This past fall I had the honor and opportunity to do a senior portrait session with Taylor. Taylor is a beautiful young lady who has a effervescent smile, a great personality, and she allows it all to shine through. I had an absolute blast working with her during our first shoot together and I am excited about working with her again in the near future.
Taylor's shoot began at the historic downtown Fayetteville, TN square. This location has numerous areas in and around the old buildings that make for great backdrops. Once on location we went looking for scenes that would provide just right mix textures and colors. This led us to the back of one the buildings where we found an awesome old metal stair case. Jokingly we agreed this thing might come off the wall at any moment, but the scene was just too good and we had to use it. I think the "risk" turn out to be well worth the reward.
For the next location we only had to walk just a few yards to find a great brick wall to use as a background. I love the intensity that Taylor brought to this image and when the shot was made it just seem to beg for a black and white treatment.
Once we completed shooting at the square it was time to move to Stone Bridge Memorial Park. This little park is just southeast of the downtown area and is a awesome place to shoot portraits. There are numerous areas that offer great scenes for a portrait shoot. By the time we got to the park it was getting close to sunset. This gave us some beautiful light to work with most of the time, but as it got darker the need for flash became ever increasing. We started out shooting on and around the stone bridge that is in the center piece of the park. I think this bridge provides a great backdrop, but the real star of the show is Taylor. It is obvious that she is comfortable in front of the camera and her confidence just explodes through.
After we finished with the bridge, we went looking for the next great spot. We came upon this old jail door framed in stone. Since the background was providing a strong if not even foreboding element, I asked Taylor to give me a pose that would match the scene. Taylor pulled it off like a pro. Not only did she give the confident, strong look that was required, she also was able to put in just a hint of a smile.
For our final shots of the day we went to the old log cabin at the park. With the light fading quickly and the evening chill setting in we worked quickly but was still able to crush some great images. The image below is one of my favorites from this scene. There is just something about the contrasts that are contained in this image. From the rough textures of the cabin opposed with the soft friendliness that Taylor is exuding, to the time warp of the age of the weathered logs to the innocence of youth, and don't forget the Chucky T's. You always have to have a special place for Chuck Taylor's.
A special thank you is in order to Taylor, and her mom Sabrina for allowing me to shoot such an important part of life and memories. It was a great honor and privilege, thank you.
And as always, Stacy I couldn't have done without you!