Free People is a brilliant source of inspiration for senior photo shoots.  I love finding the Free People catalog in my mailbox!  And Andi, of 2A Photography, agrees with me!  So much so that she used Free People to inspire the beautiful photo shoot below!  I think this definitely looks as though it should be in the catalog!!

Check out what Andi had to say about this session below and be sure to check out more of Andi’s work here.  Thanks for sharing Andi!

What was your inspiration for the photo shoot?   Rebecca.   It always starts with talking to my seniors.   We wanted her session to look like it could be in a Free People ad.

Where did this photo shoot take place?   My outdoor studio.   Our woods.

Did you collaborate with this senior to come up with the clothing and/or concept for this shoot?  Yes.   Finding a photographer that wanted to collaborate was important to Rebecca.   After we talked and planned she said, “I was actually very lucky when it came to the planning portion.  Right away Andi understood the direction that I wanted to go, which made everything a complete breeze. And what I loved most was the excitement that we both shared which only added to the creativity and different ideas we could try.”

What camera, lens and equipment were used for this shoot?    D700, 70-200mm 2.8 (which I LOVE), 50mm 1.4, 35mm 1.4.

What time of day were these taken?  Late afternoon.

Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing this session?  

1.   I use Portraiture and love it.   Rebecca is pretty flawless to start with, and so I used Portraiture at a pretty low opacity.   I use it on a separate layer and mask out the eyes.   Especially on some of my backlit images I think that Portraiture is not automatically able to “read” that the eyes shouldn’t be softened.

2.   For the softer, more toned images of our “Free People” set–mainly the ones where she is NOT in her Bohemian tent!–I used a the Lavendar Haze tone/tint from Florabella Classic Workflow.   Thank you!

For some of the more dramatic images where I’m playing with backlighting, I play with the contrast levels in post to bring out details, soften, etc.  

What is your favorite thing about this session?   Hearing Rebecca’s happiness when she said, “My favorite thing about my session is that it’s me. It highlights who I am, not what a photographer wanted me to be.”

What do you want this session to convey about this senior and about your senior photography style?   That she’s beautiful and fun and real and natural and creative and romantic and comfortable.  

What is one tip you can share with other photographers regarding photographing seniors?   Use !!!s and Js in your emails.   Tone is difficult to know from an email, and a J can make the difference between someone thinking you are having a bad day (or worse!) and hearing your happy voice.   Also, don’t be afraid to throw out ideas, and also listen to your seniors’ ideas. Always make sure you and your senior are on the same page, so both of y’all know what to expect from the other in order go the direction desired.

–Any tips for other seniors when selecting their photographer?

Rebecca:  I would say do your “research” before choosing a photographer. Get an idea of the type of photographer he or she is, and if they would be able to communicate with you and understand the same idea and/or theme that you are looking for.