Getting to know your clients in order to plan their session is very important.  This session below from Stacey Dershem Photography really focused on three things that this senior loves…swimming, her grandmother’s hat which allowed her to show off the vintage style she loves and fall color.

Check out this beautiful session below that really shows who this senior is and captures her personality perfectly! Thanks so much for sharing your work with Seniorologie Stacey!

Website:  www.staceydershemphotography.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/staceydershemphotography

What was your inspiration for this photo shoot?
We had several very different inspiration ideas for Caitlyn’s shoot. The first was a pink vintage hat that had belonged to her Grandmother and had a lot of sentimental value. Caitlyn loves vintage, so it was easy to incorporate the hat. Next, we wanted to reflect Caitlyn as a swimmer, but not in a pool, and in some creative way. And finally, Caitlyn had booked her session very early in the season to make absolutely certain she had fall leaves and color in her senior shoot, so we knew that would be the 3rd focus.

Where did this photo shoot take place?
Because of our different inspiration pieces, we had several locations. We started at an old train station to showcase Caitlyn’s love of vintage and travel. It was the perfect place to incorporate her Grandma’s hat. Next, we stopped off at a small field that had beautiful light and lots of colorful newly-fallen leaves. We took our miscellaneous shots and our leaf shots there. And lastly, we went to a beautiful large open field that had lots of tall grasses and plenty of room for a lovely sunset. It was so windy out there, we thought we weren’t going to get any decent shots at all. But rather than fight the wind, we used a hat I had in my car from my last session for a few shots, and I simply had Caitlyn hold her hair out of the way for a few shots. Those images ended up being some of our favs!

Did you collaborate with this senior to come up with the clothing and/or concept for this shoot?
Absolutely – I always talk to the senior before their shoot about every aspect of the shoot. No detail is left to chance. We discuss the unique personality and interests of the senior, and talk about clothes that will help convey those details. We also talk about colors and styles that will best complement the senior’s skin tones and hair color. Besides helping the senior decide what to wear, this ensures that each shoot I do is completely unique, and perfectly reflects who that senior is. As the last step in our process, the senior texts me their final outfits. Sometimes we’ll change up a location to complement a color in their wardrobe. It also helps me select accessories to match the what the senior is bringing.

What camera, lens or other equipment was used for this shoot?
I shoot with a Canon 5DMKIII. My 85mm is glued to my camera body for senior sessions. I almost never use another lens, unless I need a wide shot.

What time of day were these taken?
In the two hours before sunset

Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing this session?
I have always loved bold, rich colors, so after the final edit, I’ll almost always play around with Levels to get that intensity that I love. In fall images, I also usually sponge some color on leaves if we’re at the end of the season and there’s not enough beautiful color remaining.

What is your favorite thing about this session?
I loved how much diversity Caitlyn had in her wardrobe and inspiration ideas. The session has a lot of variety, but the colors all blend together beautifully. This was really obvious when I designed her album; the colors and variety were just exceptional and the album is stunning.

What do you want this session to convey about this senior and about your senior photography style?
My goal when shooting is always to capture each senior at their best. “Your Best You”. To do that, you really have to spend time with the senior and understand their personality, interests, passions, and goals for the future. Once you understand who they are, it’s a lot easier to coax their unique qualities out of them during the shoot. And they trust you to do that because they know you’ve invested the time in learning about them. Today’s Seniors are discriminating – they know the difference between a session designed to reflect exactly who they are as opposed to a Me-Too, out of the box session.

What is one tip you can share with other photographers regarding photographing seniors?
I think the answer here is similar to the one I gave in the previous question. Take time to get to know your senior. Take time to think through how you’ll bring out their unique qualities and have the shoot plan ready. Don’t just show up and make it up as you go along. That’s totally unfair to the senior. If you truly do your homework before you pick up your camera, the rest is a breeze!