Every time I do senior portraits my most important consideration is how I’m going to photograph this person that will best define who they are now. I feel like my job at that point is not just a technical one, I already now all that. I know how to create nice portraits and create a certain look through my choice of equipment. So what really matters, is finding out more about them and how they see themselves. Anytime I’m photographing someone under the age of 18, that session requires a parent. So as I work, I’m not only asking the senior questions, but the parent too. In this case, it was her mother. I knew she loved the beach, they chose the beach as her portrait location, but I didn’t know much beyond that. So as we walk, I ask questions, I get them talking, laughing, and feeling relaxed. It doesn’t matter how nice of a portrait I create, if they don’t like it, if they don’t feel like it’s them, then the picture is almost pointless.
Communication for me starts from the first phone call through the last shot. I feel it’s important to not only create images that reflect how they are and see themselves now, but also create images Mom will love, her friends will love, her Dad and then surprise, wow and inspire! Grayson is an athlete. She is also free spirited, open minded, funny, fun, goofy, educated, thoughtful, strong, and more fearless than a lot of people I’ve met her age.
*Watch the behind-the-scenes video from this shoot here!
All Senior Portraits by Todd Surber
Video and Photography Copyright ©King Street Studios
Authored by: Todd Surber