I started out my shoot with Dylan with a case of mistaken identity. I knew he was Lexy's cousin, and I vaguely remembered her telling me that she had a cousin who was an Abercrombie model, so when this handsome, tan, muscular guy walks into the studio, you know, I just assumed. We were doing a few shots in the studio, and I said something about male modeling, and he looked seriously confused. It turns out there's ANOTHER incredibly good-looking cousin who models for Abercrombie & Fitch.... what a winning gene pool. "That's not really my thing," he laughed, and then faked a few "male model" poses. I beg to differ, Dylan - it could definitely be "your thing"! So, here's Dylan, football player, Buena Vista High School senior, Cedar House's first guy senior of 2010, totally sweet guy, and not-yet male model. :)
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Seniors
My shoot with Christina, a sweet, easygoing, laid-back senior at St. Mary's in Colorado Springs, was one of my more memorable senior portrait shoots for many reasons. She brought along her boyfriend Josh (whose senior portraits I'm doing this upcoming weekend!) and the three of us wandered all around Old Colorado City in search of some fun and interesting shots. It was HOT. Like, really really hot. I'm pretty familiar with that area, having lived in Manitou for a few years, but I hadn't been there in a while, so I got there a little bit early and drove around to scout out some locations. I found this AWESOME apartment complex that had a cool courtyard - the buildings were all white with bright Smurf-blue trim and a bright Smurf-blue fire escape staircase, and the courtyard had one rainbow-colored pation umbrella! There was no one there when I drove past and I was getting excited and starting to form some shots in my mind. So I met up with Christina and Josh, who were also getting excited about these shots, and we drove back over there... only to find that it was not, in fact, an apartment complex. I guess it was a group home for people with disabilities. We showed up not ten minutes after I had first seen it and my cool empty courtyard was completely packed with people in wheelchairs. Thwarted!Never mind that... we soldiered on and got some sweet shots anyway. THEN, I saw this cool bungalow down a side street. It had handpainted signs all over it, and there were stuffed animals glued to the roof, and one random white chair in front of the whole thing. I turned to Christina and said, "We should definitely get some with you in that chair!" She started walking over there, and I was adjusting the exposure on my camera when she said, "Um, there's a naked guy over here!" We all started laughing and hurried away with the naked guy glaring at us from the bushes... like I said, this was a very memorable shoot. Christina, you're gorgeous and I had a ton of fun with you both! Josh, I'll see you this weekend :)
I heart Kathleen because she brought me cool things: a cool hat, some cool boots, and lots of things that were PURPLE! She's a senior at Buena Vista High School and I think she is incredibly fun. She seemed so comfortable in front of the camera, and she has this awesome Amelie-esque hair cut that I love. Kathleen told me that she decided to go with Cedar House Photography for her senior portraits because I do fun, non-traditional portraits, and I don't, in her words, "Photoshop people until they look like nothing more than flesh-colored blobs". Ha ha... but she has a point. In my opinion, it's only a great shot if it's a great shot straight out of the camera. Editing and touching up might make it look slightly cleaner or more "finished", but Photoshop can't be relied upon as the ultimate tool for a flattering portrait - it all has to start with lighting, posing, and angles. Photoshop can't fix everything, and shouldn't be relied upon that heavily, which is why you need someone who knows what they're doing behind the camera as well as behind the computer screen. Personally, I think that your pictures should look like you on your best day, not like a plasticised mannequin version of you.The patio umbrella shots were kind of a random thought but they ended up being some of my favorites. As soon as I saw all the purple things she brought, I knew I had to take her to this purple bench down one of the neighborhood streets that I've had my eye on for a while. It's in the front yard of this cool, funky brick house that I've always loved. So, we're taking some shots on the bench, and the front door of the house opens, and in my mind, I'm thinking, "Uh-oh... I should have knocked and asked permission, and now someone is going to yell at me for tresspassing..." Then a voice says, "Molly?" It turns out my friend Larkin owns that cool house that I've always loved. "Come in!" she says. "You can take some in the backyard, too, if you want. Bring people over any time!" And, of course, Larkin's backyard is just as cool as the rest of the house, complete with a - you guessed it - purple door and amazingly colorful bottle tree! Yet another random, super-fun shoot experience :) So, thanks Larkin, and Kathleen - you're incredible. I loved hanging out with you!
Brittany and I giggled pretty much straight through her entire shoot. She's a senior at Buena Vista High School and I completely love her because she brought me a LIME GREEN PROM DRESS! I have this ridiculous thing for color, and it doesn't get much better than that. We were so comfortable around each other despite this being the first time we met, and I totally promise that all her smiles and laughter were 100 % legitimate. Brittany has, like, LOADS of personality and the cutest smile ever.Sometimes I end up with great stories after a shoot, and this was one of those times. We were up in the woods taking some pictures, and I saw a field of tall, pretty grass. "How about if you go sit in that field?" I said. I was looking down, making exposure adjustments on my camera, and suddenly Brittany started laughing, and said, "What the heck is this?" She handed me a crumpled peice of paper she had found in the field. I unfurled it and realized it was a photo of a bride and a groom. Then, I realized it was a photo of a bride and a groom holding pairs of scandalous underwear. Then, I said, "Wait a second. I KNOW these people!"
"You do not," she said. "No way!" We looked at each other for a moment before completely dissolving into laughter. I brought the neglected, dusty picture back to the studio with me, and emailed my friend Sarah to let her know what I had found. Then came the real "Twilight Zone" moment: I realized that the back of the photo was printed with "Copyright Cedar House Photography"! I had forgotten that the previous owner of Cedar House photographed Sarah's wedding four or five years ago. Does it get weirder than that?
You know, finding incriminating photos of friends holding crotchless panties on their wedding day many years ago, in the middle of the woods, while shooting a high school senior... just another day at the office. Love you Brittany! You're the cutest! I think the jumping off the table shots are some of my favorites - I love how you left your shoelaces untied :)
I knew I was going to absolutely love this girl as soon as I saw her profile picture on Facebook - she had these awesome gigantic plastic glasses - but I had no idea I was going to love her this much. As soon as I saw that she brought neon green leggings, a fur-hooded parka, and a flapper dress for her senior portrait shoot, I pretty much developed a full-on girl crush. She wanted something really, really different, and I guess her mom joked that she would never be able to find a photographer who would "put up with" her style. "Put up with"... ha! Meet Ayla, awesome snowboarder, photographer, Salida High School senior, future snow cat driver, owner of the coolest haircut ever, and all-around amazing person. And, welcome to Monarch Mountain in August. Ayla- thanks for loving snow cats, and for all the near-death experience stories :)
