Senior Session with Laurel

(I would post a few sneak peek photos here but blogger is having some issues so I put them on my homepage.)
I met with Laurel and her mom earlier this month for a pre-session in-person consultation (I highly recommend this for all senior sessions!) It gave us a chance to get to know one another, look over pictures together and talk about different poses, backdrops and the general feel we were after for her session.
We met in Nevada City - one of my very favorite places to shoot - on Sunday morning (since afternoons can be pretty busy and crowded). Our session was for 9am so we could capture the best morning light. It was slightly overcast which is my absolute favorite weather to shoot in - it's like the sky is one huge softbox. I was in heaven. Her parents, Susie and John, came and helped carry equipment and hold reflectors - a big, big thank you to them! Her dad was even nice enough to wade into the creek - boots and all (our last setup) - to hand Laurel a bunch of flowers I wanted her to hold! And Laurel was game enough to take off her shoes and wade in the cold water with me! It was icy but worth it - we got some beautiful shots of her in the water (coming soon).
I like to think photo shoots are a collaborative effort and this session was a great example of that. One of my favorite photos from this session was taken by a berch tree with an awesome array of fall colors behind it that Susie, Laurel's mom spotted. Another photo I love from this session was by a white fence that Laurel liked. And everyone had ideas for posing while we were working which was great. It's that collaborative effort that makes sessions a blast and helps bring out and reveal the true personality and beauty in the subject(s).