Seniors, Seniors, and... Seniors?

I'll be completely honest, when I switched to doing portrait work instead of just shooting for myself, there was one thing I feared shooting above all others... Seniors. In my opinion, senior sessions are just one step below wedding photos on the photo pyramid. Most people are only a high school senior once, and if they aren't their parents probably aren't celebrating it with photos. So, it's a once in a lifetime photo session for the senior. That's a lot of pressure to get it right.So, having this fear, I was assured of one thing my first year of doing portrait work... I would end up doing more seniors than anything. :(

Lucky for me, I've been able to work with some great seniors this year, not to mention some great senior moms as well.  They have definitely helped me conquer my fear a little bit. Also, I'm starting to understand how shooting seniors helps you become a better photographer. When you truly make an effort to personalize the images to the senior, you find yourself being more creative out of necessity instead of trying to force it. You can't get away with posing every kid the same because it just won't fit them.

 I think I had also forgotten that I am going to perpetually be a goofy high school kid. Thus, I think it's actually easier for me to work with seniors instead of adults. We'll see about that 10 years in the future, but for now, I get them and it seems to be making things go easier.

Recently, however, there has been one 'senior' session that meant a lot more to me than all the rest combined. That was the session I shot with my grandparents for their upcoming anniversary. I love them very much and I was happy to be able to give them their pictures as their gift.

Thanks for reading!

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