harrisburg-nc-senior-portraits | lucia

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I wasn’t a theatre kid in highschool but a dancer and performer. I definitely got the bug after highschool though and performed in regional theatre and then moved out to LA for five years where I helped start a theatre troupe, performed, produced and did everything under the sun while I studied acting. It was and still is a part of who I am. So when I get a theatre kid for a session I KNOW we are going to have a blast. Nobody catches on to my posing direction faster ha!

Lucia was a dream to work with. Fun, funny, easy to smile and this girl knew how she wanted to be photographed. Getting into the studio for portraits is not the typical request but I wish more kids were open to it. We got some amazing shots to celebrate everything about Lucia and her awesome personality for her senior year! Congratulations beautiful girl - now go get that big dream wherever you go!

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harrisburg-nc-senior-portraits | payton

What can I say about Payton? She was quite possibly one of the most natural people I have ever had in front of my camera. I tell everybody I work with that they don’t have to worry about posing; that’s my job! I don’t want anyone to think that I’m just going to throw you out into space and expect you to work like a supermodel. I come to each session with a whole flow of posing techniques and directions to get the very best out of each person. Usually after about 10 or 15 minutes everyone starts to relax and realize that they’re in good hands and we work through all of my posing together. Payton didn’t even take three minutes to warm up - this first image was the very first image I took! She has the most engaging and natural smile and seriously I was just in awe of how beautifully she moved and reacted to every direction.

And one of my favorite things she decided to include - she brought all of her favorite books along for our field shoot! I adored every single second of her sessions and all of the time I got to spend getting to know her and her equally adorable mom:)

Harrisburg-nc-senior-portraits | hickory ridge high school | Kaley

When Kaley first came in with her mom and we discussed what she wanted for her senior portraits I knew this was going to turn out to be one hell of a series of images! I am so glad that they decided on the option to include multiple sessions for senior portraits and even added on a cheer session to capture all the important things in Kaley's life as a senior at Hickory Ridge High School! This girl COULD NOT take a bad picture! We had so much fun each time we got together for a session and there were more than a few outtakes that were blurry because I was laughing so hard:) At the end of the day we got an amazing set of portraits that highlight everything amazing about Kaley and I know that she will look back on these years from now and remember how awesome her senior year experience was! One way to make sure you get all of the images from your senior sessions is to do an album - check out the images from Kaley's album design below!

harrisburg-nc-senior-portraits |hickory ridge|mckenna

It's no joke to say that I had probably 4x as many images as I could possibly share from McKenna's session! No need to add a lot of fluffy words either; these portraits speak for themselves! I had so much fun capturing this time for this truly wonderful girl and I know that her whole family will treasure the amazing artwork we created! I can't wait to work with her again in the spring for something truly spectacular; I'll keep it a surprise but I'm so excited!!!

harrisburg nc senior photographer | kieran by staci noel photography

I believe that everyone can take a good picture - even people who don't consider themselves photogenic. However, it's not a natural thing for the majority of folks which is why without guidance in posing or directional lighting people hate a lot of the images that their friends or family take and really despise how they look in snapshots on phones, etc. - it isn't the camera y'all! I have spent years learning how to pose people so that they can take a flattering image and I take great pride in guiding subjects through the process during a portrait session so that they love the images we create together. We work on finding poses that look best, feel natural and make them feel confident; everything from what to do with your hands, what kind of expression works, how to relax their body and their face to get the most natural moments.

All of that being said, there is occasionally a person that I've photographed who required very little to no direction or maybe just a one time suggestion and after that they just practically flew through the session on their own. I wish I could take credit for it but this guy knew how he wanted to be photographed and he rocked this session with some very basic direction and then just naturally rolled with it! It made it such a blast each time we worked in a new location in Harrisburg or Charlotte because I knew we were getting killer senior portraits that he loved and mom would cherish!

He's off to college this month and I know that he will see amazing success because he's talented and just as focused on his goals! It was absolutely my pleasure to capture this part of his senior year at Hickory Ridge High School and I can't wait to hear about all of the wonderful things he does moving ahead!