September 4, 2020
I fell in love with sunrise sessions about 7 years ago when we hired a photographer at the beach to take family portraits for us while we were on vacation. We chose the sunrise time slot because those cost slightly less than the much more popular sunset sessions. While both times of day offer beautiful natural light for portrait sessions, I realized that the light at sunrise tends to be a bit softer than at sunset.
The other reason I love sunrise sessions — especially in the middle of summer — is that we’re able to knock the session out before the heat of the day really sets in.
When we arrived out at this beautiful farm just minutes east of Cool Springs for Emma’s session, the air was thick with humidity creating a hazy sky that served to further soften the gorgeous sunrise light. This farm is one of my favorite little gems in town. I am always excited when it is available for us to use for a session. Especially since there are a few friendly horses who are often out to pasture and love to come close to be part of the portraits.
After starting out walking along that path that loops the property, we stopped at the creek that runs from one end of the farm to the other. Emma was a great sport and happy to kick off her shoes for these fun water shots which helped both of us cool off just a bit, because even though the temperature never actually got above 80 degrees during the session, the humidity definitely made it the “real feel” temp a good bit warmer.
One of the things I love about working with seniors is coming up with creative ways to really showcase each unique personality.
As we were planning the session and talking through outfits and accessories, Emma mentioned that she would love to incorporate sunflowers especially while she was wearing this fun and flowy red dress. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect setting for this look. The great big old trees, the creek bank, the pasture fence, these all combine to create a perfect setting for the easy breezy vibe, barefoot in the soft summer grass.
One of the things I love about working with seniors is coming up with creative ways to really showcase each unique personality. As we talked through how to do this with Emma, she told me that she loves books and reading and would love to find a way to showcase that in some of her portraits. So after a change of wardrobe and with bags full of books from both her collection and mine, we set out to create a portrait fit for the most avid reader, the most serious bibliophile.
To be honest, this was one of my favorite portraits ever to dream up, plan, and finally create. That might be because I love to read just as much as Emma, and the thought of sitting outside under a tree for a long uninterrupted time to dive into a really good book sounds absolutely perfect to me.
With her second outfit on, we continued walking the property of the farm, stopping again at a different part of the creek, hanging out on the bridge, swinging on the tire swing (while narrowly avoiding wasp stings!), and even bringing the sunflowers back for some additional portraits. I love how the same flowers create a completely different color story with the change of wardrobe from the red dress Emma started in to the green dress she changed into.
Because dance photography is one of my specialties, I always love to include a few dance shots for my senior dancers. I love photographing all types of dance, but there’s always something so special about incorporating pointe shoes.
What a fun session this was! I can’t wait to work with Emma to put together her senior album so she’ll always have a way to look back on this special season.
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