Retro-Vintage Colorful Fall Senior Pictures with stella
Newbo | Analog Vault | Pinicon Ridge Park
This blog has been a LOOOONG time coming! Usually I write these within a month of the photoshoot, but we did Stella’s session on October 24th, and I just haven’t had two hands to type out a blog until now. Mom Life, I think! Anyway!! I’m SUPER excited to finally be sharing her session with you because it was AMAZING! Stella’s amazing, the locations were amazing, the colors were amazing, her family is amazing. You seeing the trend here?! So let’s dive in!
Stella’s mom reached out in July after a referral from her friend, the owner of Pink Umbrella Bakery! (They have DELISH cookies/treats and I did a branding photoshoot for them wayyy back when.) Originally Stella had requested a summer session, early fall at latest but I was on maternity leave until mid-October. To my surprise, they still booked! We met for our consultation, talked about ideas, outfits, etc and I found out Stella’s love for concerts and all things music, including her plans to go to Chicago after graduation to pursue a career in music. Like, what?! That was a first for me and I was INSPIRED! We talked about doing part of her session in a record shop and Stella was pumped for the idea. So the next day, I started looking. None were going to be open on her photoshoot day. (And while it may seem simple to reschedule, it’s really not. We usually have hair stylists, makeup artists, spray tans, nail salons, etc all set up with appointments already.)
I started brainstorming other ideas, and nothing felt as perfect as a record shop. So I tried Analog Vault again. It was the perfect location AND is super cute inside with nice big windows. I offered to rent it out, if they would let us. The owner graciously took time out of her day to let us rent it for 30 minutes. We were/are SO grateful!! And I could also cross “do senior photoshoot in record shop” off my list! Eek!
Fast-forward to Stella’s photoshoot day. The weather was supposed to be decent, a chance of rain for 30-ish minutes, and overcast. We decided to go for it! We started with hair and makeup at Moxie Salon. Justine from Aurora Blush styled her hair and Kasya did her makeup. It turned out perfect! Ok - it’s picture time!
First up was the Newbo District. We planned to just hop around the area until our rental time started at the record shop. Of course, we had to hit up my favorite spots!
It started to drizzle, so we swung into the bookstore nearby super quick after an outfit change. And then back out to the alleyway nearby. We had to do another outfit change before heading to the record store so we had to work FAST!! (Don’t worry, I KNEW we had to use this outfit again. It’s too cute not to!) But when I say we were moving fast, I mean it - we started pictures here at 2:03 and took the last one at 2:09!!
We hopped into Analog Vault as the rain continued. Talk about perfect timing. We met the owner, Stella changed into her CUUUUTE vintage-inspired outfit, and we had SO much fun in this cute shop!! Once our time was up, we headed back to our cars to change locations and snapped some cute photos along the way! Then it was time to change BACK into the green dress outfit - sorry girl! (Are you obsessed with these pictures at the Analog, because I AM!!)
Another side note: I decided our next location WHILE driving from the salon to Newbo. I had a spot in mind originally, but as we drove past it, I saw another location that looked even BETTER, so we decided to chance it and give it a go. I’ll let you decide if it was worth it or not…
Umm, yes. It was. These are some of their FAVORITE images of the day. We spent entirely too much time on this vine wall. hah! Oops!! Next up: Pinicon Ridge Park.
When we arrived, the gorgeous red tree that I had planned on bringing her to that was PERFECT 3 days prior… leafless. Bare sticks on the tree. Not a leaf left on it. Cue the panic. Luckily there was this amazingly orange-leafed tree right nest to us. So we used it, the long grass area next to it and headed into the park. Spoiler alert: all red leaves had fallen from the trees. (Hey! At least the rest of the colors were still there and vibrant!)
Stella even had her grandparents bring her pup, Chanel, for pictures!!! I LOVE PUPPER PICTURES!! How perfect are they?! And that fall color is gorgeous!
Of course we used the beautiful red bridge, which I LOVE for fall pictures, to wrap up Stella’s session. And what a perfect day it was!! It was so fun getting to hang with her whole family - mom, dad, brother, grandma, grandpa AND pup all joined us!!
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 2025 (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!