Senior season is easily one of my favorite times of the year. I couldn’t help but hear “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” running through my head on my way to this session. It might be a little much, but honestly, it’s not wrong.
And of course, it wouldn’t be the first senior session of the season without me remembering just how uncoordinated and out of shape I am. Walking through the sand, I probably looked like I’d had a little too much to drink. I hadn’t. Just me, being awkward and completely unable to walk a straight line in the sand.
Okay, most people can’t. And in my defense, I was trying to walk fast. We were chasing light, after all.
I did manage to start the season with a fall. Not a dramatic one, but one of those moments where you realize halfway down that there is absolutely no recovering. I tried. All I could do was save the camera and accept my fate, landing directly on my rear.
Without skipping a beat, Gigi looked at me and said, “New angle…?”
She wasn’t wrong. And I continued shooting from that very angle.
Gigi is gorgeous, knows her angles, and somehow managed to translate every slightly off-the-wall direction I gave her while I worked through a little first-session-of-the-season rust. More importantly, she is sweet, kind, easygoing, and completely herself. She has such a gentle way about her, and spending the evening with her was an easy reminder of why I love photographing seniors so much.
We started at Miguelito Park beneath the trees with the mountains behind us, then headed out to Jalama Beach. The fog stayed just offshore long enough to give us the soft, sun-drenched light we were hoping for. Two completely different settings, and Gigi made both of them feel completely natural.
That is one of my favorite things about senior sessions. Somewhere between the first few photographs and the last bit of light, the nerves disappear. They stop thinking quite so much about what they’re supposed to be doing and just settle into themselves. That’s usually when some of my favorite photographs happen.
Gigi, congratulations on your senior year. Thank you for trusting me with your photos, laughing through my lack of coordination, and starting the Class of 2027 senior season on such a good note.
