Senior Portraits Charlottesville | Brooke – FCHS – Class of 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Brooke | Fluvanna County High School – 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year! I’m slowly but surely getting caught up on my senior portraits. This has been my busiest fall ever and I am honored that so many people in the Charlottesville area have chosen me as their senior portrait photographer!

Tonight on my blog we have Brooke, beautiful senior from Fluvanna County High School’s Class of 2016. I took Brooke’s yearbook photo over the summer and was super excited she scheduled a lifestyle session with me too. Yearbook photos are nice ( I mean check out Brooke’s…she looks stunning!) but outdoor senior portraits are where you really let your style shine through!

We met up before Brooke’s session to go over outfits and talk about location ideas. We finally decided on Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro, VA. I’d never been there before but always jump at the chance to try out new locations!

October is my busiest month (understandably, the leaves are always so amazing that time of year) but you never know what’s going to happen with the weather…especially when you go on top of Afton Mountain for your session! It was a little chilly and windy in Fluvanna but when we got to Ridgeview park, it was even worse!

Brooke was a complete trooper though! I know she must have been freezing, I sure as heck was, but she never complained and managed to keep that gorgeous smile throughout the entire session.

In addition to that gorgeous smile, check out those eyes…they almost put the lovely background colors to shame!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Since this was my first time here, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was blown away (almost literally, the wind was insane! 🙂 ) by how wonderful it was! Everywhere I looked there were wonderful spots full of fantastic colors!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Brooke told me that her older brother bought this dress for her. How sweet is that?! I mean I’m a sucker for anything with elephants on it but the fact that her brother got it for her makes it even more awesome in my book! They are super close and we’re actually going to have another session with the two of them in the spring.

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Brooke brought so many wonderful outfits, but this was one of my favorites! Something about the sparkly jacket coupled with the dark plum pants…I just love it!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

We ended the session by the river and had time for one more outfit change. Thankfully, this one included a jacket because it was crazy cold! I love the pop of red against the muted background and of course, Brook looked beautiful!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

One of the many, many things I love about using flash is how different I can make things look. These photos were shot within minutes of each other. By making minor changes to my camera settings, I was able to give two completely different looks!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Last shot of the day and probably the only time Brooke wasn’t freezing! This is actually a scarf but it worked perfectly as a little blanket! 🙂

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Thank you so much for a fabulous afternoon Brooke and Tina (Brook’s wonderful mother)! I had so much fun with you guys and look forward your next session this spring.

CLASS of 2016 – Though I do have a few winter openings available both in the studio and outdoors, if you’d prefer a spring session it’s never too early to get on my calendar. Contact me today to schedule your session! | 434.906.0418 | photos@alijohnson.com

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

January 17, 2016January 25, 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville | Sarah – FCHS – Class of 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville - Ali Johnson Photography

Sarah | Fluvanna County High School – 2016

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year! I really enjoyed my Christmas vacation with my family but now it’s time to get back to updating my senior portrait blog posts. This has been my busiest fall ever and I am honored that so many people in the Charlottesville area have chosen me as their senior portrait photographer!

Tonight on my blog we have Sarah, one my amazing senior reps for Fluvanna County High School’s Class of 2016. I’ve photographed her quite a few times before (if you haven’t seen her gold color inspired session or her snow ballet session, you need to check them out!) but this was my first time having an outdoor session with just Sarah as the subject!

Though most of my senior portrait sessions take place in Charlottesville and Fluvanna County, I am always open to trying out new locations! When Sarah suggested we have her session at Maymont in Richmond, Virginia, I was beyond excited!

I hadn’t been to Maymont in years (and that time we mostly stayed in the farm area) so I wasn’t sure to expect. Holy cow, that place is so beautiful…and huge!! I could probably have five or six different sessions there and they’d never look the same!

We started out in the Italian Garden where I was super happy (and surprised) to find many flowers still blooming. Since it was October, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they even had some roses bushes with blooms on them!

I fell in love with the columns and all of the stone work. I probably could have spent hours in just this one location!

Sarah changed her outfit (Thank goodness I had my pop-up changing room with me. It was a long walk back to the bathrooms!) and we continued on with the session. Sarah is such a joy to photograph! No matter where I placed her or how I asked her to pose, smiling or serious, she totally nailed it and looked absolutely beautiful!

