photo of the day: seralyn | faust park

It's been too long since we last posted, so what better way to get back into the swing of things than with this gorgeous high school senior from O'Fallon?

Photo by Ben, edited by Beccalee. 50mm, f/1.8, 1/400 sec.

kenzie | faust park, class of 2013

Our last post about Kenzie didn't show off the fall color at Faust Park. The first below, on the other hand, sure does. Man, what a beautiful (and cold) afternoon!

dreamlike | h.s. senior kenzie h.

The ground? Rock solid. Kenzie's hair, eyes and smile? Polar opposite. A stellar model who we hope to have more chances to photograph down the road!

paige out of the history books

We were thumbing through some of our past images and came upon this one: Paige Clouse, photographed in front of The Pageant in St. Louis. Just had to share.

jared: class of '13, part III

And this one, also from Faust Park.

Tech specs: 26mm, f/4, 1/200 sec.

up close: class of '13

Breezing through an editing session and just had to post...
Tech specs: 50mm, f/1.4, 1/125 sec.

jared: class of '13

There are a few people out there who can model under harsh light and dramatic shadow. Enter Jared, Marquette High Class of 2013, whose runner physique lends itself perfectly to it. Of course, his sharp blue eyes don't hurt, either!

tech specs: marlie, star of klondike

85mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec.

tech specs: tierra at the park

23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec.

tierra's mini-session

Photo sessions. Sometimes you need just a handful of shots -- 10-12 images for Facebook, family and friends -- and a 45-minute mini-session achieves just that. Take Tierra, for example, who just wanted to experience a professional photo session for her Sweet 16 (Happy birthday, Tierra!).

Like for her 16th birthday, practically every image we create is in celebration of some milestone... a newborn baby, a high school senior, a first-ever family photo. It's always cool to take a step back and remember that the photos we make are not only important now but also fun, valuable pieces of history 10, 50, or even 100 years from now.

Lenses used: 50mm f/1.8; 17-40mm f/4

cross-processing fun

Just having a little cross-processing fun in Lightroom, we call this blending mix "Collegiate" (although I'm really not sure why we named it that when we did!). Here are a few of the custom color settings that make up this look: Temperature: 4738; Tint: +64; Saturation: -36; Highlights: 59/90; and Shadows: 326/24. Becca started creating this image at 50mm, f/4.

clever juxtaposition

It was a good call on Ryan's part on the location, clothing choice and time of day. All we had to do was show up and shoot. Well, more or less.

About the photo: 50mm. ISO 200. Aperture: f/5.6. Shutter speed: 1/160.

all grown up

When Hannah asked us a few months ago to create senior portraits with her, she made a special request: Any chance you can find a grand piano to use in the shoot? Good question, we thought. But after some brainstorming we pulled it off, thanks to our neighbor and friends, the Meiers. (Thank you, btw, for letting us take over your upstairs music studio for an hour!)
(Sorry if this next part is embarrassing...) So, Hannah and Ben go way back – all the way to when he was in high school and she was in the nursery. Good family friends dating back years, I think it was an especially fun and enjoyable shoot for Ben (even if it made him feel a bit old). It clearly meant a lot to him to get to see Hannah’s sister, Joanna, during the Quail Ridge portion of the shoot.

And now, Hannah’s all grown up. A superb student. A talented musician. A great person. And about the same age as Ben was when the two first met. Crazy.

megan and the morning sun

Sunrise or sunset... that is the question. Which time is better for a senior shoot? It's one question that may be unanswerable, but Megan's morning session sure helps us form an opinion. Love that morning sun.

Maddie

We love this wall in Tower Grove Park. Of course, it's just another wall without the stunning Maddie Hemming in the shot, too.

a long time coming

We've been waiting a long time to meet back up with Ally to take her senior photos. We first met her what seems like forever ago (it was in April) and were excited when we got the call in August to go work with her again. Here's a look at some of her photos from Quail Ridge Park:

the martins on main

Good luck finding a better looking family in all St. Charles County. Seriously, you guys. If there were an award out there (who knows, there probably is...), you'd have our votes!

hello, my name is...

... Jamie. Photographed in Tower Grove Park. 100 mm at f/3.2. Gorgeous.

U. City. Great for concerts. And senior photos.

Saturday, July 2. Hottest day of the year. And where were we? In the Delmar Loop.
Paige, a Parkway West senior-to-be, picked the locale (not the weather!) for her passion for music and the eclectic nature of University City. We're big fans of the Loop, although it's been a long time since we have gone there to make photos... Yeah, most of our time there is spent at Fitz's (mmm... root beer...), Blueberry Hill, and The Pageant (one of the best places in the world to see a concert*). We love a good concert, but it was definitely nice to get out and do something different there this time!


Did you know? The Delmar Loop is one of America's 10 Great Streets, according to the American Planning Association (2007). We'd have to agree.
*According to Pollstar 2010.

diversity = flexibility

One of the greatest parts of being in high school is having the ability to be and do a thousand different things. What's to hold you back, right? In high school, I was a hockey player and a Thespian. Becca was a photographer and music fanatic (well, some things never change). It's all about options, diversity and creativity -- the perfect ingredients for flexibility in college when it comes time to decide what you'll ultimately do... and become.

Take our friend, JC, for example. Still not quite sure what the future holds in store for him, he's clearly perfectly content spending time on the links and at the skate park. His view is broad. His tastes are varied. He, in a lot of ways, is a snapshot of ourselves 12-13 years ago. And that's cool to see. And to photograph.




And for those interested, the first two shots were made with a 17-40mm lens at f/16 +/-. The b/w image was shot at 100mm and f/6.3. All at ISO 250.