Vincenzia V: University of Pittsburgh White Coat Photo Session

Meet Vincenzia! She is a future physician who recently completed a degree in bioengineering, and who is starting med school - and she wanted to celebrate with a photo session (which I LOVE!). Earning a degree is a huge accomplishment - certainly something that deserves to be documented!

We started off Vincenzia’s session in front of Pitt’s Med School, and then headed to the Mellon Institute, and Pitt’s lower campus, including Heinz Chapel, the Cathedral of Learning, and the Schenley Fountain.

Vincenzia chose to wear her white coat (which she had just received days prior!) and a bright blue Pitt colored dress for her first outfit, then the same colored jumpsuit for her second. I love how she tied the school’s colors into her session… and the blue was such a great “pop” of color against the Oakland backdrops.

Vincenzia is the third in her family who I’ve had the pleasure of photographing! (See the first here and the second here), so it was a treat to be able to photograph her, too!

Congratulations on everything, Vincenzia! And best of luck at med school!

Gina G: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

Gina: the picture of the red dress emoji 💃

We had the absolute BEST time taking photos of Gina a few weeks ago at Hartwood Acres Mansion to celebrate her senior year! Gina is a bundle of fun, and hopes to study nursing post high school. She loves Mad Mex (good taste ) and brought her A game to her senior session with some absolutely beautiful outfits!

Gina's mom is an AMAZING wedding photographer, which made getting to take her senior photos even more of an honor. And since Gina grew up with a photographer mom, you know she was a pro in front of the camera

Congratulations on your senior year, Gina!

Sophia A: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

Meet Sophie! She's a Mt. Lebanon senior who is graduating with the class of 2024. She wanted tons of flowers in her senior photos, and there was no better spot than Hartwood!

Sophie started off her senior photos in her more casual outfit, then moved on to two beautiful dresses - one pink, and one blue! I love that she chose lighter colors to compliment the mansion space. Both of her dresses worked perfectly with the mansion architecture and in the colorful gardens!

Congrats on your senior year, Sophie! ❤️

Bri S: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

I love when seniors bring props that represent who they are - and Bri, an avid reader, brought some of her favorite books for us to incorporate into her session at Hartwood yesterday evening!

My personal favorite book she brought was Persuasion - it complimented the garden/feel of Hartwood so perfectly with the color and style 😍 And of course, it complimented Bri’s skintone perfectly!

Bri is a rising senior at Shaler who plans to go into teaching post high school (she especially loves history).

Congratulations on your senior year, Bri!

Annelise H: Woodlands High School Senior Photos

Annelise is a graduating senior with the class of 2023! She graduated the week of her senior session from Woodlands High School. I kind of love that she opted to wait for her senior photos until the spring of her senior year! There are definitely benefits to having them done prior to your senior year or during your senior year, but it was such a fun way to celebrate the true end of her high school career with these photos!

Annelise is an accomplished actress at her school - she played Mayzie the Bird in her high school’s rendition of “Suessical” and even had the opportunity to perform in the Gene Kelly Awards (the area’s high school musical award competition).

For her outfits for her session, Annelise chose a pink patterned dress (as her first outfit) and white linen pants with a patterned top (as her second outfit). Both of her outfits complimented the Hartwood flowers and mansion perfectly! We opted to use a more natural/flowery setting for the dress outfit, and chose the mansion backdrop to compliment the visual structure of the second outfit. And with two amazing outfits - we were able to get tons of variety within her photos!

Congratulations on your senior year, Annelise! It was such a pleasure to take these photos for you!

Elizabeth P: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

I had the pleasure of taking Elizabeth’s senior photos on a gorgeous day in May!

Elizabeth is a North Allegheny senior who plans to study marketing post high school. For her senior photos, she wanted a plethora of flowers - so Hartwood seemed to be a great fit! There were some gorgeous bright pink peonies in bloom around the mansion, and Elizabeth even brought a few bouquets of flowers for an added floral punch! (Click here to view my blog post about ways to incorporate more florals into your photos!)

Elizabeth, it was a pleasure to take your photos! Congratulations on your senior year!

Mars Prom Photos

This past weekend, I had a type of photo session I’ve never had before: pre-prom photos! And they were so much fun!

While lots of high schools in the area had prom, these photos are of some seniors from Mars High School.

If you’ve ever been to prom or been a parent/sibling of someone going to prom, you know that pre-prom photos can be a little chaotic - one parent (or multiple parents) have to take charge - people are looking at different cameras and giving different instructions, etc! But after the photos were over, several of the parents thanked me for taking the lead and giving clear instruction, because it gave them the opportunity to just enjoy the moment without having to worry about getting the perfect photo. And now the whole group has some photos of everyone posed well, in good light, and looking in the right direction!

If you’re interested in having pre-prom photos taken, please feel free to reach out to me by clicking here!

Josh K: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

Josh is graduating this Spring with the class of 2023!

He's a super smart guy who's planning on studying biomedical engineering after high school at Duquesne University. And as you can tell, he came dressed to impressed in a suit and one of his favorite bow ties!

Congratulations on your senior year, Josh, and thanks so much for letting us celebrate with you!

What is the Best Time of Day for Senior Pictures? Answered by a Pittsburgh Senior Photographer

Is there a “best” time of day for senior photos?

