Marketing to your target market can come in different forms.  But one way is to donate a session to a high school event such as spirit night.  Not only does it get your name out there amongst your target market, but it will give you the opportunity to do a fabulous shoot!

In this session below, Olivia Smith of Bell Marie Photography in Huntington Beach, California said that this was a result of a giveaway she did for Newport Beach High School’s Spirit Night.

“Kendall received this shoot and her best friend Kaylinn came along,” said Olivia.  “This session was so much fun because these girls are best friends!”

Check out this beautiful session below and read what Olivia had to say about it.  Thanks for sharing your work with Seniorologie Olivia!!

Website:  www.bellemariephotography.com

Blog:  www.bellemariep.wordpress.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/bellemariephoto

What was your inspiration for this photo shoot?
My inspiration was boho, everyone is so into the free hippie style now and I love it. It is more natural and free so that is what I was going for. And also an urban touch with the parking garage and tall buildings. I was feeling prom was my inspiration for the second location, but the new trend of more sophisticated dresses and looks and less neon and sparkles prom fashion.

Where did this photo shoot take place?
We went to the LAB in Costa Mesa and the Irvine Towers.

Did you collaborate with this senior to come up with the clothing and/or concept for this shoot?
Since it was a give away I came up with the idea themes and I created mood boards for the girls and they went crazy and shopped earlier that week and found clothes they loved that went with the themes.

What camera, lens or other equipment was used for this shoot?
Nikon D600 and 50mm 1.8

What time of day were these taken?
5:30 – 7:00

Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing this session?
I edit all of my photos in Lightroom for major edits and then take them into photoshop and use frequency separation for skin editing so the details are preserved and Florabella actions for some final touches like mascara, blush, eye sharpening on a low opacity to just give the picture a little more pop.

What is your favorite thing about this session?
I loved the little field of flowers that we found! it was really just a section of plants wedged in between the street and buildings and we squeezed in there to get that field effect. You just need a little piece of amazing to make it look great. And I may have fallen on my but because of the small space, gotta do what you gotta do.

What do you want this session to convey about this senior and about your senior photography style?
I think this session conveys my style for sure, I want my seniors to have an amazing time and laugh the entire session. I have so many photos of the girls laughing and they are my absolute favorite. It was so hard to narrow down these photos because I have so many amazing pictures of these girls. I also have a clean editing style and love natural dreamy light which I bring to every one of my sessions.

What is one tip you can share with other photographers regarding photographing seniors?
Be yourself, seniors do not want someone that is fake or doesn’t care about them and what they want. I think that my seniors know that I care about their pictures so much, and they appreciate that. That is one thing they told me about the photographer that did the cheer pictures, they didn’t feel that they cared about the pictures. And they didn’t like that, be genuine and give it your all.