I graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in 2017, and it brings me great joy to be able to continue taking senior portraits for others upon their graduation. Old main holds a special place in all of our Lumberjack hearts. Many fell in love with NAU at these steps of old main—others have met their person here, got engaged, and heck—I got to capture someone’s wedding ceremony right in this spot. Old main holds such a magical feeling. Time + time again, it is the spot to commemorate all of those years of hard work and take graduation photos. This particular session, I got to capture my dear friend Carlee; graduating with her Masters degree. A proud, proud friend I am!

So as I go on and on about Old Main, your senior portrait locations do not have to stop there. They can be anywhere that is special to you or just a dang good backdrop. Like the Mt. Humphrey and the San Fransisco Peaks in Flagstaff. But let’s keep looking at Carlee’s awesome photos for now.

Senior portraits were actually a big part of me getting into photography. I picked up my first professional DSLR camera in high school, started capturing all of our school activities, and eventually friends started asking me to take their high school senior portraits. I love capturing people and being able to capture who they are in settings that make them show off their personality. It’s a big reason why I got into photojournalism studies in college and why I ended up doing portrait photography today!

Here’s a photo of me back in 2017 right after graduation. I asked my family to come with me to look at Old Main and of course, take a photo. I handed my dad my Canon camera at the time and asked him to snap a few. Forever a NAU Alum.

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Are you dreaming of creative engagement photos in Old Town Scottsdale?

Are you dreaming of creative engagement photos in Old Town Scottsdale?

The word creative gets tossed around so much that it can often seem like a lazy way to describe something, but a session like this reminds you what it means to be truly creative.

CREATIVE /krēˈādiv/ (adj): relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

When Adrian and Jesse first approached Earth Below Photo for an engagement session they wanted to emphasize the idea of creating with me. They didn’t want photos just because it was the normal thing to do, in fact it was quite the opposite. They specifically let me know they wanted to create real art through the images. The day we met in Old Town Scottsdale they were just as much the artists as I was. Every direction and idea I threw at them would come back at my camera lens with their own personal twist. When a couple has as much interest in the art of photography as you do it tends to add a little accelerant to the creative fire in your  heart. 

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Adrian immediately let me know that she wanted the end result to be something out of a Wes Anderson film. She requested lots of color with a developed on film feel. Jesse on the other hand took on working the art of posing, a skill he had learned as a child model. To make their creative engagement session dreams come true I made sure to capture the two of them in colorful settings and unusual poses. You can most clearly see the fruit of our collective labor in their stoic poses outside the Saguaro Hotel and the far off shots of them dancing on an Old Town Scottsdale sidewalk.

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We had planned to create these photos together long before the onset of COVID-19 and due to the restrictions in place here in Arizona, Old Town Scottsdale was assuming the look of a ghost town. The indoor setting of Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Parlor that we had originally planned to involve in our shoot was closed down to the public. I had to make sure to keep myself at a distance from Jesse and Adrian and not get too deeply swept up in the dance of making creative engagement photos that I forgot the reality of our situation. 

That being said, this opportunity to create collaborative art with an intrinsically creative couple like Adrian and Jesse was a welcome reprieve from the monotony of #quarantinelife. I think all three of us left the session with our minds a little clearer to the possibility of brighter days ahead, and after all is that not what creating is all about? Is it not, at its core, a coping mechanism, a way of capturing the human experience, that traces its roots all the way back to even the first humans long, long ago?

I look forward to capturing your own unique human experience, wherever you are… whenever you are ready. 

This is one EXTRAORDINARY senior! She is a 3-sport athlete; meaning she is in sports all year from volleyball, to gymnastics, to lacrosse. We had a blast chasing the sun around the midwest fields + forests at sunset. I especially had a blast since I used to play lacrosse at her high school…major nostalgia talking to her about all things lacrosse.

I loved this wild and care-free portrait session with the best hair expert I know: Michalia Agins, The Traveling Hairstylist ! My idea for this shoot was revolved around one cherry blossom tree and yet it felt SO diverse. She rocked a velvet free people dress, which was perfect for the [still-a-bit-chilly] weather in the Midwest.