Um and speaking of beautiful? Sarah, you are killing me with your gorgeous eyes!! Seriously, you should always wear blue!

I absolutely love my lights and use them at every single session. This was one of the few times that I almost I wished I was a natural light photographer. Beautiful as the area is, there were tons of stairs and no ramps! Super big thanks to Sarah, Cheryl ( her mom) and Erin (her sister and former AJP assistant and rep) for helping me carry all my stuff up and down the stairs!

After walking down what seemed like a million stairs, we were down at the Japanese Gardens. Here it finally looked like fall!

This place was amazing! I was super impressed with how different this garden was from the Italian one. Even though it was fairly crowded, it still had such a tranquil feel to it. Okay, back to Sarah’s eyes. Am I crazy or are they the same exact color as the sky in this photo?

There weren’t any flowers down here and some of the trees had incredible fall foliage on them. It was like we had traveled to another place, not just walked down a bunch of stairs!

Time really flew by and before we knew it, the park was almost ready to close! We rushed over to this amazing bridge so we could get a few shots before closing time. We probably made quite the spectacle of ourselves! Erin & Cheryl were holding my light up as high as they could while I was balancing on a rock at the edge of the water. It’s incredible that no one fell in…especially my light!

It was so worth it though! Sarah, between the bridge, the waterfall and your gorgeous self, this is one of my favorite photos from the session!

Thank you so much for a fabulous afternoon Sarah, Erin & Cheryl! As always, I had so much fun with you guys and it was extra wonderful to get to see you again Erin! I’ve really enjoyed having you as one of my 2016 reps Sarah and I look forward to your next session!

CLASS of 2017 – Have you applied to be an AJP spokesmodel yet? If you’re interested, find out more information here.

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

January 15, 2016March 16, 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville | Alley – LCHS – Class of 2016

Alley | Louisa County High School – 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I had a blast with my family but it’s time to get back to updating my senior portrait blog posts! This has been my busiest fall ever and I am honored that so many people in the Charlottesville area have chosen me as their senior portrait photographer!

Today I’d like to introduce Alley, a senior from Louisa County High School’s Class of 2016. When Cathy (Alley’s mother) first contacted me to set up a session, she told me that they were relatively new to the area. Although they live in Louisa, Alley is a city girl at heart so they wanted something urban but weren’t sure where to go. Luckily, I LOVE urban sessions and knew the perfect spots to take them.

I’m sure it can be a little nerve-wracking to have a portrait session when you’ve never even met the photographer before. That’s why I suggested an in person consultation before the actual session date. Alley and Cathy came to my studio and brought along the outfits Alley was contemplating wearing. She had SO many great choices, it was hard to choose but we finally narrowed it down a bit.

We then talked about her hair & make-up for the session and I showed examples of the different urban areas we could use. Of course we also talked about Alley’s love of reading, (I feel the same way), our favorite movies and tv shows and bunch of other non-photography topics! I had so much fun meeting them both and I knew the session was going to be fantastic!!

On the day of the session, we met at one of my go-to locations in Charlottesville for urban sessions. I love all the different colored buildings and I always manage to find some interesting details there that I’ve missed in the past. The weather was absolutely perfect and Alley looked so amazing!

Good gravy Alley, you’re killing me…your eyes are so very gorgeous! She was a natural in front of the camera, and could change from smiling to a smoking serious look at the drop of a hat!

A quick outfit change and we continued on with the session. I am absolutely in love with this denim jacket with the leather sleeves!! Funny side note about the photo on the right. In order to get the perspective I wanted with the clouds behind Alley, I had to get down really, really low. You should have seen me sprawled out flat on the ground, trying to avoid the cigarette butts that were scattered about! 🙂

I’ve said it time and time again but one of the best things about urban sessions is how different they can be! I’ve used this location many time in the past but this time, one of the stores had their rolling garage door open. How fabulous is this blue screen behind Alley? The addition of the hanging globes were icing on the cake!

We then moved onto another favorite urban location in Charlottesville, the IX Art Park. This is another place that is always changing but remains super cool no matter what they do to it!!

