Giselle's Senior Session

It makes me so excited having these tiny, little wins in photography, because it makes my job easier in the moment, and also with editing afterwards!

Giselle is graduating from the University of South Carolina! Being a Gamecock is the way to go. I personally did not graduate from USC, but we've been a Gamecock household all of my life. She is graduating from the School of Business, so one of her photo must-haves was to shoot at the business school! Before we made our way there, we first shot at the Horseshoe which has become so familiar to me.

I have done a few sessions now at the Horseshoe, and it's honestly not the easiest to pull off depending on where in the horseshoe and the time of day you're taking pictures. It's a BEAUTIFUL location, but as a natural light photographer, I'm depending on the sun as my main light source. What makes the Horseshoe so beautiful, is exactly what makes it hard for a natural light photographer: the gorgeous canopy of trees that fills the sky.

The problem with having so many trees over top of my clients is that it puts shadows on their faces, and makes the overall image look darker. My style of edit is light and warm, so it's something that has been a bit difficult to navigate. BUT! I found a spot on the edge of the Horseshoe that allows me to photograph my clients with the beautiful trees and walkways behind them while also having access to the sky to illuminate my client's faces, and gives them gorgeous pictures! It makes me so excited having these tiny, little wins in photography, because it makes my job easier in the moment, and also with editing afterwards!

Giselle looked SO beautiful in her dress with purple flowers, and her floral heels! She's such a trooper walking in heels the entire time we shot her senior session, because I know with how much we walked, her feet must have been hurting! We went from the Horseshoe to the fountain in front of the library, and that is one of my favorite places to shoot on campus. What we didn't expect, although we should have, was how many people would also be shooting their senior sessions at the same time! There must have been (no kidding) three to four separate sessions going on at once while we were at the fountain. One was a group of at least 5 senior girls. We finished and left just in time before they opened all five bottles of champagne to spray everywhere! Haha, that would have been a disaster since we were in close proximity to them.

On the way to the business school (it was a bit of a walk, but so worth it), I had to stop along the way whenever I saw the light was right. And I stopped her a lot! A random sidewalk against a brick building, two separate crosswalks. It was a great time, haha! Once we got to the school, it was absolutely perfect. The sun was setting, and the building has white concrete, which makes more light and bright photos. I love! Literally my dream location. I might have to keep the business school in mind for the future!

I asked Giselle during our journey to the school how she knew she wanted to major in business and finance, and she told me it was because she had a pretty successful business in high school when she was 16 years old! Y'all. That's so impressive! She majored in business because of her wanting to know more from her past experience, and I think that is so great. I can tell how smart and intelligent she is just by our short time together, and her drive is so inspiring. She does want to start a business again in the future, and for that alone, I admire her. I know she will go so, so far in life!

I hope everyone enjoys and also celebrates this girl for such a great accomplishment! She's almost done!! It's such a great feeling to be a graduate. Cheers to you, Giselle!