Erica May of Erica May Photography in Dallas, Texas started out shooting friends, relatives and pets.  After her son was born, she started making her hobby a business and quickly learned she loved photographing seniors!

“Seniors really let you flex your creative muscles!” Erica said.  “I love their free spirits, their positivity, and their excitement in the creative process.”

So when it came time to photograph her first set of senior twins, Erica got her creative muscles flowing and used the seniors answers to their pre-session questionnaire to help her find the perfect location to give a simple and classic vibe but still allow variety.  I think she did an awesome job!!

Read below to find out more about this photo shoot from Erica and be sure to check out more of her work here.  Thanks for sharing Erica!  Also, Erica is a part of an awesome resource…Wardrobe Wednesday {Where Fashion Meets Photography}!  It is an awesome source for inspiration to help your clients prepare for their photo shoot!!

From reading their pre-session questionnaire, I knew they wanted a natural photo shoot that was pretty simple and classic. I wanted to find a place that gave each of their individual portraits some variety as well so they were unique.

Where did this photo shoot take place?
It took place at a local park. This is a huge park so we actually drove to two different spots to get some variety.

Did you collaborate with this senior on the wardrobe for the session?
I always help my seniors with their wardrobe by asking if they need advice and counseling them. Myself and a few other photographers across the country created Wardrobe Wednesday {Where Fashion Meets Photography} where we have weekly articles, vendor spotlights, etc.. This resource really helps my clients come up with their outfits with little help from me. I was very happy with the options and colors they brought. They did great!

What camera, lens and equipment was used in this photo shoot?
I use a Nikon d700. I mostly used my 50mm 1.4 and my 85mm 1.8 for this shoot. I love my primes! =)

What time of day was this shot?
It was in the afternoon at about 3:45pm. The sun set at around 5:20pm.

What was it like to photograph twins?
I thought it was going to be really hard but it was not bad! We definitely had to move a little faster than I normally do so I could get them both in but they were so much fun. I was nervous about it being boy/girl twins and coming up with poses that didn’t make them look like they were a couple =P. The boy, Paxton, was a little more uncomfortable in front of the camera than his sister but once he got warmed up he did great.

How did you incorporate each of their personalities both together and separate?
They really like to have fun and joke with each other so I wanted to get some pictures of them laughing and having a good time. For their individual pictures I really just went off their pre-session questionnaires to help me there. Paxton wanted to look natural and get some close-ups and full body shots. Madison wanted to look happy and beautiful of course =)

Can you share any post-processing techniques you used when editing these photos?
I keep my post-processing pretty simple. I prefer to perfect everything that I can in camera but since I shoot in RAW I always boost my contrast and blacks. I like to sharpen the image as well as the eyes a little bit. I also do a little touch-ups/skin smoothing especially on girls. I love backlighting but if I get the image too hazy I will use the soft light filter to bring the colors back to life.

What is your favorite thing about these photos?
I always love beautiful lighting and we had some great lighting that night. I also love Madison’s images. She really is one of those girls who doesn’t realize how beautiful she is so I hope that she was able to see her beauty in these portraits.

What do you want these photos to convey about this senior and about your photography business?
I hope that when people view these images they see how much fun these seniors were! Also I hope that you can see their inner beauty shine through. I always want my portraits to reflect my fun, modern, and joyful style.

What is one tip about senior portrait photography that you can share with other photographers?
Keep them talking and moving – this will help them be comfortable in front of the camera and get those natural expressions. Don’t be afraid to change your “game-plan” if it is not working and go with the flow. Seniors love to have fun and almost all of them are very willing and cooperative subjects. They need to know they can trust you to make them look awesome.