I had my senior pictures done with Wanamaker recently and everything went as smoothly as it could be. Loretta was full of great idea’s. She was so flexible with everything that I asked about. I was nervous about taking the pictures but the session was so laid back. I loved every minuted of it. She had a lot of great ideas with basketball part of the shoot. I would love to use them again! If you don’t use Wanamaker you’re not getting the best service!

As a thank you, here is one of our favorite images from the session as a sneak peek for you!

Recently, Loretta photographed a Portrait Session with Sammi, a Minisink Valley High School Senior. Normally, our work flow takes a few weeks to get everything processed and ready for the final sales session. To our delight, we received the following review from Sammi even before she’s had the opportunity to look at her images …

I just recently had my senior portraits done with Wanamaker and  I loved the fact that the pictures were more along the lines of what I wanted to do. It was so much fun laying in the grass then getting covered in it, climbing logs, taking pictures with my guitar! Everything was just simply amazing! I honestly hope to find a million more reasons to work with Wanamaker again. I guarantee I will and cannot wait for it to happen!

This is a great example of why our clients love us and continue to come back and ask that we capture their life in new and exciting ways!

As a thank you, here is one of our favorite images from the session as a sneak peek for you!

Heidi is very fun and I had the pleasure to work with her and her Mother. I packed up the mobile studio and headed over to her mom’s house in Westtown, NY. I set up in her basement and the three of us got some ideas together. I originally went over there to take just the standard yearbook photo but Heidi has a bright and bubbly personality so her session didn’t stop there. We grabbed a bunch of great shots! Enjoy!

Brittany and I had a blast. We started out at her house in Slate Hill on her back patio. It took a little warming up but Brittany was a natural. She is very photogenic and we took a ton of photos in many surrounding areas. We rode around her parent’s property in a golf cart to different locations including the pond behind her house that had some beautiful stonework. We also noticed a lot of other areas including the wooded area next to the pond where I fell into a hole while trying to show her a certain area that would look awesome for photographs.

Before it got too dark, we went next door to an old, grungy church building where we created some fun shots with the old door and the paint-peeling walls.

To end the session, we headed inside for a mini studio session to finish off with the traditional drape pose and some photos with her sisters. We shared a lot of laughs. Enjoy the photos.

On Sunday, I was a little leery of the weather we were supposed to have but I packed up the studio and headed up to their home in Middletown. Ashley has a unique style and as I was really excited to work with her to get the portraits that she dreamed of.

Her one request was that we had to create a portrait with her and her favorite car – the old style Volkswagen Beetle. We really had a great time with this and got some really great shots. We then went back to her parents house and scouted other locations like the great flower gardens, an old swing set and various other places around. It was an awesome session! We had a blast!

It was a perfect day seeing as though it was November and we should have probably had snow on the ground! The sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was an on location shoot and we used her backyard in Yulan, NY as a backdrop. She lives right on a lake and we were able to get all different types of shots. Enjoy

It was a perfect day for a photography session because, for once, there was no rain in the forecast! I arrived at her house at about 1:00PM and helped her choose her first outfit. Since I wanted Carleigh to be comfortable for the first set of shots, we tried the ensemble below and headed outside into the tall grass they had in the yard (and we were careful not to step in any gopher holes).

With the summer sun kicking in full blast, we soon decided to head inside and use the mobile studio for some shots. The setup was in their living room and was soooo much cooler than outside! I started with some White-On-White and Classic Black and White shots to add to her portfolio …

Because no session is complete without sunglasses, we added them to some of the high-key photos we took. With her favorite music blaring, the great photos kept coming …

For the shot below, I wanted to try something that I saw in another photographer’s portfolio (who’s name completely escapes me right now). Because Carleigh loves shoes (and what girl doesn’t??), we took what she loved and added some of her style to get this great shot!

Wanting a grungy look, we started looking around for something that would work. Because we were working in the middle of farm land and not the city, we knew this might be a difficult task. Carleigh’s house had some stairs around back that seemed to work well with the clothing she had on …

As the session neared the end, I decided to have Carleigh put on her prom dress and run through the tall grass like a little kid would on summer break. This is one of my favs!

I know that I could go on forever about how much fun Carleigh, her mom and I had on the session – but I figured it would be best to just post her slideshow instead! Carleigh is going to make a great Class Of 2010 Senior Ambassador for Minisink Valley! Enjoy!

]]> http://www.wanamakerphotography.com/senior-portraits-carleigh-minisink-valley/feed/ 0 http://www.wanamakerphotography.com/class-2010-senior-portraits/ http://www.wanamakerphotography.com/class-2010-senior-portraits/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:31:42 +0000 Chris Wanamaker http://www.wanamakerphotography.com/?p=688

Well, we cannot guarantee you fame and fortune, but at least the free portrait session part is true! If you are a student who will be a High School Senior in September and have a fun and outgoing personality, we want to talk to you about our Senior Rep Program!

Our Senior Class Reps enjoy a free 2-hour portrait session, customized to their individual styles with unlimited outfit changes, rep cards with their images to hand out to all of their friends, watermarked digital files to share online and a $25 studio credit for every referral!

You get to pick the location. You get to choose the clothes. We get to capture memorable images that are just as unique and fun as you are!

Hurry! Only A Limited Number Of 2010 High School Class Reps Will Be Accepted!
Call 1-866-832-4001 To Apply As A 2010 Senior Class Rep Today!

Since Kris’ favorite activity is skateboarding, we headed to a secret spot that he knew about behind the school. There, we found the perfect railing and set of stairs for skateboarders. We set ourselves up and had Kris show us some of his moves. Since the sun was fading fast, we only captured a few shots … so we setup another appointment to meet Kris at a skate park in Washingtonville NY.

