Maegans Senior Pictures, Baton Rouge

It seems so long ago that I met up with Maegan and her parents at the State Capital in Baton Rouge.  It was a warm day and very bright (no surprises there) and Maegan had brought several changes of clothes to wear throughout the shoot.

I always think that the best senior pictures (or any pictures) are when a persons real expressions and ways are captured.  When you hear a comment something like "oh that's her" it's means so much more than a picture.  It's a moment in time a true reflection of the individual as they are.

Check out a few more of Maegan's senior pics in the slideshow below.

We had great fun and chose some fun locations making use of the beautiful grounds and lakes.  Its always a pleasure to photograph people with charecter and Maegan has plenty, with a magical smile that spreads from ear to ear.

Chris's Senior Portrait Shoot, Baton Rouge

Pin It

Chris plays the drums on the banks of the Mississippi

There are several things vital for capturing great images and  I always consider that capturing a persons true spirit is probably the most important.  When it came to taking Chris's senior pictures I new this wouldn't be a problem.  With an army of helpers we managed to move his drum set onto the river bank overlooking the Missippippi river.   I'd intended to just pose a few images but for someone like Chris it's impossible to sit at a drum kit and not have a jam session.  This worked out perfect as i moved around and climbed up and down getting the shots.

A selection of images from Chris's senior portrait session around Baton Rouge

 We worked our way around Baton Rouge, finding some cool walls and super interesting backgrounds.  You can see a selection of images from chris's shoot on the video below.  You can also download the video via i-tunes and then add it to your i-phone/ video ipod by clicking this link 

Ariel's Senior Photographs, Central and Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Pin It

Ariel relaxes during her senior portrait session

I love shooting people with character and Ariel certainly has lots of that.  Her constant smiles and boundless energy made the whole senior photographs shoot in three different locations a real fun afternoon.

We started off at her house and her massive collection of shoes, I'm not saying there were a lot but let's just say a centipede would not have had cold feet.  Not satisfied with that she also has an uber cool seat made in the shape of a ... guess what ..... yup a shoe.

Having finished shooting at Ariels home we headed for Baton Rouge.  We photographed all over the town and finished at the old state capital.  It was my first time at the old capital and it was well worth a visit.

You can see a selection of images from Ariels shoot below.  You can also download the slideshow via i-tunes by clicking this link. You can then add it to your i-phone / video ipod etc.

Stixx Senior portraits, Baton Rouge, Denham Springs

Pin It

Something that is common in America (so I'm learning) is for school leavers to have a selection of photographs taken as a reminder of a certain moment in time.  These are known as senior pictures.  This was all new to me but having discussed with Taylor (her friends call her Stixx) I was confident i could put my own twist onto what was expected.

We started out in the Louisiana State capital (Baton Rouge) and used a little coffee shop I'd stopped in when we came down for Mardi Gras at the start of the year.  I remember thinking what a cool little place it would be for a shoot so when we decided on Baton Rouge I new where I wanted to start. 

I also new where there was an old bank vault very close to the coffee shop that I had seen that was just screaming out to be used in a shoot.  As you can see from the images on the blog and the video below we had some real fun.

The next location was next to the river where I'd scouted underneath a bridge which gave a really cool unusual overhead background.  Close by there was some nice long grass and some logs all making excellent photography props and backgrounds.




You can download this video to itunes by clicking this link.  You can then add it to an i-phone or video i-pod and have it with you wherever you go.

We visited a few other places in Baton rouge but then unfortunately it began to rain.  However we we decided that if we were going to get wet we might as well go for it so Stixx had fun splashing around in the water fountains outside the museum.

Because the rain had cut us short the day before we had arranged to meet up again the next day this time in old Denham Springs an areas rich with antiques and old styled shop fronts full of colour (British spelling) and excitement.

We were so lucky that Hollyn of the Pin-Up Parlour hairdressers allowed us to take some pictures in her shop and use it as a base so Stixx could get changed. We spent another three + hours finding fun places to shoot.   

All in all an excellent fun couple of days!!

Rayna, Tyler and Hannah, Lifestyle Photographs Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Pin It

Over the last few weeks i've had the real pleasure of getting to know the three little ones pictured above.  We've played football (soccer) in the garden and struggled with homework in the evenings but every moment has been a joy.

The images in the slidehow below were taken over a couple of days at the Louisiana State University (LSU) and the Louisiana state capital building in Baton Rouge. 

The slideshow below can be downloaded via i-tunes by clicking this link and can then be added to your video i-pod / i-phone.

Business talk at Central High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Pin It

OK confession time.  I haven't added anything to the blog for about a month and that's really bad.  However in my defence I had a lot of work to get finished before I flew out to Louisiana to photograph Maegan and Franks wedding in New Orleans last Saturday (pics to follow soon).  I've been busy since I landed a couple of weeks ago and have another six weeks work intermingled with fun before I have to return to the UK, It's times like this I realise I truly do have the best job in the world. But I fully intend on adding more stuff on here over the next few weeks.

Today I did something totally new.   I had the honour of being asked to talk about my business and the way I work to various high school classes at the Central High School near Baton Rouge.  This was a real treat and an honour for me.  It's not unusual for me to be asked to talk to groups before but previously these have been businessman or other photographers so to talk to students at the start of the professional lives was a real treat and I hope they took away some ideas they can use in a positive way in their own chosen professions..

Not all (in fact very few) of the students had much of an interest in photography as a career choice so I aimed the majority of my talk to be general business ideas and centred the whole talks about two things.  Being remarkable and the advantages it can bring and finally the ways of achieving excellence in the eyes of clients.

I always find when I teach I learn a few things myself,  today they included, the English accent in America is a great advantage, the TV show Glee isn't a totally accurate view of real life in an American high school and teenagers throughout the world are pretty much the same, with the same worries, concerns and thoughts.


All in all a fascinating day and I must say a huge thank you to Miss Phenald and all her classes  today for listening to my talk, and their interesting and often searching in-depth questions.