The answer to this question might vary from photographer to photographer, but generally, the answer is yes! There is a “best” time of day for taking photos - or in my case, there are two times of day that are my personal favorites for taking photos! These times of day help me…

• Make sure my client’s skin looks its most flattering (almost luminescent!)

• Make sure my client is not squinting their eyes during their session

• Have an easier time controlling the available light

• Not have to use off camera lighting (my preference is natural light, paired with a reflector!)

A few important things to note: as a primarily “natural light” photographer (or in other words, as a photographer who uses the sun as her main light source usually without the addition of artificial lights!), I plan my sessions around when the natural sunlight is best. And for the way I prefer to shoot, the best light of the day is generally found within two hours of sunrise and two hours before sunset. This is when the sun is lowest in the sky, which gives me the ability to maneuver it a bit easier! It’s also softer and warmer within both of these time frames - the higher the sun gets in the sky, the harsher the light becomes, creating harsh lines, highlights, and shadows on my subjects (and makes them squint!)… and I want every person I photograph to have that beautiful, flattering soft light that can be found at those two times of day, so that is typically when I plan my sessions for!

However, on a cloudy day (we get lots of those here in Pittsburgh!), the rules can change a bit.

On a cloudy day, the clouds act as a giant soft box for the sun - meaning that the light is less harsh, and doesn’t create harsh lines, shadows, and highlights on my client’s face… so we can get that beautiful soft light throughout the entire day! There are even times when the cloud coverage is so heavy (blocking so much of the sunlight, effectively creating an “earlier” sunset) that I actually have to move my session up an hour or so.

But because I plan my sessions so far out in advance (usually a few months out), I always schedule my sessions within two hours of sunrise, or two hours before sunset. That way, we know we will always have the best light of the day whether it’s sunny or cloudy! And then I watch the sunlight and cloud coverage throughout the day to see if the timing needs to be adjusted.

Below are some photos that were taken within two hours of sunrise, or two hours before sunset!

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What Time of Year is Best for Senior Pictures? Answered by a Pittsburgh Senior Photographer

Believe it or not, there’s not a one size fits all answer to the question “what time of year is best for senior pictures?”

The most popular time of year here in Pittsburgh for senior photos is no doubt the fall, usually in October. We are blessed with some beautiful foliage in the autumn months here in Western Pennsylvania, and many seniors want to take advantage of that for their photos! And it’s always nice to not be sweating during your senior pictures, which is often the case in summer.

However, instead of telling you what the best time of the year is for senior pictures, I’d love to help you figure out when would be the best time for YOU by walking you through some questions:

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Does being really hot or really cold bother you?

I know, kind of a weird question, but stay with me! If you aren’t a fan of hot and humid weather, you’ll probably be miserable during a summer session. On the flip side, if you aren’t a fan of the cold, waiting until mid November for your senior photos probably isn’t a great option, either. But if you’re a huge fan of summer and can’t wait to wear a sun dress or shorts and a T-shirt for your photos, then summer might be the perfect time for your photos! Which leads me to my next question…

What kind of clothing do you picture yourself wearing for your photos?

This might help you decide what season you want your photos taken in! If you aren’t fan of short sleeves/pants and prefer long sleeves and/or layers, a cooler timeframe might be better for you - think early spring or mid to late fall! However, if you really like summer attire and want to show off your summer tan, a warmer month (June, July, August) might be perfect for you!

What is your preferred type of scenery?

This one might be obvious, but I think it’s worth throwing in here anyways, because there are some types of scenery that are “best” during certain times of year. For example - if you want lots of beautiful blooms in your photos, spring is a must! Summer can also be a good time for photos with flowers, especially at a location like Hartwood Acres Mansion, because their garden is in full bloom by late summer. But you won’t find many flowers in the fall (obviously! ;) ).

When do you actually have time for your photo session?

Last but not least, what does your schedule look like? Is the school year super crazy for you with sports and extracurriculars? Then it might be best to have your senior photos taken over the summer! Or is summer super crazy for you? Will you be traveling all over the place without much of a break? Then consider booking a senior session for the school year! Whatever the case, having an idea of when you’ll have a bit of extra time is important. Senior photos are meant to be fun and relaxing - a celebration of the end of a season and the beginning of a new one! So if trying to schedule your session during a certain time of year stresses you out, then don’t even go there. Choose a time where you’ll actually get to enjoy the experience without being too rushed!

STILL UNSURE?

If you’ve considered all of these questions and you’re still not sure, know that you can’t go wrong with any season, really! Spring, summer, fall, and winter all have their pros and cons when it comes to scheduling a senior session during any one of them - and the “best” time is different for each senior based on their personal needs, preferences, and schedule!

MY PERSONAL OPINION

But if you want to know what I think… my (personal) favorite months for senior photos are end of April/early May (with the beautiful spring flowers!), August (right before school starts, everything is so green, and seniors are less stressed), and end of September into all of October (fall foliage and cool weather is my absolute favorite!). I also love winter senior sessions when there is snow… because it’s such a unique backdrop! The cold isn’t always so fun, but the beautiful scenery makes it worth it!

Pictured below from left to right: spring, summer, fall, winter.