On November 9th, I hosted my first photo meetup! I had been to a couple before in the Albany area, but I wanted to host one a little closer to where I live and where I grew up. I grew up in Queensbury, NY and currently live in Saratoga, NY. For a lot of photographers and models who are from the Queensbury/Glens Falls/Lake George area, Albany is a bit of a hike. I figured that by hosting a meetup in Saratoga as a bit of a halfway point, there would be a lot more people able to come. Unfortunately the start of the meetup did not go as planned :( Apple Maps got a lot of people lost but we ended up getting everyone where they needed to be, so it worked out. The turnout was amazing and I was so happy with the amount of people that showed up to this event1 Thank you to all of the photographers and models that shot with me at the Saratoga Spa State Park and in Downtown Saratoga as well! Look out for another meetup to be planned in the summer and check out #autumnmoonmeetup on instagram for more of the photos taken from this meetup!
Noah and Abby Eiler
Noah and Abby had a beautiful wedding at Yaddo Gardens in Saratoga Springs, NY. They had a small ceremony and reception outside and thankfully the weather was perfect for it. Here are some of my favorite moments from their day including all of the small details! We loved their entire theme and i’ve never seen a cooler tux combo than what the guys had. Abby’s dress was also perfect for her and the bridesmaid dresses complimented it so well! I loved being able to goof around with everyone during portrait hour and capture silly pictures. Everyone was glowing with joy and why wouldn’t they be when everything went perfectly. I really enjoyed taking photos of just Abby and Noah during the tail end of portrait hour because I really was able to capture their love for each other. Without a huge crowd standing and watching them get photos together, it felt very intimate and I loved pulling their personalities out! Thank you for making me a part of your special day and Congrats on the rest of your lives together!!!
Class of 2020 Recap
Senior season was a complete success! This spring into early fall, I had the chance to photograph 14 seniors! Even though there are so many portraits that I did, I made sure to make every shoot unique to each person. There are so many photographers that I know who take beautiful images, but don’t go the extra mile to create something totally personalized and creative for their clients. Here’s a little recap on what I did with each of these seniors. I picked out my favorite shots from each shoot! Also, If you are a junior this year, keep in mind that senior photos aren’t that far away. My advice is to start looking for your photographer early and book your session for spring or early summer. You don’t want to wait until it gets unbearably hot or until your photographer has no availability left. Unfortunately I had to turn down loads of people who waited until the last minute :( Thank you to everyone who did book with me this year. Now let me tell you my favorite part about each and every shoot.
First we have Arden. She is the odd man out of the group because she’s actually not the a part of the class of 2020, but since I took her portraits this May, I decided to throw her photos in here as well. We shot at the Saratoga Spa State Park for Arden’s senior portraits. She brought her mom, dog, and sister along and towards the end we took a few photos of her sister and her dog as well! Arden was so relaxed and was up for any suggestions I had. Also, I was really obsessed with her shoes in her first outfit!
Caitlin’s shoot was done at Crandall Park in Glens falls. We shot for 2 hours and I was able to make the best of our time by getting all of the standard shots we needed to and also by getting very creative for all of the extra time we had. Caitlin and her mom were extremely laid back and were willing to walk across the entire park and let me do whatever I wanted to to get THE SHOT. At one point I was literally standing on top of a playground working with Caitlin to get a really unique shot from up high. The only request that Caitlin had was to get a few photos with the willow tree in the park because she like some of the photos I did of Sara (which you will see later) that were similar. Even though most of the flowers and natural colors in the park were gone, I was still able to utilize things like a shed, golden hour light, and pine needles to give that extra pop!
Chloe’s shoot held a special place in my heart. For those of you who don’t know, Chloe is my cousin (technically not by blood) and we spent what seems like our entire preteen and teen years taking photos of each other for fun while we hung out. I’ve loved watching her grow up into the beautiful girl she is and I’m so proud of all of her accomplishments so far. It was such a blessing to be a part of her senior portraits and Chloe picked the perfect location! We shot at Shelving Rock Falls in Fort Ann which provided a beautiful wooded backdrop and an amazing waterfall as well. Chloe is quite the adventurer so I thought that the landscape, mixed with climbing the rocks of the falls was perfect for her! Thanks for being a natural in every sho, Chloe :)
Cole’s shoot was done in Downtown Glens Falls. Because I had worked with Cole’s family before, I knew that he wasn’t the easiest to get a natural smile from in front of the camera. I came prepared with a goofy attitude to try and get some of those laughs from him. I was super pleased with the amazing sunset that we had that night and we captured it perfectly on top of a near by parking garage! Even though it was still spring time, the colors from his shoot were incredible!
Colleen’s senior shoot took place at Congress Park in Saratoga. Can I just say that Colleen is a NATURAL in front of the camera!!! Her first outfit was also really fun to play around with when choosing backgrounds and locations. For her second outfit, I was in love with the plaid pants! The golden hour light gave me so many opportunities to use backlighting (which is one of my fav techniques) and it made her look like a glowing goddess. I’d say my favorite part of this shoot was the colors I was able to capture from her outfits and the beautiful things surrounding her.
