Sweet Fall Senior Photoshoot with Abby
Downtown Cedar Rapids | Pinicon Ridge Park | Kennedy High School
My LAST senior photoshoot for 2023! And it was a perfect day. Abby’s mom reached out about senior pictures for Abby and her twin brother a little “later” in the season. I put “later” in quotation marks because by normal standards she was totally on time, but for photographers, we book out our fall season months in advance. So we squeezed them into the schedule for the first available dates in November. I always say the first week in November is the same thing as the last week in October. Everyone get’s nervous that once October is over, then Fall and the nice weather is officially done. And with Iowa weather, you never know. It could be snowing or it could be a 75 degree day. We chatted about what she and her mom wanted from their senior sessions (Alex, her twin, wasn’t there for this meeting and we just kind of decided what we would do for him) including the photos she wanted of the two of them together and what photos she wanted up on their wall at home to replace the photos from when they were kids. We decided to schedule Alex for a Thursday and Abby the following day, and then ask Alex to come for a few minutes during Abby’s session for their photos together… because ya know, she’d have her hair and makeup done!
The week of their session arrives and Friday is looking like rain. Up until now, we’ve had a mild fall and the leaves are still fairly intact. Which is what we were hoping for. I reached out to Abby and her mom about moving UP her photoshoot. I knew it would be harder to do because it was so last minute, and usually I’d reschedule for a later date. I knew the odds were that it would rain and all the leaves would be totally gone.. and who knows when the temps would start dropping. We were able to reschedule with hair and makeup (phew!) and we rescheduled her photoshoot to the day before her brothers. And it was SO worth it! A perfect day!
Abby’s photoshoot day started at her home. I met the Lindsey (makeup) and Ingrid (hair) at Abby’s home to get her ready for her big day! She had the whole crew along for the ride - mom, dad and grandma! First stop: Stamats and Harmac buildings for the brick walls that I knew would complement Abby’s gorgeous hair.
I loved exploring this area, because I had never used it before. I didn’t plan to using this white wall area but when we came across it, we had to use it. And she just looked so gorgeous here! And she LOVED what she saw in the back of my camera. Win-win!
And we finally made our way to the Harmac building and I spotted this BEAUTIFULLY colored door. And I knew Abby’s eyes and hair would POP against it. Literally some of my faves from her session!!!
Isn’t she just the cutest thing!? It was time to head off to the White Star Ale House (and U.S. Bank across the corner). After a change of outfits, we hit up the bank area first for the more formal look. Which I think worked perfectly with this outfit!
And then we crossed the street for the beautifully colorful vine wall at White Star. I knew this was the most fall color we were going to get for this time of year. It was gorgeous!
And then her brother showed up for their quick little photoshoot together! It was a busy area and I know both Abby and Alex don’t love getting their photos taken.. especially together and especially in front of an audience. We tried to do it so quickly - rip it off like a bandaid, like the saying goes! But we got a handful of adorable images of them and enough for mom to hang up in their house to replace the older ones.
Mom had specifically asked to see if I thought we could recreate the photo hanging in their hallway of Abby kissing Alex’s cheek as a kid. She knew there was no way but we thought we’d jokingly ask anyway. The next photo was their response! Haha!! (Spoiler alert: we didn’t get the cheek-kissing photo that mom wanted.)
We wrapped up their photos and headed out to Central City to hit up Pinicon Ridge Park. The last time I was there, the leaves were in their prime but that was weeks before. But I had scoped it out the day before and their were at least still leaves ON the trees, so that’s the best we could ask for this late in the season! I was happy with it. And Abby’s hair and outfit matched the leaves perfectly! GOODNESS, she’s so dang pretty!
We were racing the sunlight at this point! The clouds had (unexpectedly) started moving in on our way way to the park. Which meant we had to wrap things up quickly. Easier said than done when I had 5 spots in the park and 3 outfits to cover in a new time crunch. EEK! We did what we could with the colorful leaves and Abby changed outfits, and we headed the the other end of one of my favorite bridges in the fall!
We didn’t spend much time here because the light was fading so quickly but I love how she looks so vintage-y cute in this outfit. The the last outfit change and 2 more spots to go! First up, this little path that is my favorite in the fall!
And the last stop was right at the entrance of the park! And that long grass worked BEAUTIFULLY with Abby’s hair and complexion. I LOVE how these ones turned out. And although we didn’t get the golden hour and sunset we were hoping for, these soft images are a whole different vibe and just as gorgeous! (And we couldn’t complain, because her original photoshoot date was allllll rain and no sun! So we definitely made the right choice!)
Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine does and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2024 (or a parent of an upcoming graduate) - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!