Botanical Gardens NY Photo Shoot

NY Photoshoot

New York Botanical Gardens

It was March 2020, a year ago this week. School was closed mid-week for a teacher development day so we planned to shoot Taylor and Olivia that day. Our location was the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. We planned our outfits, ordered new clothes (of course) and reserved our entry tickets for the Orchid exhibit. I’d seen pictures of the orchids and also seen the crowded greenhouses but we figured we might be lucky and get a couple of open shots if we went mid-week. New York was starting to talk about COVID and recommending that older people stay home to stay safe, but we decided we would still go, we would just skip lunch in the Bronx and make a quick trip.

As the day progressed we watched as more and more CT schools closed and we waited for the word on Taylor and Olivia’s school. Maybe we were going to get an extra long spring break! What we didn’t realize was that we picked the last day before the lockdown closed schools in Connecticut for two weeks. Well, of course, now we all know how that two week shut down turned out….

The New York Botanical Garden is a living museum, an educational institution, and a plant research and conservation organization.

The annual orchid exhibition is scaled down this year but we were lucky enough to spend some time in the almost deserted conservatories on a spring day in 2020. I realized that I only shared a few of these images and they deserve to be seen. So here are some of my favorites from that wonderful day before we really knew about social distancing and face masks or hybrid school days.

I am excited to start planning location shoots again. We will continue to work within health and safety recommendations but we can start to make those plans! Class of 2021 there is still time to create your senior portrait experience and Class of 2022 it is not too early to start planning yours!

If you are interested in joining the Planet Photo Tribe – the ultimate CT high school senior model team experience then stay turned for all the details for 2K22 coming SOON!

Senior Photos Pawling NY

Susannah Pawling HS senior

I met Susannah for the first time when she was just days old so to say I was emotional about taking her senior portraits is kind of the understatement of the year. Susannah and my daughter Olivia were born within days of each other and our families spent so much time together when the girls were little. Sam became everyone’s big brother and when Susannah’s little sisters were born we all celebrated. School and after school activities began to take up more and more time so our interactions became less frequent but that bond remains strong.

Susannah is a dedicated dancer and I was thrilled when she wanted to include that passion into her senior photos. Add in the fact that she had an AMAZING red prom dress that she didn’t get a chance to wear because of, well COVID, and we had our second outfit. Susannah did a little shopping with her mom and we had plenty of outfits to play with.

Fairfield Hills in Newtown, CT is one of my favorite locations for an edgy portrait session. Susannah’s senior photo shoot was scheduled for the same week as the devastating California wildfires and because of the smoke high in the atmosphere we had the most incredibly eerie defused light. From something so destructive and dangerous we were able to create something incredibly beautiful.

If you are able to submit a headshot to your yearbook then we can accommodate that but your senior year is so much more than that yearbook headshot.

I design senior photos around the individual so each session is personal and unique. Let’s plan your senior portraits.

senior photographer senior photos senior portraits

Tribe Photo Shoot Make Up Lesson

Photo Shoot Make Up

A lesson in how to get photo shoot ready make up

Applying just the right amount of make up for your photo shoot is not easy!

I invited a few of the girls from the Planet Photo Tribe to join me and Stacey at Skin and Tonic in New Milford to learn how to apply natural make up for the group and concept shoots we have planned this year. All the girls get their make up professionally applied for their own individual shoot but we usually don’t have time to all get professional make up for our group shoots. Learning make up techniques and figuring out what color foundation works for them was such a treat. My camera shows every detail so well applied make up is a must!

I think Sam, Daniella, Susannah, Erinn and Olivia did a fabulous job!

Thanks for the lesson Stacey.