Chester Virginia Senior Portraits

It’s Carly.. Matoaca High Class of 2019/senior photos/chester, va.

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Senior Photo day is often filled with excitement, apprehension, and a little bit of nerves. 

Carly is as Kind as she is Beautiful. She’s a graduating senior at Matoaca High here in Chesterfield, Va.  This girl has a smile with dimples that will melt your camera lens. It’s dazzling! 

After our studio session ,where we grabbed some gorgeous headshots.. we headed off into the setting sun. ( that sounds like a western movie). We wandered along the streets of Old Town Historic Petersburg.  I personally love shooting in Petersburg, and it’s lovely this time of year.

Carly’s photos are stunning.. but then so is she 🙂 

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It’s Riley, Matoaca class of 2019/senior photos/conniegrantseniors

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Matoaca class of 2019 is proud of this senior. She’s a Rockstar softball player. Riley’s seniors photos showcase all the wonderful sides of her personality.

This senior is comfortable in heels or cleats. She’s fierce in her softball and loyalty.. and  off to UVAwise.. yes .. already accepted and on her way.

Riley is the kind of girl who had no idea how beautiful she is… inside and out. She’s humble about  her stunning  looks. I think when Riley smiles, the entire place just lights up.

We took a trip out to my mother’s place, where my sweet, sweet brother had grown me a field of wildflowers….sunflowers to be exact. I thought Riley’s sunflower photos would be my favorites . .that was until we did her softball session. I thought her softball session was my favorite.. until I got to her studio photos..

 

Yes that softball  session left us covered in red powder from the exploding balls, and I would totally do it again tomorrow.

It’s been wonderful working with this Senior and her mom and completing this senior photo portrait package.  The prints are amazing..   I heart you Hunt Family…

 

xxoo C

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Eyes on the Skies.. senior photos with Caleb

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I love Caleb’s Senior photos. They showcase what it is he wants to do. This honor student at Matoaca High, will fly high. He’s not only talented, and giving.. he’s incredibly smart . 

I know I enjoyed my time on this airfield with this handsome guy.. and these photos will be treasured for a long time.  

A photo is a memory captured, and these photos are some sweet memories 🙂


River morning Senior photos…

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When it’s reaching 100 degrees during the summer months, and thunderstorms are happening every day, I head out early.  How early is early? Senior photo sunrise sessions are the key to getting the river photos. The sun is the most gorgeous hazy light as it tops the bridge and displays the skyline.

I enjoyed my time with this pretty girl.. It was a gorgeous morning, and we beat the heat!

 

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The Dance

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I love photographing dancers!

Anyone who has known me for awhile knows that ballet is a secret love of mine. The beauty of the dance astounds me and literally takes my breath away.  Kristina and I met to work on this project together, right before she left for college. Her senior year had been full, and senior photo time just flew right on by.

I had such a lovely time with this young lady. We took off to Amber Grove Plantation to shoot in the early morning light.  I think the results are fabulous.  She’s a busy dancer and is now off to college to major in that thing she does.

We also grabbed some studio shots..

I really enjoyed my time with this sweet almost college girl. I know these moments fly by, and we were lucky to squeeze in this gorgeous session.  I can’t wait to see the prints.

Love them all…  and happy second week of College Kristina!!! I know there are a few people who miss you back home …

( call your mom a lot please!)

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Senior Portraits Chesterfield Va

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Photographing Memories..

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Yesterday was a hot one here in Virginia.. so we started early. I was completely honored to capture these images for one of my dearest childhood friends. She now lives very far away, but each time we are together it’s like we just saw each other. Last year her dad became ill. He’s doing really well and looks handsome as ever. What she has added to her crew is her first sweet granddaughter.

Babies aren’t always cooperative with the camera, but the cutest shots are them just being them.

I adore this family I’ve known since I was a teenager. I loved saving these memories for them. They are precious, and photos are special.

SO … happy July 4th Mr. Angel.  Still army strong and brave. Enjoy your photos of your girls 🙂

 

xx00 C

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Kaylee’s Senior Portraits/Matoaca High

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Kaylee’s senior portrait morning was amazing in so many ways. Number one, it’s amazing just to spend time with this young lady and her mother. They are both so much fun. Their mom-daughter bond is one that is so strong it makes you feel good just to be around them.

Miss Kaylee is a Senior! We started working on her senior portfolio of photos a month ago… but this morning at Amber Grove ..was pretty special.  We started off with a casual look that grabbed some exciting images. We then switched outfits and moved into a more traditional look.  Amber Grove is a wedding venue with many gorgeous places to take photos. There’s also a cat 🙂

Kaylee is a music lover, an arts lover, and an honor student. On top of all this, she works a job, and is close to her friends and her family.  Enjoy this gorgeous girlies photos.. I know I enjoyed taking them.

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Connie Grant Seniors

Connie Grant custom senior photos

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It’s Prom Time and that means..

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You guessed it.. Prom Photos!

Prom Season in full blast in Virginia, and my seniors are having a ball.

Graduation is just around the corner,

 

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When to book your Senior Photographer

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So,  when should you book your senior photographer?

 Answer?  While you’re in your Junior year.

I guess that you may ask why?  Why would you book your senior photos in your junior year?   That’s an easy one. SENIOR YEAR IS BUSY!

If you think that any other year of school has been hectic and crazy busy then just wait until this last year of school .

There are so many things to get done before your senior leaves for college.  There are visits, and applications, and so many things to complete.

There are senior year activities that your senior doesn’t want to miss.. there are after school activities that they can’t miss ! There are grades and exams and college entrance tests..   tired yet?  Get ready, this year flies by.

So if you are finishing up your junior year,  NOW is the time.  Booking now gives you and your photographer time to establish a relationship. It gives you time to bring your photo dreams into a plan. It gives you space to develop the dream of what you want your photos to look like . It also gives you a choice of the best dates that meet your schedule.  Did you know that some of the school photos are due almost immediately when the Senior Year starts?  crrrrunch time 🙂

The senior drape-formal session

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The senior drape photo… and school photo day.

I find that my high school upcoming seniors have a lot of anxiety over the photos done for the yearbook. They feel rushed at school and not at their best. The perfect senior drape photo should be natural and relaxed. It’s still a portrait and should be edited as a portrait would be.

Every school in my county has a different requirement for the drape photos and tux photos.  The senior formal photo has to meet a certain crop proportion as well as many other rules. Each school has it’s own color of background, and there are even rules about how the student is posed. Both shoulders should be showing!

My personal beef with many photographers, is the over edited senior portrait. The faces of these young people are beautiful.. to take the skin and smear it to a doll-like consistency is just wrong. The portrait edit that I most like to use is Frequency Separation. It clears up minor blemishes without wiping out all character out of the face.  A fresh face with a gorgeous smile is the perfect senior formal.  I use real velvet fabric that I ” drape” around the shoulders. I like the texture and the feel of it. Most of my portraits are two light portraits with a reflector. Eyes should sparkle and hair should shine.  I think Makenna’s school formal is perfect, but it would be hard to miss with this pretty young lady.

xxoo C