special thanks to the great models!
-Annika Reyes
-Serriah Toste
-Alyssa

That evening was actually very cold and windy. In my head I was expecting to practice a lot with my off camera flash setup but the frigid wind and Vegas foot traffic did not make it easy.  Twenty minutes into the shoot I was not happy with my results and more importantly our couple, Jen and Rudy were freezing.  As a group we decided to switch things up and began walking.  We found some cool spots, got inspired again, and warmed up. Once I let go of my preconceived ideas of what equipment I was going to use and went with the flow I started to have a lot more fun.  The creative juices were flowing. Jen and Rudy were such troopers for toughing out the cold and being patient.  They kept each other warm, began to relax, and started to be in the moment.  Once we all started talking and got to know each other we discovered what a cool couple they were. We talked about the many years they’ve been together, their city, and lots of tattoo talk.  When it came down to it, it wasn’t about my flash compensation, exposure, or ISO settings, it was about Jen and Rudy…. and of course Vegas baby!

I planned on practicing technique but got a lesson on adaptability.  Lesson learned.

Special thanks to awesome Makeup Artist and overall great person Rose Anne Towers for driving all the way to Vegas to be our MUA.

Thanks again to Alfred B. for sharing and teaching.

And special shout out to Tiffany Dela Cruz Libiran for being one of my three blog readers!! woohoo Tiff! I was supposed to give you a shout out on Angie’s post but I got too excited to post it ; ). Better late than never!