I love balloons and any photo shoot that incorporates them is always eye catching to me!  So when I saw this submission from Heather Armstrong of Heather Armstrong Photography, I loved it immediately!  Heather also did a completely different look to give her client a ton of photos to choose from and both sets are equally gorgeous!

Heather is a photographer in Redding, California and began her career through her daughters.  There are lots of moms that begin their career by taking photos of their children, but Heather did it in a non-conventional way.  She used her daughters as models to sell the clothing they had outgrown and soon others were asking them to model.  From there, her career as a photographer began.  She quickly found out that she loved photographing seniors and weddings and has geared her business toward those genres.

“Seniors are just fun! I love every personality, I love that I can capture who that senior is, a moment in their life, & in the midst of them finding who they are, speak to their identity! They are beautiful! Amazing! Fabulous! Made to live out their dreams! & to Celebrate! To simply capture,” said Heather.

I think Heather did an amazing job capturing this senior’s hopes and dreams!  Thanks for sharing Heather!  Check out more of Heather’s work here.

What was your inspiration for this photo shoot? I have all of my seniors text me pictures of their outfits! & any props that they want to incorporate! It gives me an idea of what to create! When Rudi said she had red balloons, inspiration was there!!!

Where did this photo shoot take place? The shoot took place in Redding, CA. The balloon shots were taken near her house, & all of the others were at a the Diestelhorst Bridge, here in Redding, CA.

How did you decide to incorporate red balloons in the shoot? Rudi had it planned to have the Red Balloons near her home, that overlooked Redding.  It was an “on-location” create the moment! I had never been to the first location, so I was up for the challenge & loved getting to shoot somewhere new!

Did you collaborate with this senior on the wardrobe for the session? Yes. As I do with all of my seniors, I have them text me pictures of their outfits. It gives me an opportunity to provide suggestions, as well, dial in a location that suits what the senior is wearing.

What camera, lens and equipment was used in this photo shoot? I shoot with the Canon 5D Mark II, an 85mm 1.2, the 50 1.2, the 35 1.4, the the 45mm tilt shift. I shot the balloons mostly with the 35mm.

What time of day was this shot? Believe it or not 1:00 p.m.

Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing these photos? Totally! I process all of my RAW files in CS4 Bridge & then bring them through photoshop to do the final touch ups. I am an action user. The actions used on these shots were the eye candy actions by http://www.eyecandyactions.com/index2.php#/home/

What is your favorite thing about these photos? I love the energy. I love how they speak to Dwell in Possibility & to celebrate! Every Senior deserves celebration!!!!

What do you want these photos to convey about this senior and about your photography business? Again, Dwelling in Possibility! I want people to look at my images & know that if I were to capture them, that their beauty, their heart, their life, their moment would be captured! It would be about them. With this shoot, I wanted to capture Rudi not only who she is now, but who she is to become! One of the colleges she wants to attend is Yale! I wanted to capture “possibility”! To take hold of the balloons, the “dream”, & soar into dreams!

What is one tip about senior portrait photography that you can share with other photographers? Having seniors text me their outfits has been the best! I love it & they love to text, so it’s a win-win situation!!!