It’s graduation time already. We love working with high school and college graduates that are about to embark on the next chapter of their lives. We had the opportunity to photograph a good friend of ours, Emma, at Fontainebleau State Park for her senior portraits. Emma is graduating from Loranger High School and ready to be a Southeastern Lion!

We chose Fontainebleau because Emma said she liked nature and flowers. We shot our engagements there and fell in love with the scenery.  At the time we didn’t see any flowers, but we were sure there had to be some. Danielle and I got there a little early to scope it out and yep, no flowers. So we had to improvise. Emma was great and wasn’t at all upset. Her boyfriend, Tanner, came as well, and we grabbed some fun shots with him too.

• 

• 

• 

Here’s a few tips and ideas to keep in mind when you’re shooting senior portraits:

Have the senior bring props

Props are a great way to really show the senior’s personality. Have them bring their favorite book, record, or something related to their hobby. Also make sure to include things related to their school, like their letterman jacket and their cap and gown (if they have it). You can also have them bring a sign that says “class of 2018” (or their graduating year) “headed to the real world”, or “see you soon Southeastern” (or whatever college they’re going to).

Scout the location

It’s always a good idea to scout your location ahead of time. If you’ll be taking some photos at the graduate’s high school or college, it’d be a good idea to know what it looks like. Keep your eye out for things you can frame your graduate in, cool trees, school signage, and if they are graduating from college maybe include the building they spend the most of their college career in.

Be ready to adapt

Not every senior or shoot is the same, and things may not work out how you planned them but that’s okay. For Emma’s she wanted a nature feel and some flowers. Well, we thought for sure that our location would have flowers…but it didn’t. So we had to adapt. We kept our eye out for beautiful nature scenes and awesome trees. We were lucky because Emma was quick to adapt and trust our vision.