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Seniors

Katie S: Colorful Floral Hartwood Acres Senior Photos

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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!

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Adri D:  Seneca Valley High School Senior Photos in Historic Harmony

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Adri D: Seneca Valley High School Senior Photos in Historic Harmony

We had the BEST time photographing Adri on Saturday around Historic Harmony! She brought the most beautiful, bright & colorful outfits that made her photos POP!

Historic Harmony is a great location for senior photos if you live near the Cranberry Township area, especially for Seneca Valley High School seniors (it’s literally right down the road from the high school!). Or, if you live a bit further… it’s still worth the drive! The colorful buildings and historic architecture provide SO MANY beautiful backdrops within a very short walking distance. You can also make a night of it and go to dinner afterwards at The Harmony Inn (German inspired brewery) or grab a sweet treat at Neff Haus (German ice cream!).

Adri is a soccer playing senior who plans on going into the medical field post high school! She grew up near Harmony, so it made her location a little extra special.

I've known Adri through her mom, Ada, for quite a few years - who is such an excellent photographer! So of course, when she asked me to take Adri's senior photos, I was completely honored.

Adri, a huge congratulations to you on your senior year! I am so excited for you!!!

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Reese D: Mars Area High School Senior Photos at Mellon Park

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Reese D: Mars Area High School Senior Photos at Mellon Park

Congratulations to Reese on her senior year!

Reese is a soccer playing soon-to-be Mars senior who is going to St. John's to play soccer! We had the most beautiful night for her photos at Mellon Park for her senior session... and I LOVED her bright red pop of color for her second outfit. It stood out so well against the more neutral Mellon Park architecture!

If you’re unsure whether to go more bright & vibrant or neutral with outfits for photos, if you’re a senior who’s session is with me… try one of each, like Reese! She had the best of both worlds in terms of color (vibrant/neutral) and style (casual/more dressed up). It’s a great way to get lots of variety within your session!

Thanks so much for the honor of taking your photos, Reese! ❤️

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

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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!

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Leanne A: Seneca Valley Senior High School Photos

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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! ❤️

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

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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!

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Erica M: College Graduate Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

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Erica M: College Graduate Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

Meet the absolutely gorgeous Erica! I had the pleasure of photographing Erica at Hartwood Acres Mansion to celebrate her graduation from the Community College of Allegheny County. Who says only high school seniors can get senior photos?!

Erica had a vision in mind when she contacted me for her photos! This special session included a photo AND a video portion (video portion by the fantastic Dorosh Documentaries!) to announce her graduation! She brought her biggest cheerleader and supporter along - her mom - for her session, too, which was the sweetest!

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Logan D: Franklin Regional High School Senior Photos at Mellon Park

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Logan D: Franklin Regional High School Senior Photos at Mellon Park

Meet Logan, who is graduating with the class of 2023! He plays football and loves Chipotle. I photographed his brother just a few months ago (who graduated with the class of 2022!) - it is always so much fun to work with the same families again!

And speaking of families, Logan's came along for some updated family photos before his session began! And they stayed with us for the rest of his session, which made the evening all the more fun. Stay tuned for some photos of the family coming soon!

Congratulations on your senior year, Logan!

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Max G: Butler High School Senior Photos at Succop Nature Park

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Max G: Butler High School Senior Photos at Succop Nature Park

We had a great summer night for senior photos at Succop Nature Park for Max’s senior photos!

Max is a Butler senior graduating with the class of 2023. He plays football, volleyball, and basketball, and his favorite type of food is breakfast food!

Succop Nature Park is a great senior photo location for those looking for a location North of Pittsburgh. There is lots of variety - tall grass, trees, a fence, a barn, a willow tree, a pond, and a small old greenhouse (and more!)! There’s also a large house on the property that we didn’t use for this particular session, but it still a great spot!

Congratulations on your senior year, Max!

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Gavin S: North Catholic High School Senior Photos at McConnell's Mill

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Gavin S: North Catholic High School Senior Photos at McConnell's Mill

Meet Gavin, who's graduating this Spring with the class of 2022 from North Catholic!

Gavin is heading south for college, and plans to be a part of the medical field - his choice was inspired by his own personal experience and diagnosis.

Gavin also plays hockey and has a car that he's proud of - so of course, we had to incorporate it into some photos! We had the perfect night for photos at McConnell's Mill, and were able to get lots of variety and unique shots during our time together!

Congratulations on your senior year, Gavin! And thanks so much for the honor of taking your photos!

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