Remember me talking about Alley’s love of reading? I thought this was the perfect place to add it into her session. I’m sure the people at the Art Park must have though I was crazy when we drug all these books out of my van but I didn’t care. I knew the photos were going to look fantastic!!!

In my opinion, it isn’t an urban session if you don’t take at least a few photos in a parking garage…especially if you’re rocking a leather jacket & boots combined with a sparkly dress! Alley, I kid you not, you look like a rock star!!

At the end of the session we were rewarded with the most amazing sunset! It always amazes me that depending on where you stand right before dusk, the sky can look completely different!

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The sky kept changing colors so I had Alley switch into her last outfit. I knew that we had to take a few photos with her Nirvana shirt (a band that I love by the way!) and this was the perfect place to do it! This last series of photos are some of my favorites ever! The dramatic sky coupled with Alley’s red lips and her cat eyeliner are absolute perfection!!

Thank so much for a wonderful afternoon Alley & Cathy! I had SO much fun with you guys (we literally spent most of the session laughing!) and I didn’t want the session to end! Good luck with your future plans Alley and enjoy the rest of your senior year!

CLASS of 2017 – Have you applied to be an AJP spokesmodel yet? If you’re interested, find out more information here.

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

January 10, 2016January 11, 2016

Senior Photography Charlottesville | Emily – MHS – Class of 2016

Senior Photography Charlottesville

Emily | Monticello High School – 2016

Things have been so busy around here, I’ve fallen way behind on my blog posts! I’m not complaining though, I love senior photography and am honored that so many seniors in the Charlottesville area have chosen me to document this time in their lives!

I have so many wonderful session to share and today, allow me to introduce Emily, one my wonderful senior reps for Monticello High School’s Class of 2016.

We had Emily’s mini-session back in June, at one of my favorite locations in the Charlottesville area. It’s such a beautiful spot and every time I go there, I seem to find something a little different. These flower are a perfect example of that…I was so excited when I saw them!

This was also my first time using this awesome stone wall. I actually shot this photo using natural light. That may not seem like a big deal to some of you but I use my lights during every single session so it was really something different for me! 🙂 One of the benefits about using natural light is the incredible catchlights you can get in your subjects eyes. Emily’s eyes are beautiful on their own but with natural light and a reflector? They looked over to top gorgeous!

Senior Photography Charlottesville

Since this was a mini-session I had to keep it short but I could have photographed Emily all day long. She is so much fun to work with and I am in love with her beautiful curly hair! Speaking of beautiful, check out these sunset photos…the colors in the background were so amazing that night!

Before I knew it, October was here and it was time for Emily’s fall session with me! I first photographed her back in March with the rest of my 2016 reps and then again in May when we had her color inspired, session but this was my first time having an outdoor session with just Emily! We had the session in their neighborhood in Charlottesville and I have to say, it’s a fantastic location! By the way, you look absolutely adorable in this hat Emily!!

Senior Photography Charlottesville

I took Emily’s sister’s senior pictures the year before in the same location. Even though I’d been there before, I was able to find totally different locations to use this time!

Senior Photography Charlottesville

Emily’s personality is so bubbly and happy! I usually try to get a few serious dramatic shots, but it just didn’t seem right this time. Her sunny outlook kept shining through! Seriously, how cute are these?

Thanks again for a fantastic afternoon Emily!! I had such a great time with you and am super happy to have you as one of my reps! I always have so much fun photographing you and I look forward to next time!

CLASS of 2017 – Have you applied to be an AJP spokesmodel yet? If you’re interested, find out more information here.

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

January 9, 2016January 25, 2016

Charlottesville Senior Portraits | Mariah – MHS – Class of 2016

Charlottesville Senior Portraits

Mariah | Monticello High School – 2016

I’m slowly but surely getting caught up on adding my 2016 Charlottesville Senior Portraits to my website. This has been my busiest fall ever! I love what I do and am honored that so many seniors in the Charlottesville area have chosen me to document this time in their lives!

I have many wonderful with the Class of 2016 and today, I’d like to introduce to introduce Mariah, one my fabulous senior reps for Monticello High School.

