Many of our clients are high school seniors who participate in varsity sports, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever had baseball senior pictures quite like these! Amy and I talked quite a bit about including baseball for Connor’s senior pictures. While Connor has played baseball for as long as I can remember, this would be his last season in a Perry baseball uniform. These pictures hold a special place in my heart, knowing that over the years they will become even more priceless to him and his family.
Side note: If you recognize Connor, it’s because he’s been around for awhile. I’ve had multiple sessions with the Abernethy kids, including Connor’s sister Kelci, who graduated in 2015. It’s just thrilling when you get to watch your clients go from kids to teens to high school graduates to adults!
Scheduling Your Senior Pictures
I know, athletes are tough! Between games, practice, school, studying, they’re often lucky to even remember to eat and sleep! If you play both club and high school sports, squeezing in senior pictures can definitely be a challenge! Here’s a tip. Do your best to schedule your senior pictures in the off season! If you play football or other fall sports, plan for a spring portrait session. If you run cross country, play baseball, or other spring sports, aim for having your pictures taken in the fall. Luckily, even with Connor’s schedule, we managed to have his pictures done in the spring…and then we just found an open baseball field!
Our first stop was straight to the dugout. With equipment ready, I got this fun shot showing off his graduating year. I rarely show both a color and a black & white image in my blog posts, but in this case I really do love both! When you come for your Reveal & Design, you’ll see that not all images are edited in black & white, but there will definitely be a few.
With eyes like these, you bet I’m gonna get some close up pictures to show them off!
Since this was our third and final location, it was started to get dark, so we pulled out the lights for some gorgeous action shots. That one of Connor reaching over the fence? That one definitely warrants a huge shout-out to Glen, Connor’s dad. As a photographer himself, he knew the best location for the softbox would be on the other side of the fence, so he climbed over and somehow managed to hold it in just the right spot while we had Connor run full speed at the fence to catch a ball.
Composite Sports Artwork
This composite is a little different. We stopped in Chandler to get some images of Connor in his regular clothes, knowing that I’d use the brick wall for a composite. Love how it turned out!
Instagram Features in Senior Guys Style and Senior Year Magazine
I posted this shot of Connor tossing the baseball to my Instagram, and almost immediately it was featured by both Senior Year Magazine and Senior Guys Style! How cool is that? Both of these accounts feature high school senior pictures from some of the industry’s best photographers. There is nothing better than showing off your seniors on national Instagram accounts!
I just couldn’t fit it all into one post, so this is only part of Connor’s senior portrait session. Don’t miss the rest of his senior pictures!
Specializing in senior pictures allows me to really keep up on trends and help you prepare for your senior sports portraits! For athletes, that means making sure I can capture everything about their sport, whether they play club sports or school sports. As a mom, you may think your child will be in this sport forever, often even college. The reality is that high school is often the last time your teenager may compete. Also, for all the moms who think their son won’t enjoy a senior portrait session, this is just one way to get them involved and loving it! Don’t pass up what might be your last opportunity to create senior pictures like these!
Bring Your Gear
I know this seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often socks are forgotten or the ball is left in the garage. Plan ahead, make a list, and bring it all! Pack your uniform, ball, t-shirt, jersey, letter jacket, warm-ups, shoes, socks, and other equipment for your sport.
Be Ready to Play
The best part is capturing seniors doing what they love. I mean actually playing and having fun! Of course during a game or meet, this can be difficult, but during your senior pictures we’ll have time to shoot and play around with some creative ideas. Admittedly I don’t know much about every single sport, so while I definitely have ideas, I also want your input. Be prepared to show off! It’s OK, I absolutely love meeting all these talented athletes and sharing in their success!
Go All Out
Even though the stands aren’t full, don’t hold back! I was reminded of this during a spring photo shoot when I asked one of my track kids to go run. Let me tell you, he sure did and it made the images that much more amazing! Going full speed brought the photos to life with his realistic emotion and expression.
Be Flexible With Locations
Sometimes your school will be great for senior pictures and sometimes other locations might work better. Always check with your school and get permission before your photo shoot if you’d like to use the field. We’ve used grassy areas, urban streets, neighborhood courts, and even other schools’ fields (again, with permission!) and much to my surprise, the alternative locations have been far better than we’d imagined!
This urban area provided the perfect backdrop for Nicholas’ wrestling pictures! Mom loved the blue, the texture was perfect, and Nicholas came with every single detailed piece of clothing as if he were ready for a wrestling match. Check out the socks, that’s the best part!
This particular day, Perry had either baseball practice or a game, but another local high school’s baseball field was completely empty! It made this the perfect night for taking our time and capturing exactly what we wanted without having other people around.
