It was a beautiful morning in City Park to shoot Kristina’s senior portraits. I am glad we rescheduled the shoot for the morning since the original plan was to shoot in the afternoon, when I found myself getting drenched in a rain storm at Jazz Fest. Before the shoot, I drove by one of my favorite spots in the park to see if the flowers were in bloom yet. They made for a beautiful backdrop at the end of our shoot.

We started under the Peristyle and then moved on to the nearby stone bridge and trees.

Senior portraits are kind of a landmark moment in our lives and I was delighted when Kristina and her mother asked to have a photo together.

I liked this one because I thought it was a nice, natural moment. I have used this tree a lot for portraits and this spot always gives me nice lens flares, which give the photo a fairytale feel. It is not a suitable photo for a senior photo or a sorority application, but I gave her plenty to choose from for that and I thought it was too pretty not to capture.

The trick with trying to get more natural moments is to never stop shooting. I also asked her to do things like walk toward me or look away, which occasionally made her smile and laugh naturally.

And sometimes serious faces can be very flattering.

I wish Kristina all the best in her future endeavors.