We had Mariah’s mini-session back in June, at one of my favorite locations in for senior portraits. This was my second time photographing Mariah, (this first time was back in March with the rest of my 2016 reps) and as usually, she was a delight to photograph! She’s so sweet and happy and holy cow…what a fantastic smile!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits - Ali Johnson Photography

Every time I go to this location, I seem to find something a little different. These flower are a perfect example of that…I was so excited when I saw them! Although it was pretty hot that night and I was a sweaty mess but Mariah managed to look stunning throughout the entire session!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits - Ali Johnson Photography

Since this was a mini-session I had to keep it short but I was having so much fun with Mariah, I didn’t want the session to end! At the end of the night we were lucky enough to have a gorgeous sunset. Check out the colors in the background…they were so amazing that night!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits - Ali Johnson Photography

Before I knew it, October was here and it was time for Mariah’s fall senior portrait session with me! I’ve photographed her in groups and when we had her color inspired, session but this was my first time having an outdoor session with just Mariah! We met at a beautiful farm in Charlottesville where she rides her horse Faith. Man what a gorgeous place!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits- Ali Johnson Photography

It was such a beautiful fall day and the lovely golden light was spilling everywhere!

I always try to find interesting and unusual elements in the locations I use. When I saw a huge pile of these trees and branches laying on the ground, I knew I had to try it out for a few shots!

It was a tiny bit of a struggle getting Mariah situated on the branches, I even had to clip a few of them out of the way! Yes, I bring pruning shears with me to my sessions. You never know when you’re going to have to get rid of a dead branch! 🙂

It was way worth it though! The colors in her outfit perfectly compliment the background and I love the pop of color her red fingernails give! She looks absolutely amazing and the photo became one of my favorites from the session!

A quick outfit change and we moved on with the session. I loved how the light looked streaming over the trees and onto the pond. It was all so beautiful! Um and speaking of beautiful, how about Mariah’s eyes? They must change color depending on the surroundings because they seem to be the same shade as the trees behind her!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits

We then decided it was time for Faith to make an appearance at the session!

Charlottesville Senior Portraits - Ali Johnson Photography

I know almost nothing about horses, (actually I think Faith might be a pony) but it’s obvious that Mariah loves her and she returns the sentiment! You can tell by the photos that they have a strong bond.

Charlottesville Senior Portraits - Ali Johnson Photography

We ended the session with a beautiful pink sunset and some acrobatics! Not really but I did have Mariah jump in the air a few times. 🙂 I also took a few photos of Mariah and one of her closest friends.

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Thanks for a fantastic afternoon Mariah!! I had such a great time with you and am super happy to have you as one of my reps! I always have so much fun photographing you and I look forward to next time!

CLASS of 2017 – Have you applied to be an AJP spokesmodel yet? If you’re interested, find out more information here.

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

January 8, 2016January 11, 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville | Brianna – FCHS – Class of 2016

Brianna | Fluvanna County High School – 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I loved spending time with my family but now it’s time to get back to updating my senior portrait blog posts! This has been my busiest fall ever and I am honored that so many people in the Charlottesville area have chosen me as their senior portrait photographer!

Tonight on my blog we have Brianna, one my awesome senior reps for Fluvanna County High School’s Class of 2016. I photographed her back in March with the rest of my 2016 reps and then again in June when I took her yearbook photo but this was my first time having a session with just Bri!

I’m not sure if you guys remember but back in September, we had a ton of rain. I mean a TON…it seemed like it rained forever!! For photographers that schedule sessions every weekend, this can be a total pain! Thankfully I have a studio that I can use as a back-up plan.

Though I’m very happy to have my studio as an option, I was a little bummed that I couldn’t photo Brianna outside. That quickly changed though when I saw all of the wonderful outfits she’d brought with her! She was crowned Miss Fluvanna 2014 and has so many beautiful prom/pageant dresses..I was in heaven!

We started out with a casual outfit but then decided to have the rest of the outfits be about glamour and drama!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville

Seniors often ask me what they should wear for their session and my number one answer is layers! This is a perfect example of why…all it took was a quick removal of her denim shirt and we had a different look for Bri!

Senior Portraits Charlottesville

We upped the glam level with her next outfit by adding in some pearls and sparkly shoes. Bri can totally rock the serious model stare but you can see that she couldn’t hide her true bubbly personality for very long! SO adorable!!

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Then it was time for full on elegance with the rest of Briana’s outfits. As she changed into her first gown, I changed up my lighting to have more of a dramatic feeling. Brianna, you are absolutely gorgeous!!