And sometimes, we get lucky and the school works out beautifully! There was actually practice this day, but since we didn’t really need much space, the coaches at Mesquite High School were more than happy to let us use the track.
Senior pictures in Downtown Chandler and the surrounding areas are so much fun! There is such variety. We can find everything from rustic to green to urban! Plus it is a great place to shoot senior pictures at night!
Graffiti Walls
Graffiti walls are very popular for senior pictures, so we found this fun wall with lots of options. Keep in mind, this is just off the side of the road. As with many of my favorite places, there isn’t really an address or specific parking, which is why I prefer to load everything in my van and go together.
Including Your Car for Senior Pictures
Below you can see another image that includes more of the wall, as well as our next stop, which included Briana’s Jeep. I love the simple clothing she chose! If you’re unsure about what to wear for senior pictures, simple is best. I love the cute tank top and white shorts. It’s a great contrast with the black Jeep! And as always, bring your sunglasses!
Over the years, many of my favorite locations have been demolished. Such is the case near Downtown Chandler. Instead, we found a dead end road and with a little Photoshop help to remove fences, you’d never know! Photoshop also came in handy for the Jeep pictures since there was a small dent.
So Beautiful!
Bri is a very talented gymnast and I was able to convince her to do some jumps for me. The result is this gorgeous silhouette taken at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler. This is the perfect example of being able to image the outcome before you click the shutter. Check out our Facebook page or Instagram to see the before and after of this shot!
I also recommend that gymnasts bring chalk and grips, as well as medals. Bri was the all-around champion at Westerns last year, so she chose to bring those medals.
Checklist for Gymnasts
I’ve photographed many gymnasts over the years and here is the list that I use. Place chalk in a Ziploc bag, then put that bag zipped into another bag. Let’s just say I’ve learned from experience. Cleaning up spilled chalk isn’t easy!
Coming up on 10 years as a senior portrait photographer, I wanted to share some of my favorite gymnastics pictures. Kenzie Douglas is 2014 graduate of Queen Creek high school and I thought it would be fabulous to share some of her accomplishments since then!
I asked Kenzie’s mom Laura for a quick update, since I knew she was now a college graduate and had started law school! I’m so proud of her! I’ve actually known Kenzie since she was about 14 or 15 years old, when she was on the same gymnastics team as our daughter. It is absolutely incredible to watch my seniors grow up and be so successful!
Kenzie had a very successful D1 gymnastics full ride scholarship at BYU. She graduated in April of 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She is now attending Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. When she’s not at the library she enjoys spending time with her new rescue dog, Theodore Roosevelt, aka Teddy. Her future goals will hopefully be doing something in the political world.
Gymnastics Senior Pictures
These silhouettes were actually shot on a different day that Kenzie’s senior photo shoot, but are still some of my absolute favorites!
Tumbleweed Park
While Tumbleweed Park is often used as a more rustic location, it doesn’t have to be! It worked great for Kenzie using one of her favorite tops and adorable Miss Me jeans!
Custom Portrait Products
I created this beautiful storyboard for Kenzie which included a great closeup of her favorite boots.
Ideas for your gymnastics senior pictures:
Comp Leo
Warm Ups
Grips
Chalk
Want to see more gymnastics pictures?
Check out Briana’s senior portrait session! She’s a 2019 graduate from Hamilton High School and we did some some awesome gymnastics pictures during her session!
I don’t know how I missed this, but in going back through my blog I realized I never shared Kelci’s senior portraits! So yes it is late (very late!), but how can I not share these images of this beautiful young lady? Kelci is a Perry high school graduate who received a full scholarship to Bryant University!!! Now that she’s done with her sophomore year of college, I can say I’m even more proud of her! I can’t tell you how often this talented diver breaks records and wins meets with her team!
Styling Ideas For Senior Girls
Anyway, I remember her session well even though it has been a couple of years now. Mom wanted wildflowers, Kelci wanted water, I knew it would be amazing!!! We headed out super early one morning, Kelci was quite the trooper. We shot for nearly 2 hours and incorporated everything from her dive medals and gear to her perfect spring wardrobe! They even brought along her cruiser bike! Oh, and the flowers!!! How could I forget those? Just a simple colorful bouquet, but it really was a stunning, colorful addition! I encourage all my seniors to bring anything their heart desires. I’ve seen everything from animals, favorite outfits, props, buckets full of shoes, long boards, and more! These are definitely some of my favorite sessions! Watching these young adults really show off makes my heart smile every time!
