Sreyashi M: Pine Richland High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

August 2022 was a month FULL of senior sessions (which just so happen to be my favorite!). And out of all of the sessions I photographed, about 75% of them took place at one of my favorite locations… Hartwood Acres Mansion! Which, you probably know by now, is one of my favorite spots!

And one of the lovely seniors graduating with the class of 2023 who I had the privilege of photographing there was the sweet Sreyashi! She came SO prepared with three gorgeous outfits and so much joy!

Sreyashi is a Pine Richland senior who is involved in many extracurricular activities - including dance (note the pointe shoes we incorporated into some of her photos!) and speech & debate!

One of my favorite conversations I had with Sreyashi during her session was about her involvement in her school’s speech and debate. I am not a huge fan of public speaking, so I was curious if she had sought out an opportunity to be a part of the program because she enjoyed speaking in front of people. When I asked her about this, she told me that while she didn’t like it at first, after being involved on her speech and debate team for a little while, she learned to love it. And that is a simple, yet profound lesson that spoke right to my heart!

Sreyashi, congratulations on your senior year, and thank you so much for the honor of taking these photos for you & your sweet family!

Alexis H: Seneca Valley High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

It was such a joy to get to photograph Alexis around Hartwood in August! We had a lovely garden full of butterflies (that let us get oh-so close!!), beautiful light, and some fun & personal props to incorporate into her photos during our time together!

One of my favorite props Alexis brought was a sash representing the meshing of her Filipino and American cultures. It was such a sweet personal sentiment! She also brought a cute “Class of 2023) sign from Etsy, as well as a beautiful color guard flag!

After high school, Alexis plans on going into the medical field. She is in color guard and loves being a part of her school's musicals! And is just all around so sweet!

Congratulations on your senior year, Alexis!

Kyra H: Mars Area High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

Kyra is a Mars high school senior who chose the lovely location of Hartwood Acres Mansion for her senior photos!

Kyra is also a dancer, a Chinese/Japanese food lover, and was such a joy to spend the evening with. I had the honor of photographing her brother Luke’s senior photos a few years ago (click here to see his session!), and it was such a joy to get to work with this family again!

Congratulations on your senior year, Kyra!

Katie S: Colorful Floral Hartwood Acres Senior Photos

Meet Katie! She's a North Allegheny senior who loves flowers (her favorites are sunflowers 🌻). Her and her mom requested that her session be filled to the brim with flowers and color - and I think we made it happen - mostly due to the amazingly detailed planning of her mom, Linda, who worked tirelessly to coordinate all of the beautiful outfits and extra props we used during Katie's session! It was all an absolute DREAM to photograph!!

Besides having beautiful details and colorful outfits, we also chose our location - Hartwood Acres Mansion - in large part due to their colorful garden, which really is at its prime in the month of August (when Katie’s session took place). There really is no other location like it in the area!

Besides the beautiful garden, Hartwood has lots of gorgeous architecture that provides a wide variety of backdrops within a short walking distance. The only catch - you have to make sure you call in advance to make sure there are no events happening on the mansion grounds for the night of your shoot! With its growing popularity, Hartwood has started to close down the mansion area for private events more and more frequently. It used to only close primarily on Saturdays, and sometimes on Friday evenings, with an occasional Thursday thrown in. It’s definitely worth it to call and ask so you don’t show up ready for a photo shoot, only to be asked to leave! (If I’m your photographer, I’ll take care of all of the calling for you ;) ).

If you’ve been following the blog for the last few years, Katie’s session might seem familiar with its color, vibrancy, and additional props and outfits. I photographed Katie’s sister Annie two years ago, where we had a similar feel with a different set up! (Feel free to check it out here!) Both ladies were so much fun to photograph!

Congratulations on your senior year, Katie, and thank you so much for the honor of taking your senior photos!

Mia B: Seneca Valley Senior High School Photos at Hartwood Acres

Meet Mia, who is a rising senior graduating with the class of 2023!

Mia has such a sweet heart, I truly loved getting to know her during our time together! She is a Seneca Valley senior who plays lacrosse, and whose dream job is to be a special needs teacher, and she plans on going to school for speech pathology in Kentucky!

We spent ALL day the day of her session watching the forecast, trying to decide what to do about the rain. Mia decided that she wanted to go try to for it, and what a great call - the rain held off for the ENTIRE session! We even had a little bit of sunlight!

And Hartwood is looking absolutely LOVELy right now. I'm so excited that they haven't mowed down those gorgeous wheat fields!

Congratulations on your senior year, Mia!

Leanne A: Seneca Valley Senior High School Photos

What a special session this was! I’ve known Leanne for quite a few years. Her mom and I have gotten to know each other especially well over the last few years, and she has graciously helped be my assistant/reflector holder on a number of senior photo occasions!

So of course, this was a special one! We actually photographed Leanne’s sister Megan’s senior photos back in February when we had the most beautiful snow storm (click here to see it!), which is so crazy.

Leanne is a Seneca Valley High School senior who plays the trombone and is involved in musical theater! She loves to write, and hopes to be a novelist or screen play writer, which is what she plans to go to school for!

For Leanne’s session, we hit two of my favorite locations - Historic Harmony & Hartwood Acres! In Harmony, we took some photos around Leanne’s favorite little shops, as well as in front of the music studio building where she takes trombone lessons (and including the trombone was a must!).

After Harmony, we drove to Hartwood, and shortly upon our arrival, it began raining (you never know what will happen with the weather when you’re shooting in Pittsburgh!). Even so, we got some beautiful and unique shots in the rain before things cleared up and the sun came out for a few minutes!

Congratulations on your senior year, Leanne! And thank you so much for letting me be a part of this sweet season! ❤️

Bethany G: Pine Richland High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

Meet Bethany! She's a Pine Richland Class of 2023 senior who loves musical theatre, choir, and salty snacks! I had the honor of taking her senior photos at the beautiful (and as of the time of this blog post, recently renovated ) Hartwood Acres Mansion. Oh, how I've missed you Hartwood!

Bethany wore two lovely outfits - the first was a pale blue dress with a floral pattern, which complimented the architecture and garden of Hartwood absolutely perfectly! The second was a bright blue floral skirt with a white shirt, which popped beautifully against the neutral mansion colors.

Hartwood continues to be one of my favorite locations for senior photos because of its diversity - there are so many options to work with within such a short walking distance! The mansion, the garden, the woods - the spots are endless!

Congratulations on your senior year, Bethany!