Sometimes a small random photoshoot comes out of nowhere with a big bang! Huntington Beach High School Senior, Rhiannon's session, was a quick model call that just had all the best ish encapsulated into 2 square city blocks of the Santa Ana art district, and 90 amazing minutes (that were an absolute BLAST), and I've GOT to show it off, I'm just so in love with these portraits and so is her family!
This is was just a random high school senior portrait model call posted to my facebook and instagram, because we had just relocated to Irvine, California, and I needed local faces on my blog to get the word out. A Huntington Beach mom volunteered her rockstar daughter (pictured here) and the rest...well, you can see for yourself (SWOON).
Be sure to check out her senior film at the end of this post - I still can't believe I got enough material to build an entire film from one little model call session and it's truly one of my favorite sessions I've ever captured!
I work really hard to prepare and customize portrait sessions from the moment I meet each client, to the super-stellar session-day, itself. When a high school senior walks in the door for hair and makeup call-time, there is always a printed timeline, complete with each outfit, location, and theme or idea, ready to go for each team member including the makeup artist and the senior.
But, when I do model calls, they are super-simple and very on-the-fly. They are meant to be quick, easy and fun - while we still plan a little bit of a theme - it might just be ONE theme or ONE location, instead of 4 or 5 locations and outfits that come with a full CJ Seniors platinum or gold portrait experience. Also, there is no hair and makeup available for model calls - that is reserved for the full experience, as well.
For this session, I asked mom how her daughter stands out and learned that, Rhiannon (who was named for the Fleetwood Mac song), is an artist who loves to paint and play music. In fact, she plays bass guitar for a Huntington Beach punk band called The Acid Blondie band! Both Rhiannon and her mom also happen to be huge advocates of compassion in their community - something that really speaks to my heart. Her mom describes her as " a force to be reckoned with."
After a quick video chat with Rhiannon and her mom, I got a solid idea of her sense of style, love of fashion, and what she really geeks out on.
Rhiannon has a unique style that I absolutely LOVE! The first thing noted was that I needed to find a colorful place with old walls and lots of grunge and street art to go with this teen's punky, gritty, quirky style! I scored by finding a myriad of murals all within two square blocks, giving me several amazing looks in one basic location. Perfect!
Because it was so close in proximity and we didn't need to drive anywhere, we could throw in a couple of extra clothing changes to keep it fresh! We ended up going with three outfits, total, and with all the variety of backdrops we were set for the epic mini session you are currently viewing!
Rhiannon was amazing at her photoshoot! She was actually recovering from a cold and a little nervous at first, but as soon as I started guiding her into different ideas, we were on a roll - with jumpies and squats and turns and working with the beautiful evening light and amazing art behind her, it just doesn't get better than this!
Her unique punky style of fashion was so FUN to photograph! I love styling sessions with my clients. All of our locations are carefully chosen ahead of time, based on what they will be wearing - whether it's from their closet or our own Style Closet! We often mix and match from both closets and add some fun accessories from the studio to bring each look together! But these looks are ALL Rhiannon from her own closet!
I absolutely adored Rhiannon's sparkling eyes and freckles and her bright and silly outtakes were so cute! As you can see in Rhiannon's music video, below, laughter at our sessions is not at all uncommon and we always have fun! I actually happen to be a total goofball and clutz... I think this inadvertently helps teens open up and let their own sillies out. I'm really big on authenticity, with myself, and strive to capture the same from every teen I document.
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