We shot Dave’s senior portraits in Lake George by the village. First we headed into the woods were there’s an old abandoned fort which I believe used to be where the Fort William Henry held there explosives and weapons. But I could totally be wrong on that. One of my favorite shots here was where I told Dave to do his signature jump on top of the fort and I captured it as a silhouette. We headed back towards the lake and took photos long the way. One of my favorite things about Dave and his family is that they are huge jokesters. We even took a photo of Dave laying on his stomach as a joke because his dad kept suggesting for him to do it. I said, “what that heck, why not!” and we took the shot anyways.
Hayden’s shoot took place in Downtown Saratoga as well as Congress Park. He definitely was a little bit of a stickler for being in front of the camera but it was so rewarding when I could get him to smile and laugh. We took some shots with him and his basketball because he’s on the Fort Edward basketball team. Those were probably some of my favorite shots because Hayden seemed the most “himself” in those photos. I love being able to incorporate an important piece of someones life not their senior photos!
Julia’s senior portraits were taken at Hovy Pond in Queensbury. We took a lot of photos with the garden flowers and we were given such a variety of background by the park. It was great because we didn’t have to walk to far to get a different type of scenery. Julia’s outfit when perfect because it gave a ton of contrast to the background and made her stand out a ton. It also just look really classy and beautiful. I loved getting shots go Julia by he water with the sky’s reflection in the background and by the flowers because it gave so much texture and color! Not to mention that willow tree! I’m not sure what it is about those willow trees, but they are just so beautiful to take photos by!
Maddie had a 2 hour shoot in Lake George for her senior portraits. I am not exaggerating when I say that Maddie is a trooper! I’m still not even sure how she managed to look THIS GOOD while we shot for 2 hours in 95 degree heat plus humidity!!! Although the temperature was not ideal for taking photos, the lighting was nothing short of perfect. I loved getting creative with all that Lake George has to offer: with the lake, flowers, field, and park areas. I had so much fun capturing Maddie and dipping our toes in the water towards the end to cool off. I swear I can still feel the heat from that one!
Noah had his senior portraits done in Congress Park in Saratoga. He brought his girlfriend abby along and we took a few photos of the two of them along the way. Did I mention how perfect the two of them are together? Even just walking around with them for an hour, I could tell that they are quite a cute couple. Noah was the only senior this year that I took photos of who wore glasses. Those of you who take photos know that sometimes it can be hard to work around that because of glares and other minor things that can be distracting. I’d say that was the hardest part of Nosh’s shoot because he was so laid back and easy to photograph. I’m obsessed with the amount of color and the beautiful we had that night and I love the outcome of all of his photos.
Olivia’s senior portraits were taken at Dunham’s Bay on Lake George. It couldn’t have been a more perfect night! Olivia and her mom walked around with my assistant and I down by the lake and by the resort as well. We started off with Olivia on her family’s boat since they had it docked right there. I thought it was a cool thing to incorporate into her senior session, knowing that boating is a thing that she does a lot with friends and family. In the middle of the shoot we even got a photo of Olivia and her mom (and they look cute as hell together). Towards the end we stuck our feet in the water and it was surprisingly warm for how cold Like George usually is. I asked her if she wanted to go all the way in the water for some shots and she said go for it! Thanks, Olivia, for being so laid back and getting some amazing shots with me!
Sara’s shoot was at a family friend’s house with their garden, field, and barn. From the moment I met Sara, she screamed sunshine from within. I loved being able to shoot with her for a couple hours and she was a natural in front of the camera. One of my favorite parts of her shoot was taking photos of her and her dog. Her mom told me that her dog has never been “photogenic” and typically shied away whenever a camera is held up. I had Sara play with her doggo and we got some awesome posed and candid shots. I also loved the field and sunflowers that he property had! The willow tree pic was also one of my favorites from Sara’s shoot!
Seth’s senoir shoot took place at the Mill Apartments in Glens falls. I love having shoots in locations that aren’t typical or on properties that aren’t for the public, because i’m able to get some super unique shots that I coildn’t get if I were to just go to a park. We started off with an idea that Seth’s mom had with including the sports that he does in a classy photo inside the apartment. After we moved to the stairwell in the building that was also really roughed up and had a lot of character. To end the shoot, we headed to the rooftop where we got some crazy good shots!
Tim’s shoot was in Downtown Glens falls. We walked around by the buildings and then headed to a parking garage near by that he requested we go to. I had taken ottos of him and his sister there about 6 months prior for Christmas photos to surprise their mom! We took some photos with his basketball because he is part of his schools basketball team and the lighting that night was absolutely stunning as well. It was awesome to be able to get to know Tim a little bit better since it was just him and I instead of him and his sister as well!
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this far! Thanks for an amazing senior season and i’m looking forward to next year!