So as a teacher and a photographer, I have a unique opportunity to know high school students well. I see what makes them tick, what they think is cool for that one hot minute before it flips to something else. I see their dreams and how they are impacted by social media. I also see how they struggle and doubt as they search for who they are what they are about and how they crave genuine and authentic interactions. From my vantage point, being a high school student can be a serious struggle but can also be filled with positive and life giving opportunities. Because of this great opportunity, I have built my senior experience to reach out to where these 17 year olds are and to provide a space for them to better understand (or maybe even see for the first time) just how amazing they are.
To put it simply, I have developed a three step senior experience that allows for my seniors to be honored and celebrated. The process is able to provide gorgeous images but also provides life giving words from those who know the senior best in order to boost their confidence and allow them to see them the way we do.
I know many seniors know who they are and what they stand for. They have big dreams and are on the right track to make those come true. My senior experience highlights these passions and celebrates these accomplishments. It honors the goals that they have set and encourages them to pursue them. But sometimes seniors need to be reminded of their beauty, of their strength and integrity, of their intelligence and their humor. There are so many voices trying to tell them that they are too much of this or not enough of that but these lies cannot drown out our words. They need to hear that we see them, the imperfect but incredibly hardworking and kind soul, and that we are so for them.
Step 1: Consultation
So how does this work exactly? Well the first step to creating this experience is a consultation. We are able to sit down, grab some coffee, and just get to know one another. I like to ask questions and share about me and my family. I think knowing each other and being genuine really helps set the stage. But designing a session that is authentic, unique, and personal is a great way to honor the senior. Its a lot of questions and things to think about. Everything from locations that are personal and special to clothes that make the senior feel amazing and beautiful and even including different objects that help the senior feel the most like themselves. Every session I photograph is unique. Sometimes we use the same locations but how we use the spaces is always different.
Step 2: Photography Session
This leads into our second step which is the session itself. Because we have already ironed out the details and built a relationship, we are able to just relax, hang out, and capture some genuine smiles and fierce looks. We get a huge variety of images so that not only will the images look amazing on the seniors social media, but the favorite timeless image will look perfect on your wall for decades.
Now its not all about what is on the outside. We certainly plan out as much as we can so that the seniors feel confident and so amazing in their skin but what goes on in their head and heart is so valuable. My experience includes some questions that I send out to family, friends., and mentors of the senior. These people are able to give honest and authentic feedback about the seniors and I pull quotes from these to put into the reveal slideshow. This behind-the-scenes step is one of my favorite parts of the process and I must admit that sometimes I get a little misty eyed at the tender and heartfelt words that are shared.
Step 3: Order and Reveal Appointment
The third and final step of the process is the Order and Reveal Appointment and at this meeting, we get to see the amazing images we created and read these life giving words. There are often tears and always some ooohs and ahhhs as the favorite images rise to the top. We process through the images and decide the best way to showcase them for decades. Some will decide to preserve the images in a heirloom album, good for 100 years and the perfect way to show the senior's grandchildren someday. Some will decide on a memory box to hold their prints and mementos from senior year. Concert tickets from that amazing show with the best friend, prom photo with their first love, their tassel from graduation - the possibility is endless for the items that will go into the memory box. Of course most my families have a favorite, classic image that goes up on the wall and will probably not come down for decades. I love that these images are not sitting on a disk in a drawer or trapped somewhere in a folder on the desktop - they are printed and enjoy everyday for decades!
My senior experience is absolutely more than a click of a camera. I have honed this down to the most crucial steps that allow for more than just pretty pictures - this is about honoring and celebrating your senior. Its about letting them better understand just how amazing we know they are. Its about making sure that this milestone is captured well and is one of the top memories from senior year. I cannot wait to go through the process with you in order to better know your senior and to help them on their way to changing the world and making their dreams come true! If you are interested in working together, head over the website and fill out the contact form. Thank you so much for reading and for allowing me to be a part of this all with you! <3
--Larissa
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