Another thing I love about studio sessions, is that we get a change to play around with my style closet. I had Bri try on a sequined mini-dress that I had. She looked incredible in it, but wanted the photos to have more of an elegant feel to them. We took some black sequined fabric I had, wrapped it around her waist and ended up with an amazing impromptu long dress! She looked so regal and powerful in it, I had to take one with her Miss Fluvanna crown!

A quick background change as she changed into another fabulous outfit. I love this color on you Brianna and the texture in the dress is fantastic! 🙂

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We ended up the session with? You guessed it…another incredible gown! This time though we changed it up a bit. Brianna is an amazing athlete so we wanted to give a quick nod to the sports she plays: softball, basketball and volleyball. Smart, beautiful and athletic? She’s a triple threat! 🙂

When Brianna applied to be one of my senior reps last year, she wrote in her application “I enjoy doing things in our community and helping others. My passion is for children that have had to endure cancer. I lost my very best friend at 13 from cancer and I wish to make a positive impact one day in fighting that dreadful disease.” That really touched me and I thought that this was a very sweet way for her to pay a tribute to the friend she lost. Brianna recently passed the Virginia state board test and became a registered CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). I know her family is super proud of her and all the amazing ways she’ll be helping people!

Thank you so much for a fabulous afternoon Brianna and Pam (Bri’s wonderful mother)! I had the BEST time with you guys and look forward to both your color inspired session and the outdoor part of your session this spring.

CLASS of 2017 – Have you applied to be an AJP spokesmodel yet? If you’re interested, find out more information here.

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA

December 14, 2015January 10, 2016

Senior Portraits Charlottesville | Miranda – FCHS – Class of 2016

Miranda | Fluvanna County High School – 2016

I’m slowly but surely getting caught up on my senior portrait blog posts! This has been my busiest fall ever and I am honored that so many people in the Charlottesville area have chosen me as their senior portrait photographer!

Tonight on my blog we have Miranda, a senior from Fluvanna County High School. I first met Miranda in June when she came to me for her yearbook photo. I mentioned her how fantastic her make-up looked (those eyes, those cheekbones!) and she told me she was studying cosmetology in school. We discussed her being my make-up artist and she was totally on board! I’ve been wanting to incorporate make-up into my sessions for those that are interested so it was perfect timing!

During her yearbook session, we talked a little bit about her upcoming lifestyle session in October. We went over clothing choices and locations, and Miranda decided she’d have part of her session in the studio, incorporating her love of cosmetology and part outside. I was so looking forward to it but Mother Nature had different plans for us!

When the day of Miranda’s session finally rolled around, we were in the middle of almost two straight weeks of rain! We went ahead with the studio portion of session but unfortunately had to postpone the outdoor part. Any disappointment I might have had dissapeared when I saw all of the incredible outfits and props she brought with her to my studio!

Miranda wants to go to Liberty University in the future so this was the perfect way to show her excitement! She also painted this Class of 2016 sign…totally adorable!!

After we took some photos of Miranda in a casual outfit, we decided to go full on glamour with the rest of her outfits! She looks so beautiful and regal in these series of photos and my gold chair was the perfect addition!

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Miranda had SO many fantastic outfits with her, I felt a little like I was playing dress up with a life-sized Barbie! I got a little more dramatic with my lighting and even pulled out my sparkly background to add a little extra razzel-dazzle to the photos.

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Another fabulous outfit change! Holy cow Miranda, I love these photos! You look like you’re six feet tall! 🙂

senior portraits charlottesville

We ended the session with a few photos to show Miranda’s love of make-up. They brought along a super cool mirror from home that they’ve had for quite sometime. When Miranda’s mom told me that Miranda usually does her make-up sitting on the floor in front of a mirror, I knew exactly what I wanted to do!

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I absolutely adore her expression in theses photos…especially the one where she’s holding the hair dryer!

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I has SO much fun with Miranda and her mom and can not wait until we have the outdoor part of her session this spring.

CLASS of 2016 – Though I do have a few winter openings available both in the studio and outdoors, it’s never too early to get on my spring calendar, contact me today! | 434.906.0418 | photos@alijohnson.com

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portraits in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna County VA