First stop: Mt. Vernon, Illinios
When I get booked for a Luxe senior session, a lot goes into planning the perfect locations. With some of my smaller sessions, the location decision can be a much easier one, as we are usually only shooting in one central place. But those 2 hour sessions opens up the door for traveling and diversifying the final gallery. With these sessions, we can go up to 3 different locations if time allows. So when Alyssa's mom, Amy, contacted me to do her daughter's senior photos, we began collaborating on the perfect locations for our 2 hours.
(By the way, you can see more of Alyssa here when I did my Prom Mini Sessions. Her and Logan were SO CUTE!)
Amy had told me of a cemetery near their house that has the most beautiful view for sunsets, and so we planned on ending our session there. I threw out the idea of the local sunflower field as an option, and she loved that. I also have been itching to shoot at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and so after some discussion, we decided on these locations. Before our session day, I began mapping out the route and building a timeline. That's when I realized that with the 3 locations, and driving distances, we had to nix a location. We decided to forgo the sunflower field and just do Cedarhurst and the cemetery.
change of plans
On session day, I took off extra early to get a head-start and scout the exact spots we'd be shooting at. When I arrived at Cedarhurst, I realized I made a huge error in my research. I didn't realize the grounds would be closed on a Saturday evening. To my shame! (I had gone to the website to find information on photoshoots, and they seem to welcome the public to walk the grounds...but alas...lesson learned!)
Embarrassed, I called up Amy, and told her my blunder. This is when I really realized what great clients I have. She graciously took the news and suggested the park which was nearby. Never having gone to the park before, or being able to pre-scout the location, I was nervous. But the location turned out to be a hit!
We were able to walk down the path surrounding a pond and found a nice bench in between boxwood shrubs. Further on we found a bridge with a concrete steps going down to the road. We even saw a tiny sunflower patch nearby and was able to get some sunflower photos even having nixed the original sunflower field.
Surprise #2
I always love taking suggestions from my clients on location choices. Amy suggested a nearby building in downtown Mt. Vernon with black windows, and so we headed there next. I think these photos really show how relaxed Alyssa is beginning to get. I must stop here to note that with almost every session I do, the very beginning is always a warmup, and my best images tend to happen deeper into the session when we all get loosey goosey and relaxed. But that's not to say that some of these first images above aren't killer! I love them! But the following images just bring me so much joy as well! Before jumping into the next set, I must commend my girl here on her style! I LOVE TEXTURE! The top she chose for this part just brings so much visual interest to the images, and I adore her so much!
Sunset Cemetery
Now, before I get slayed for doing a photoshoot at a cemetery, please know that we stayed on the edges and didn't go in amongst the graves at all. In fact, if I didn't tell you we were at a cemetery you probably wouldn't have known it at all by looking at the photos. We definitely tried to remain respectful to the grounds.
My excitement was building as we were driving to this new location, which was about 45 minutes away from Mt. Vernon. The sky was changing before my eyes in a symphony of oranges, pinks, and purples. I knew these photos would just be bombdiggidy. The location did not disappoint! My only regret is that I didn't change my settings to get a clearer picture of the sunset, vs just using the wonderful colors as a beautiful background. Still, I am not too worried, as the sky still blew these photos away. Not to mention what an adorable little model we had! Alyssa's new outfit was so fitting, as it was flowy and free, and colorful.
Where will we go for your session?
I believe with my whole heart that senior photos need to be more than just stoic posed photos in a studio. I want to give my seniors a fun experience where they feel their best by looking their best.
Where would you want to go for your senior session? Are you interested in learning more about what sort of session you can have?
