Amy Sandoval Photography Blog

Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk Portrait Photographer, Wedding Photographer: Newborn, Maternity, child, family and wedding coverage.

Category Archives: Senior

Norfolk Senior Portrait Photographer, Class of 2012: Meet Betsy

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Posted in Senior

I work with high school seniors to create a senior portrait session to reflect who they are and what they love. We start with a little questionnaire so they can tell me a bit about themselves. Betsy’s reads like a true artist – she loves color, Asian art and old movies. I loved her wardrobe choices – they felt straight out of “The Notebook” and worked perfectly with the locations where we took her senior photos – we mingled in several areas of Norfolk so we could hit the beach as well as the more urban backdrop of the Pagoda in downtown Norfolk. She picked the perfect Asian-print dress for the Pagoda photos, too. She has the best smile and a free, sweet personality that I know combined with her artistic outlook are going to take her far. I threw in a couple of fun shots of the Pagoda gardens, too, and one little fat bird who just needed to be shared.

I’m currently booking high school senior portrait sessions for both Class of 2012 grads and Class of 2013 grads. This is a great time of year for high school senior photo sessions – the weather is still beautiful and the humidity hasn’t crept in yet. There are so many pretty spots in Hampton Roads – popular spots and hidden spots, too. I love planning out sessions that really reflect the personality and style of each high school senior client. You can see more of my senior portrait sessions on my website! And use my contact form to schedule your session!

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Ellie’s High School Senior Pictures Session: Virginia Beach Senior Portrait Photographer

Saturday, August 13, 2011 Posted in Senior

Meet Ellie – she’s a gorgeous, athletic mid-western girl (Nebraska is mid-west, right?!) with an incredibly bright future ahead. Ellie and her family drove 23 hours in from Nebraska for their Virginia Beach vacation. It was an honor to photograph her high school senior pictures while she was here. I could just go on and on about how much I enjoyed working with Ellie and her family, but I sort-of already did that, so without further ado, here’s the rest of her sneak peek!

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Big Momma in the house

Friday, June 17, 2011 Posted in Personal Notes, Senior

You’ve seen a farm coming up in a lot of my shoot lately, thanks to a friend of mine who has generously allowed me to shoot on her property. As a thank you, I went out one evening and took photos of her daughter, Madison, and her horse Big Momma. I don’t spend a lot of time around horses, so it was such a great experience for me. Madison and Big Momma have such a trusting relationship – I couldn’t believe she had a hat on her for some of the photos! And Big Momma even knows how to bow! And kudos to Madison who gets up at 4:30 a.m. (!!!) to feed and take care of Big Momma.

For my photography friends, I shot nearly all of these with my 70-200 2.8L lens so I could let the interaction happen naturally without being so close. My 50 1.2L is typically my go-to portrait lens and I don’t break out the 70-200 for portraits often because it’s so heavy/clunky. But I rediscover lenses occasionally and this was definitely one of those sessions. I forgot how crisp the 70-200 is for a zoom lens. And the last photo was taken when it was just about dark, at ISO 1500. I couldn’t believe how well Lightroom 3 handled the noise reduction in the photo. What a fantastic improvement from Lightroom 2.

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And to think I almost tossed this one out

Sunday, June 12, 2011 Posted in Family, Senior

At first glance, I wasn’t sure I had the right exposure on this photo, so I tossed it aside during the “pick/diss” portion of my editing workflow. But then I went back and looked at it again. And I played around with some settings in LightRoom (the photo editing software I use). Then I realized that all the reasons I didn’t like it were the very things I loved about it. Thought Madison isn’t looking at me, the gorgeous horse is! And the way Madison is sweetly stroking her nose – bright nail polish and all – and of course the grass chewing going on. This photo is a favorite not because it’s a perfect portrait but because it’s full of personality. And the light ain’t bad either!

From my session with Madison and her horse Big Momma tonight. I’d swear this horse knew how to pose for the camera! (And Madison reminds me so much of Amy Adams!)

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{Featured Session} Indian River High School Senior Portraits

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Posted in High School Senior, Senior

Meet Emily. Down to earth, obviously drop-dead gorgeous, second in her class at Indian River High School, on the volleyball team and involved in many other things as well. In short? She’s a keeper. Seriously – I love high school senior portrait sessions for this very reason, these teens are inspiring (not to be too cheesy, but they really are). ALL of the high school seniors I’ve photographed are kind, beautiful inside and out (I need a new saying for this because I am always saying it, but it’s *true*!), and a blast to work with as well.

Emily’s high school senior portrait session took place at two locations in Virginia Beach – one of which was obviously the beach. When possible and when clients are interested, I love to hit two locations. As you can see, it creates such variety in the photos. Emily also bravely and willingly changed clothes (behind a sheet her mom held up – thank you!) several times for more variety. It CAN be done, even outside! And changing clothes is encouraged – you can go for an informal look (jeans and a t-shirt, etc.) and a more formal look (for girls, maybe a skirt/top or dress and for guys, khakis, etc.). All in all, senior sessions should be about you. They can be longer or shorter (guys, I hear you and you typically don’t want to take photos for long and I get that, too!), and they can be personalized to who you are.

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