Sometimes using props can be tricky…you don’t know what to use or how to use it!  But after viewing this wonderful senior photo session by Shannon Hollman of Shannon Hollman Photography, you will want to run out and get all the supplies needed to make some amazing props for your next senior session!

Below Shannon shares a little about how she created these props and what her inspiration was to use them for this photo session!  Be sure to check it out below and also check out Shannon’s other work here.  Thanks for sharing Shannon!!

I came across a large peace sign and some smaller foam red peace signs and I knew I had to have them and do a session with them.
They were my inspiration and I geared it towards a hippie/flower theme.

I knew instantly that I also wanted to incorporate a flower backdrop!

We did this session just in a random treed area. I picked this spot because it had two trees that I could hang my backdrop from, plus there was a little bit of a clearing behind the trees which worked great to
make the backdrop pop.

I did! I asked her to wear tall boots and a dress that was “hippie-ish”. I wanted a color that went well with the red of the peace signs as well as the red from the flowers.
She brought 2 blue dresses with her and the one I had her wear worked perfectly!

I also purchased and had her wear the headband and feathers in her hair to help add to the hippie part of it.

The peace signs I already had made, but I think you could totally make them. They were just large, thick pieces of foam cut out and then covered in glitter.

For the flower backdrop, I made that. I bought a ton of red carnation flowers and pulled the stems off so only the flower part remained. I then used fishing line and a sewing needle.
I ran the fishing line through the flowers and tied knots as I went along to hold them in place. I made about 10 rows and then tied all of the rows to a branch that I would then hang from the trees.

I LOVE using props with senior sessions. It’s such a fun way to make it their own. A way to make their photos stand out from everyone else’s. The props can be as simple or as complex as you like, just be sure that the focus is always on the senior. The props could be personal to them and showcase who they are, but it’s also fun just to do a random idea and go with it! I don’t always use props with senior sessions, but I think it’s a fun element to throw in there every once in a while.

I use a canon 5d (I LOVE my 5d classic) and my 50mm and 85mm…and there are a couple from the 16-35mm (my husband just received that lens that morning so I wanted to try it out)

These were taken in the afternoon. It was a pretty overcast day, so I was able to do them pretty early in the afternoon.

 

I am a minimalist when it comes to editing. All that went into the post-processing was adjusting exposure if needed, bumping contrast and then a little overall sharpen.

Other than the fact that I adore Mckenna 🙂 I really just love the feel of this session. It’s fun, colorful and the flower backdrop is something I have been wanting to do forever….so it was great to finally see it come together.

Beautiful and fun!! I’m all about have a good time during my sessions. I have fun and I want my seniors to have a great time too. I want to show them just how beautiful they are….naturally and honestly beautiful.

I think this session, as well as Mckenna, shows just that….beauty and fun!