A place to document my life and thoughts - well, mostly my daughter's life :) She is my world. I love her <3 I couldn't ask for a more wonderful family.
Last week I experienced a first and shot portrait photography. My cousin Michael is a senior in high school this year, so I took his senior pics. It was pretty fun and I think I did a decent job considering it was my first time. I was most nervous about poses and brought my mom along to help. It also helped that Michael is photogenic and a natural poser anyway 
We went to two different locations: Carmel Mission and the Monterey City Hall.
I took 416 shots total and a good 100 of them were of Mikey flipping his head back to “fix his hair”. Sometimes his hair would look the best I’ve seen it in my life and then, bam, a hair flip. So funny.
I want to share with you my favorites. Feel free to provide feedback, both negative and positive are welcome.
This first one was taken at Monterey City Hall. I saw this archway and thought it was a great location. My only disappointment with it is that I wish I would’ve noticed his cell phone and asked him to take it out of his pocket.
This next one isn’t your typical portrait since it’s taken in landscape, but I still like it. This was also taken at the Monterey City Hall.
This one was taken at the Carmel Mission. He’s standing on some stairs so he had to look down at me. I wish I had something to elevate myself so that I could’ve been a bit more level with him.
The next one went under some obvious photoshopping. I loved this hallway, but when it was all said and done, the original photo just wasn’t that great. The contrast between him and the dark hallway wasn’t dramatic enough. It just looked like bad lighting. So I went ahead and adjusted the midtown contrasts and increased the color saturation. That version looks pretty cool in my opinion as well, but there’s something about turning off the color that makes this shot best. Taken at Carmel Mission.
This was a last minute spot we chose in front of City Hall. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the typical leaning against a tree pose, but went with it. Well, I like it.
Of all 416 photos, this last one is my absolute favorite. I love the pose, the look on his face, his hair, everything about it.
If you’re interested, you can see more shots here. What do you think?
I'm Leanna Lofte. I'm a mom, wife, math teacher, photographer and writer. I breastfed and use cloth diapers on my baby. I use a Mac, iPhone and iPad. I'm a geek. 