It was a cool, cloudy day for the skate park shoot … but there was absolutely no one around. Loretta was out photographing this session and had Kris show her some of his tricks again while she captured shots from different angles. Thankfully, Mom didn’t come to the shoot as there were a couple close calls!

Our final session with Kris was setup to capture some formal and casual shots as well as some shots with his girlfriend, Lauren. He actually got his hair cut really short for this session … so he looks like a completely different person! Here are some shots from each of the sessions … and more will be posted on our homepage and within our Senior Portrait Portfolio. Check them out!

Being the photographer of the family, he asked us to follow him from the Eldred School to the Riverview Inn in Pennsylvania where the dance was being held. I accepted (of course) and decided to treat him like a celebrity that day!

As the time came closer, we kept checking the weather as it was supposed to rain on and off during his entire trip to the dance. As we arrived at the school, things seemed to hold off long enough for us to grab a couple of shots before heading in for the announcement of the couples. So we picked out some locations around the front of the school and grabbed a couple shots before heading in. In this shot, we asked Robert and his date, Katie, for a little attitude …

After the announcement of each couple, we headed back outside and got everything ready to head to our next stop … a local playground. Utilizing the kid that is in all of us, we decided to play on the swings for a bit and grabbed this shot …

After being attacked by the all of the bugs, we decided to head down to the Hawks Nest and test out some shots there. As we headed down along the river, the rain could hold out no more and downpoured on us. Forging ahead, we grabbed our umbrellas and towels and decided to give it a try anyways.

Robert and Katie were already parked further down the Hawks Nest with a heavily modified Subaru WRX. As we closed in on them, the rain began to let up and we setup our shots as quickly as possible. We’d check the traffic and when all seemed clear, Chris would jump out into the middle of the road and grab a few shots before the next car would come along. Here was one of his shots …

As the rain moved in again, we decided to head out and down to the Riverview for his last few shots before dancing the night away! On our way down, the rain let up and the lightbulb went off. We wanted to grab just a few more shots before heading to the dance … so we pulled off the road and headed out onto the bridge between Matamoras, PA and Port Jervis, NY. We grabbed our umbrella just in case that downpour followed us.

We started playing around with some different ideas once we got onto the bridge and captured as many shots as we could before the weather got ugly again. As cars passed by, the passengers kept looking at us trying to figure out what was going on. After capturing these shots, we decided to wrap things up and let Robert and Katie head out to their dance …

After leaving them at the dance, we headed back and literally started working on the images. Playing with them inside of Adobe Lightroom was incredible and everyone loved the shots. Robert and Katie felt like celebrities for the day as they had their own paparazzi following them around!

Now I get to look forward to his graduation!

Kali’s mom originally contacted us as she was not happy with the quality of the images that were produced by the school photographer for Minisink Valley High School. Her original intention was to purchase a bunch of wallets to include in Kali’s graduation invitations and she wasn’t about to use what was produced by the school.

During my initial phone consultation with Kali’s mom, we discussed what exactly she needed and what she could expect with the Senior Portrait Session. We booked Kali’s session a few weeks out as they wanted to wait until she had her braces off.

The day of the shoot finally arrived and Jenny and I headed up to Kali’s house to setup everything. As we brought everything into the house, I secretly scouted their decor as I hadn’t had a chance to have an actual sit-down consultation with them prior. I took notes and knew that I could surprise them with something I knew would fit right in.

We started out with the traditional drape shots …

… and then moved on to some more traditional shots … but in non-traditional locations …

Once we captured enough shots indoors, we bundled up and headed outside for some “fun” shots around her house. We posed Kali in one area and photographed away. Jenny and I would often switch off and hold the reflector while Kali’s mom grabbed one of our cameras for some “behind the scenes” shots (which are extremely top secret )

Once Kali’s session was over, she told us that she felt like a “superstar” and couldn’t wait to see the images. Jenny and I packed up and headed out. Now the real work began!

We touched up a couple photos with different overlays and embellishments to give them a unique look that Kali would love.

In the mean time, we had a custom DVD Slideshow, assembled to music, created for our upcoming Sales-Order Session with everyone. I also worked on creating a custom 5×30 poster with a bunch of our favorite images of Kali. My notes finally came in handy as well as I talked to our custom framer and had something created that would fit the style their house perfectly.

When the night of the Sales-Order Session came, we showed everyone the DVD on their big screen and I uncovered the 5×30 framed composite poster of Kali. Her mom loved it so much that she purchased it from us. However, the best part of the night was when her mom told us that the composite poster frame was “her frame” and that she felt like it was specially made just for her. Paying attention to those details always pays off!

Now, we usually post our Image Of The Week on Sunday … but since this shoot wasn’t wrapped up until later in the day yesterday, we needed a little extra time to get it to press!Â

Starting in 2008, we began our marketing campaign for “Senior Portraits: Your Way!” with the premise that each high school senior is unique … and their images should be the same. Granted, most parents want the traditional cap and gown or tux or drape shots … but the seniors want something that is as unique as they are without looking the same as everyone else.

Roberta is the younger sister of our photographer, Loretta, who wanted just what we were offering and loved the end results! The entire shoot lasted a few hours and provided her with a couple different backgrounds and outfit changes to work with. We provided her with a hair stylist and she brought her own clothes and did her own makeup.

This image was shot with our Canon Rebel XTI, 28-105mm lense at F4 at 1/500 with the ISO at 400. This was zoomed into about 75mm and had some minor retouching, lighting levels and saturation adjustments done in Photoshop.