Downtown Urban Spring Senior Photoshoot | Josephine | Prairie High School

Downtown Urban Spring Senior Photoshoot with Josephine

Downtown Cedar Rapids & Iowa City | IATL | Prairie High School

Hold on to your boots for this one, guys! This GORGEOUS senior is the daughter of a local celebrity known around these parts as The Cheesecake Lady, aka Dawn who owns Out of the Blue Cheesecakes which are the BEST cheesecakes you can find in our area. (For real, give them a try sometime, or follow her page!) If she ever reads this, she’s going to blush so hard - haha!!

So before Dawn was famous, I did her son’s senior pictures wayyyyy back when I first started photography “professionally.” I honestly don’t even know if I had an official Facebook page yet. So when she reached out again this fall about her daughter’s pictures, I was so excited!!

I met with Josephine and her mom in October last fall, and since Josephine didn’t want to miss any school (fall/winter hours usually mean either taking a full or half day off for my seniors) so we opted for a Sunday photoshoot in the Spring. We knew the weather could be iffy (spoiler alert: it was) and I chatted with Josephine about what she wanted out of her session. She had a lot of eccentric and FUN ideas, which included some retro-futuristic outfits and makeup, using the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines, and some other unique ideas and locations. After chatting with her mom, we decided something more trendy but more traditional and timeless would be the best approach and we made some plans. (And the biggest bummer was that the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines was holding an event that day, so we skipped that idea, too.)

Since I had MANY months to prepare for Josephine’s session, I kept my eyes open for unique buildings in our area when I was out-and-about and came across an few that I felt fit her futuristic-esque vibe. We designed her session based on urban/city looks only and no nature (it IS early Spring, so we don’t have much for pretty natural areas right now anyway), and mixed in grunge, color and unique buildings. I can’t wait to show you what we came up with!

The Sunday of her session we had overcast rainy-sleet-cold weather. We decided to push it to the following Wednesday and cross our fingers. And it turned out to be a perfect, sunny day!!!

We started with professional makeup with Lindsey at their home. Josephine has a signature eyeliner look that she loves so she finished off her makeup with the eyeliner and she also has naturally curly hair, so she opted to do it on her own. It all turned out beautifully and felt so “her!”

We headed to our first location, an underpass in Cedar Rapids. I have always wanted to try this location, and it was one of many NEW locations we tried for Josephine’s shoot. I actually only used one location that I have ever used before during her session!

We were running a little bit behind already so we only spent like 10-15 minutes at this location, but this outfit was perfect here. I loved this combination!!

Then Josephine jumped in with me and we headed to Iowa City. I do NOT like driving in Iowa City. Especially since we were heading there at 5:00 rush-hour time. I missed my turn in downtown Iowa City, one of many times it was going to happen during this trip, and drove RIGHT past the location I was wanting us to stop at that I had picked out on Google Maps - lol! We miraculously found semi-easy parallel parking at the next road and it was actually a really easy walk to our locations. First up: this cool mural wall!

I was worried that with all the locations I had picked for Josephine’s session, that we’d be lacking COLOR in her photos. So when I saw this on Google Maps, I couldn’t wait to try it! And they turned out to be some of her mom’s favorite photos! Isn’t she stunning?!!

After I felt like we captured a good amount there, we headed down the sidewalks to explore. We stopped at some random spots we liked, snapped a few more while dodging pedestrians, and headed back to the car - still trying to make up lost time!

After an outfit change, we decided that instead of trying to squeeze in 2-3 locations for this outfit (in our already crunched schedule), we would just head to the last one: the really cool full metal building that is the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories building. There is also a mint-green colored bridge nearby so we could get some more variety. This spot was so fun to shoot and so unique!

We actually ended up parking in a lot that we were technically not supposed to be parking in. But we were in a time crunch and it was the closest to the building. We knew we wouldn’t be there for longer than 15 minutes, so we just crossed our fingers and went for it. (It was all good - phew!) But we made up a lot of lost time at this spot. And this location with this outfit!? Perfection!!! Isn’t she SUCH a model?! These should totally be in a magazine!

Also, this spot wouldn’t have worked out nearly as well if there hadn’t been a ton of clouds in the sky. So I was so thankful for that. But how cool is that fur jacket?! That color is perfect on her!