Kelci’s styling was exceptional! Her beautiful blonde curls just flowed and worked well with the blue hat from our Style Closet. She chose a colorful bouquet, which was different from other flowers I’ve used for props. And I love getting new ideas!
Style Closet
These senior portraits prove that you don’t always need a spectacular location. This here? This is a ditch off the side of the road that happened to have some color. Of course, it takes the right lens and proper styling to really make it work. This hat and scarf from our Style Closet worked perfectly with Kelci’s spring dress!
Include Your Favorite Sport
Being a diver, of course Kelci wanted to incorporate water into her senior portrait session. Well, this waterfall was exactly what she was looking for! She had no problems standing knee deep in the water and splashing either! While I love the gorgeous smiles, I also love having my seniors be in a relaxed environment. That is why most of our sessions take place weekdays, so that we don’t deal with a lot of people around.
Ohhhhh, those beautiful lashes!!! No wonder I love my seniors! Kelci and her mom were so much fun and willing do do anything! This image actually was just a test shot. I was setting up for the glitter shot and Kelci was carefully picking through the glitter in her hands.
Products to Show Off Your Senior Portraits
And to top it all off, the products Kelci chose were amazing!!! Mom got a beautiful heirloom quality 20×20 gallery storyboard showcasing her favorite images. Kelci chose my personal favorite, a custom senior portrait magazine, which has all of her session images. They also chose a smaller 8×8 storyboard to display in her dorm room. Then we designed beautiful custom graduation announcements to use for the open house. Her parents also wanted to share information about Kelci’s scholarship, so for the first time I was able to order small, double-sided square inserts with the exciting college information on one side and an image on the other side. So unique and useful, exactly what they wanted! I love that I’m able to design and order so many custom products, all depending on what each client requests. It makes the entire senior portrait experience special for each family.
Custom Storyboard Collages
This is one of our best selling items for high school seniors! Our storyboards come in many sizes, but this 20×20 storyboard is definitely a client favorite! It allows our seniors and families to choose 9 of their favorite images and can be printed with a beveled edge for a timeless look. The smaller storyboard, an 8×8 of Kelci’s favorites, is our deluxe mounted storyboard. This thick mount ensures that your products will last for generations to come!
Custom Senior Magazine
Ok, what girl doesn’t want to be a cover girl??? Now they can! This senior magazine is 20 pages and allows you to show off your entire senior portrait session and makes a great keepsake! Everything is personalized; titles, stories, patterns, and colors! During your Revel & Design Session, you may see a sample cover. This is one piece that is not designed right away, but you’ll receive a proof of the entire magazine before it is ordered from our fine art facility.
These same Chandler locations are very popular for graduation pictures! Even though the sessions take place in the same areas, your senior pictures will be unique and we’ll be sure to showcase your talents and individuality! Donovan was very passionate about soccer, so we made sure to have him bring his gear. Mom wanted some beautiful pictures to remember this once-in-a-lifetime achievement. Our goal is create timeless portraits that will make your senior photo shoot memorable and create fun keepsakes that everyone will love!
These metals are a stunning way to showcase your high school athlete! This is a shaped metal print (shown by the outline) and has a metal easel So it is easy to display in your home or office. At your pre-session consultation you’ll be able to see samples of shaped metals and our other signature products.
Since graduation, Donovan’s mom, Julie, has moved. So I asked her to send a picture of the metal displayed in her home, and even though his senior pictures were taken nearly 4 years ago, the pictures are in her living room and she shared this with me. The shaped metals come standard with an easel on the back, but as another alternative, the easel can be folded in and the metal storyboard looks beautiful displayed in an easel that matches your decor!
Downtown Chandler Senior Pictures with Soccer Player
It is very rare that I’m nervous about a senior portrait session, but I have to admit I did have a few butterflies before Donovan’s session. He wasn’t very interested in having pictures done, but was willing to make his mom happy. I know better than to try to convince a teenager, but once I mentioned bringing his dog and his soccer gear things got better. He is a master on the soccer field, even though he doesn’t play much anymore due to injury. It is always more fun for me when my seniors are doing what they love…after all, it comes naturally to them! So I was ecstatic to capture some great shots of Donovan showing off his soccer skills, loving his dog Spyro, and hanging out at the railroad tracks. With some serious time management skills we even made it over to shoot some images at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler! I was amazed…4 locations in just about 2 hours! Mom admitted that she’s typically not very emotional, but even she started to tear up a little when she saw these final images. Every photographer’s dream is to make families happy. Mission accomplished!
Knowing how important our furry family members are, this storyboard feature his favorite senior photos is a beautiful keepsake for your high school senior. So go ahead, bring your furry family member along for your senior pictures! We love dogs!!
