As part of Seniorologie’s Summer Concept Series, we invited photographers to submit sessions based on one of two themes…Summer Pop or Summer Road Trip.  Yesterday we featured Summer Pop so today it is time for a wonderful session with the Summer Road Trip theme.  And what is better than a road trip to Spain?

Lizzie Yeager of Positive Image Studio submitted her version of the Summer Road Trip and it just so happens to transport us to Spain.  With Lizzie’s use of props and wardrobe choices, this senior looks very much like she is traveling through Spain.

Check out what Lizzie had to say about this session, how the Seniorologie Pinterest Board inspired her and much more!  Thanks for sharing this Lizzie!

What is the concept behind this shoot?  The concept is a result of 4 separate ideas merging together as one. We recently met up with Sarah and her mom, Linda, at a scheduled pre-consultation when Sarah told us about her recent travels to Spain. I knew at once we needed to include that with her session as this was now a very important part of her life. Later on in the meeting, as conversation continued, her mother told us about their shared love for the vintage–another concept that would be meaningful as part of their mother-daughter relationship. Meanwhile, I had been given an awesome picture book (Paris in Color by Nichole Robertson) by a friend and had read Seniorologie’s blog about tips on how to incorporate a Road Trip session theme. Suddenly I felt the moment that every artist lives for; ideas sliding into place and a unique story being born. We would transform Sarah into a 1940s traveler enjoying part of her visit at a Spanish inspired bistro.

How did you incorporate the Road Trip theme into your shoot?  Since boarding a plane to shoot on location in Spain was not part of the budget (wouldn’t that have been the bee’s knees!), we had to consider the right sort of props to convey our concept story. Vintage luggage (also shown on Seniorologie’s pinterest boards) was the first inclusion. We also asked Sarah if she had brought back any souvenirs from her travels. To our great delight she produced two beautiful Spanish fans. We also decided to use the popular Spanish colors of red and yellow in with her vintage style clothing (lucky find at a consignment shop). For the bistro background, we utilized a local park’s high retaining wall and sidewalk to mimic the “stucco” texture of Spanish architecture. I admit that we debated a lot about whether or not to also include a tea set for more of a bistro feel, but eventually decided against it so we could keep the set relatively clutter-free and put more of the focus back on Sarah.

Was this an actual senior client shoot or a concept shoot just for you?  A little bit of both. This was inspiration taken directly from Sarah’s pre-consultation meeting so the customization is ultimately for the senior. However, we did decide to invest some of our own money into the concept so that we could have more creative control stylizing the shoot and making it into a featured session.

What did you learn from this shoot?  This shoot reinforced a major aspect we try to encourage with all our seniors: if you can get clients to include a couple props that are personally theirs, it will help showcase their interests as well as help increase sales at the ordering session. For Sarah’s props, we used her Spanish fans and also asked her to email us some of her favorite pictures she took while in Spain. During post-production we then transposed one of her pictures inside a gold frame “mounted” on the bistro wall to add that personal touch. Guess which pictures made the cut during the ordering session? You guessed it, the images that included their beloved items. A win-win for sure!

Did you find the Seniorologie Pinterest Board helpful in inspiring you to do this shoot?  

Yes. Absolutely. I think it definitely helped by pointing me in the right direction so that when the opportunity called, I was able to connect the dots. I especially loved the color palettes used on your Pinterest boards, Leslie. Great ideas and resources!