After a very short while, we headed back to the car to warm up. Sure - it was sunny, but it was still COLD!! We were exactly on time now, and would at our location JUST in time for sunset. Normally my seniors don’t ride along with me, but with our last minute schedule change, her mom couldn’t make it so it was just her and I. I was a little worried that she’d feel awkward with so much car-time with me, but we chatted and how so much fun! We really connected over our love for Indian food - hahah!!

We made it to our last location, changed outfits and headed to the top floor of the parking garage for sunset. This is the only location I had photographed previously so at least I knew what to expect, because the more the sun set the colder it was getting.

We captured some golden hour goodness and tried some fun poses now that we weren’t trying to catch up on time. But it all worked out perfectly! and I LOVE the way these photos turned out!! (And it’s also proof that winter-spring sessions don’t have to be boring or snowy!!)

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!

Outdoor Country Senior Guy Session | Zeb | Alburnett, IA Senior Photographer

Multi-location Outdoor Senior Photos with Zeb

Alburnett | Senior Photographer near Cedar Rapids

I met with Zeb’s family for a consultation and we knew right away this his senior session was going to be an EVENT! While Zeb laid back and just listened, we planned his senior session for November - in hopes for no snow. We lucked out and his senior session day was gorgeous!

Zeb has so many fun hobbies and interests that we wanted to incorporate into his senior photos. They wanted to incorporate their family land including the tree house his dad built, an old barn his dad was working on (his dad’s pretty handy, can ya tell? He owns Schneider Construction in Cedar Rapids), his truck, the gorgeous pampas grass that we see in Iowa during the fall, the Monroe Township fire station he volunteers at in Toddville, his hunting blind set up in a field, and his mom requested a cool “Friday Night Lights” scene on the Alburnett High School football field! Phew!

And we had to do all of that in less than 3 hours. That and 7 outfit changes! (Don’t believe me? Take a look through the photos below!) Luckily, for a guy, that just means changing the shirt out but for a guy who wasn’t particular excited to get his senior photos taken, I knew this would be a miracle if it all worked out. I had it timed down to the quarter of an hour. 30 minutes here, 15 minute drive there, 30 minutes there, 15 minute drive to the next location, etc. I was pretty darn nervous about keeping everything on schedule.

We started at his family’s property:

Then we headed out the old barn. The barn was currently being renovated and was SO cool! And was a great backdrop to Zeb’s truck.

This one was one of their all-time favorites! They decided to order it as a metal print - how cool is that!?

Then we pulled over started heading over to the fire station but made a quick stop at the pampas grass - which is my all-time favorite! I LOVE the look of it in photos!

Pulling off into a little ditch off the side of the busy road… worth it! At this point, we were racing the sun! I had planned for the sun to set while we were at the football field but as we headed to the fire station, I knew we needed to be quick. But once Zeb had put the truck away, I couldn’t resist taking some more shots with the lights all shining bright! Then it was off to the corn field.

The sun was golden and setting faster than I anticipated. I quickly pulled off the road into the freshly harvested corn field for his hunting/hunting blind photos. First things first, Zeb’s dad brought a giant ladder for a really cool “what the birds see” view. And then I finished this part of his session safely on the ground - haha!

Birds-eye-view.

And then it was time to wrap up his session at the football field. It was starting to get a bit chilly with the sun setting… and dark! His mom got permission to turn on the football stadium lights and his dad used his construction light to help us create awesome and interesting lighting for the end of the night. They decided to order their “Friday Night Lights” photo on metal too, which is going to look amazing in their home, or maybe Zeb’s room if he’s lucky! :)

What an adventure this session was! Probably my craziest one to date, and I’m so glad we did it! We got to include ALL of the things that are important to Zeb. but you know what? You're only a senior once, you only get to have your senior portraits taken once, so go big or go home. It was a big undertaking but it was worth it!

Your calendar likely fills up as fast as mine in the summer and it’s SO easy to forget to schedule photos! If you are graduating in 2020, or a parent of a 2020 graduate - reach out with any questions or to start planning!! It may seem early, but I’ve had so many parents tell me they wish they wouldn’t have waited! P.S. I always run a special deal for Seniors who book their session for the summer. Check out my Senior Gallery or contact me for more info!