Stacey Dershem of Stacey Dershem Photography in Wichita, Kansas loves seniors for two reasons…1.  She has two daughters, one who will be a senior next year, so she can totally relate to this age group and 2. She is one of those people who had a horrible senior photo! (Me too!)
Stacey said, “My session was done in a studio, very posed, fake background, forced smile….you get the idea.  It’s really, really awful.  I look like I’d rather be having a root canal.  I always picture that photo in my mind  before each senior session and aim to bring each client the complete opposite of that experience.  I want them to have a fun experience and walk away with a gorgeous set of photographs that perfectly captures their personality and who they are at this point in their life.”
I think having that unique and horrible experience herself makes her strive to give the seniors she photographs a completely different experience!  By incorporating a few of this senior’s favorite things, a Wilson football to represent his love of football and his last name, his beloved yellow lab, and the location of his future home Kansas State, Stacey made this shoot all about Hunter.  And she definitely accomplished the opposite of her experience with the photo shoot below!  Check it out and be sure to check out more of Stacey’s work here.  Thanks for sharing this session with us!!
What was your inspiration for this photo shoot?
My client’s interests set the tone for this photoshoot.  Hunter played football all four years of high school and his family was very involved in this activity.  So we immediately knew we wanted to make sure and capture some images incorporating football as the primary theme.  His family also wanted to capture photos with his sister and the family labrador retriever, so we made sure to include them in some of the photos.
Where did this photo shoot take place?
The high school football stadium, of course!  But I also like to take seniors to several different locales so that we can capture a variety of different moods and textures in a shoot.  For this shoot, we also went to the Keeper of the Plains monument, the train station in our Old Town area, and an abandoned shipping dock that has a great grungy look and some fun colors.  I always enjoy the great looks you can get in the most out of the way places.
Did you collaborate with this senior on the wardrobe for the session?
For this session, the client’s girlfriend brought outfits to the shoot that we could choose from.  Who better to select clothing for a high school male?  We knew we would have all of Hunter’s football attire to work with, and his girlfriend did a really nice job of bringing along a fabulous variety of styles and colors for us to choose from for the other settings.
What camera, lens and equipment was used in this photo shoot?
I shoot with a Canon 5DMKII.  As with all of my outdoors senior work, I used an 85mm 1.8 lens for this shoot.  I just don’t think you can beat this lens for outdoor portraiture.
What time of day was this shot?
We did this shoot an hour before sunset.
Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing these photos?
For many of my senior photos, especially those featuring males, I like to provide a deep, rich look and feel to the images.  I do initial editing in Lightroom and then move the photos into Photoshop Elements to polish them up a bit.  I love the results I get with Levels and play with them in every edit.  I also like to pop my colors to add interest and enhance the mood in each picture.
What is your favorite thing about these photos?
I really love how personal these photos were.  Football is very important to this family, so it was fun to capture those special images for them to remember this phase in Hunter’s life.  I also liked that they wanted to include Hunter’s sister and the family pet in some of the images as a way to remember those special relationships.
What do you want these photos to convey about this senior and about your photography business?
Often Seniors, especially males, aren’t always excited or at ease about getting their pictures taken.  Hunter, on the other hand, was extremely cooperative and relaxed, plus had a quick, easy smile.  It wasn’t difficult to capture his confidence and personality in the photos.  He had seen a few poses that he wanted to try and shared those, which I always love my clients to do.  I believe it’s really important to have an understanding of exactly what look your senior wants to portray in their photos so that the pictures reflect their personality and who they are at this point in time.  Bringing out the individual character of each senior is always my highest goal in a session.
What is one tip about senior portrait photography that you can share with other photographers?
I’m sure it’s been said before, but make the session as fun and relaxing as you can for the senior.  Think back to your own senior session and evaluate what you did and didn’t like about the photos and the experience you had getting them taken.  Before deciding on a venue for the shoot, I always ask about any special interests the senior has that we should incorporate, or what mood or look they have in mind. If the client doesn’t have any particular ideas, I’ll provide a list of locations and thoughts and we’ll agree to those before the shoot.  Once we arrive at the first location,  I think it’s critical to first talk through your ideas for the flow and mood of the shoot just to reconfirm what you believe was agreed to in the initial discussions.  At the end of the day, a big part of photography is good customer service. Before my first click, I make sure I know my goals for the session and how best to meet and exceed each client’s expectations.

Senior Inspiration – {Stacey Dershem Photography}

  1. Lisa McCully says:

    Beautiful work!!! Guys can be hard to photograph but these look very natural and sincere!! Great article!!!!

heck, yes i do!

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