Cherry Blossom Season – It’s the most wonderful time of our year. The magnificent start of our outdoor senior portrait season. Vibrant Spring colors on display unequaled in any other season. The unofficial end of the OMG-you’re-wearing-shorts-in-this-weather season. Two wonderful weeks embarrassing our daughters with a pair ladders strapped atop our SUV (my friends are going to think you paint houses). So for all these reasons, we’re celebrating with some of our favorite cherry blossom senior pictures of all time including some recent shoots with our Class of 2020 Senior Models.
Model: Paige Busch MUA: Breck Briley Hair: Kenzi Vonk
Today’s Forecast: Pink
I’ve never been more profoundly wrong about anything in my life than my predictions about when the cherry blossoms will blossoms. Those little pink buds go through this phase where they look like they are about to burst into a blossom at any moment but they can look like that for what seems like weeks. Our clients tell us they’re concerned about the blossoms not being ready and we’re like “no worries, the’re about to pop any minute now”. Last year we had to reschedule our entire slate of cherry blossom photo shoots because we the blossoms were a few weeks behind schedule. This year was an improvement and we only had to reschedule half of our cherry blossom seniors, and that’s largely due to discovering a parking lot with mutant cherry trees that bloom a good week before all the other trees. BTW, can you tell which pictures were taken in a parking lot?
Model: Alayna Leisure Hair/Makeup: Kati Douglas Stylist: Natalie Leisure
Visual Optimism
There is something about cherry blossom season that encourages seniors to be adventurous with their fashion and styling. It’s a fun season full of optimism. Our seniors feel safe bringing out the big sun hats, floral headbands, 40s and 50s vintage styles, editorial themes featuring books and bicycles. We do a lot of 30 and 60 minute shoots focused solely on cherry blossoms so our seniors have the opportunity to invest in a special up-do or retro hair style that they would never wear for the rest of their senior pictures.
Model: Rhea Reddy
Cherry Blossoms: Perfect Timing for Senior Models
Cherry Blossom season is too late for most seniors who will be having their graduation parties in a few weeks and too early for most suniors who havent even decided on a photographer, but for our senior models, it’s perfect timing. Cherry Blossoms happen right in middle of our Senior Model season when we work with High School Juniors. Having the option of a Cherry Blossom shoot be part of your senior pictures, something none of your friends will have, is definitely one of the fringe benefits of being a senior model.
Model: Taylor Timmerman Hair/Makeup: Kati Douglas
Model: Rachel Brokenshire Makeup: Ivy Boyd
What’s with the ladder?
The tricky thing about blossoms is they usually between 6 and 30 feet off the ground. The ladder allows us to bring our seniors to where the action is. To surround our seniors with loads of awesome spring colors and get amazing shots you can’t get any other way. We actually use two ladders – a pretty one for the senior and a sturdy one for the photographer so we can shoot from the model’s level. As much as we love to put our models on pedestals, sometimes literally, we can do without the up-skirts and double chins that can come with shooting from the ground.
Model: Kennedy Voss Makeup: Ivy Boyd
Model: Taryn Johnson Makeup: Kati Douglas
Model: Emily Brekke Makeup: Danielle Stewart
Model: Nikki Ault Makeup: Danielle Stewart