Abbey & Casey | Fluvanna County High School – 2015

Things have been so busy around here, I’ve fallen way behind on my blog posts! I have so many senior portrait sessions coming up with the Class of 2016 but before I get started, I wanted to share one of my favorite sessions with the Class of 2015!

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but out of all the seniors I’ve photographed from the Class of 2015, my son Casey wasn’t one of them! There’s a whole list of reasons why it didn’t happen, scheduling problems, illness, or, like the photo below, weather related issues. Finally we found a day right before graduation that worked for everyone. We loaded up the car, drove into Charlottesville and literally, a second after I got my gear set up, it started pouring down rain! I took this quick shot of Abbey & Casey and then quickly crammed everything back into my van.

I was hoping it would be over soon so we went to a nearby parking garage to wait it out. I took a few photos of him skating but it soon became obvious that the storm wasn’t going anywhere. We gave up an headed back home. Casey’s been skating since the 7th grade so I’m super glad I got these two photos though!

I meant to have his session later in the summer but time got away from me and the next thing I knew, it was August and it was time to take Casey to Virginia Tech! I knew I wanted to take photos of Casey and Abbey (his absolutely amazing girl friend and former client. Check out her awesome senior session here ) before they both left for college so we decided kill two birds with one stone and have a quick session in my studio.

I am SO glad that we did it!!! Not only did it give me an excuse to test out my two new backdrops, (which I LOVE!) but more importantly, I was also able to capture some of the wonderful relationship that these guys have. They have so much fun together, no matter what they are doing! I literally spend so much time laughing when I’m with them and I swear I can feel my heart growing larger like the Grinch’s did on Christmas morning! 🙂

Abbey fell in love with the tulle circle skirt I made for my pink color session so I decided to make a cream-colored version for her as a going away present. She looks so unbelievably adorable in it!!! Oh and Casey didn’t look too bad either! )

I know I’ve gone a little overboard with the amount of photos in this post but this is how I’m dealing with my empty nest! The house is really quite these days and looking at the photos of these guys makes my heart happy!

Good luck at Emory & Henry, Abbey! I know you will have an amazing time and will considerably brighten up that campus with your wonderful personality! Oh and Casey? Call your parents once in a while, okay? 🙂 We couldn’t be more proud of the man who you’ve become. You are so caring and compassionate. Plus you crack me up on a regular basis, hands down one of the best qualities a person can have!

CLASS of 2016 – My fall calendar is almost full and 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 portrait photography in Charlottesville, Crozet, Keswick, Albemarle and Fluvanna County VA

I can’t believe how quickly this spring has flown by! It seems like I had my first senior portrait session a few weeks ago! In reality, NaTaryia, a senior from Fluvanna County High School, is one of my last session with the Class of 2015!  What a way to end the season though, she is absolutely positively, drop dead gorgeous!!  I know I always say this but I literally could have photographed her all day long.

NaTaryia  suggested we have the session at the Darden School of business in Charlottesville, Va. I’d never had a session there before but it was such an amazing location! My husband joked that it was like a baby UVA and he was right. 🙂 Tons of columns, brickwork and beautiful landscaping all in one small area! The added benefit of it all being so close together, NaTaryia was able to change her outfit frequently, and thank goodness! She brought the BEST outfits with her! Seriously, every single one she brought was on point!

NaTaryia was voted FCHS’s Prom Queen so I suggested she bring her prom dress. I’m SO glad she did!! I have this thing where I love fancy dresses in unusual places and I had this vision of her wearing the dress, on top of a parking garage. It turned out better than I could have imagined!

I love the fact that NaTaryia brought along a t-shirt and baseball hat to represent the fact that she’ll be attending Old Dominion University in the fall. Couple that with her FCHS cap and gown and you’ve got a perfect graduation announcement!

I know I’m probably overloading this post but there were so many fabulous shots! I had the hardest time narrowing them down for her final gallery. It’s a little unfair really… beauty, brains (she wants to study psychology at ODU) and a great personality. She is so sweet and was such a delight to work with!

Thanks for a fantastic afternoon NaTaryia! Oh and a big thanks to her mother & sister for carrying around my changing room all afternoon!!  Good luck at Old Dominion NaTaryia and enjoy the rest of your senior year!

I’ve already begin scheduling fall portraits and October is almost full! To book yours, contact me today! | 434.906.0418 | photos@alijohnson.com

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portrait photography in Charlottesville, Crozet, Keswick, Albemarle and Fluvanna County VA

The days are getting longer, the weather is warming up and spring senior photography is coming to a close! I still have to take my son Casey’s senior portraits – what’s that saying about the cobbler’s children not having any shoes? 🙂 – but other than Casey, Hayley from Fluvanna County High School, is my last official senior for the Class of 2015!

We decided to stay in Fluvanna for Hayley’s session so we began outside of a local restaurant in the area. I love all the great texture and rustic feel that the wood gave these photos. I’ve driven past this place many times but this is the first time I’ve ever used it for a senior photography session. It just goes to show, you don’t always have to travel far for a great location!

I think one of the most important things about senior photography is that you should embrace your style and wear what makes you, you! In Hayley’s case, it was a more casual style which I can totally relate to! I loved her animal print shirts, red Keds and Converse high tops! I may photograph a lot of seniors who wear heels and fancy dresses but I practically live in jeans or shorts and t-shirts!

After spending a little time at our first location, we moved to the downtown Palmyra area. All of the colorful flowers were gone from the trees but we found a bush that had tons of beautiful pink blooms on it. Combine that with the setting sun, Hayley’s gorgeous hair and fantastic necklace and I captured some of my favorite photos from the session!

Hayley runs cross country for FCHS so we included a few shots in her uniform by one of the trails they use. I’ve been at Pleasant Grove many times and have seen first hand the line of cross county kids filing past me down the trails! I don’t know how they do it, after five minutes of running I’d probably pass out!

Since Queen is Hayley’s favorite band, I was happy to take some shots of her wearing her Queen t-shirt. I kid you not, when I started editing these photos, I actually got up and put the Queen station on Pandora. I’ve listened to it two times since then…I forgot how great they are!!

We ended the session in the front fields at Pleasant Grove so we could get a few sunset shots. It always amazes me how a few simple changes can completely change the look of these photos. I took the photo on the left and then had Hayley turn around and I took the one on the right. The difference is like night and day!

Thanks so much for a great afternoon Hayley! I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you and your mother.  Good luck at Case Western Reserve University and enjoy the rest of your senior year!

I’ve already begin scheduling fall portraits and October is almost full! To book yours, contact me today! | 434.906.0418 | photos@alijohnson.com

Ali Johnson is a portrait photographer specializing in senior portrait photography in Charlottesville, Crozet, Keswick, Albemarle and Fluvanna County VA