When I got my first glimpse of this senior, in snapshots of outfits she was considering, I was immediately struck by her lovely eyes and hair. With her coloring and her easy style, I knew a great place to get “down and dirty” in a very wholesome sort of way, of course. Some generous relatives donated passes to the Cincinnati Nature Center (Thanks Don and Pat! You rock!), and we had the perfect setting for her autumn senior portraits.

She was drawn to rustic buildings, so the front porch of this cabin lent some great texture to the background.

Senior on wooden porch Senior in rocking chair

Of course, I couldn’t leave her in the comfort and safety of the porch when there was a whole sunlit field waiting for us. Besides, she wasn’t wearing heels. I did sit down first in the same place to make sure it wasn’t wet.

Senior sitting in field Senior sitting in field

I didn’t want all those beautiful curls to stay pinned back. With a little help from her mom, we convinced her to let all that glorious hair loose.

Senior standing in field Senior sitting in field Senior sitting in field

As my lovely model changed, I set up a soft box on the porch so we could get more directional light on her face, and retain more color in the autumn background. She was at the very edge of the porch, so the sun still lit her hair from behind. Such a magical effect!

Autumn senior headshot

I felt a bit guilty about making her lie on her stomach in the field in a favorite outfit, but I did lie down first to demonstrate, so we were equally dirty by the end of this pose. And I think the results were so worth it. Love those eyes!

senior lying in grass

Since we were now both filthy, and the park was about to close, naturally, we had to try for one last pose in the middle of the field before the nature center staff could find us and throw us out. Everyone I’ve met there has been wonderful, and I’m sure they would have been most courteous about it, if it had come to that. As it was, we wrapped up five minutes before closing time and were able to get the equipment packed and be rolling out of the parking lot right on time.

Senior standing in field

So by the time the park shut down, we had dismantled her hair, covered ourselves with bits of grass, and gotten burrs in our socks (well, mine, at least). So that made it a great senior session, in my book.