# Z - High School Graduation Shoot



## littlesandra

Most of these were shot at 2.8 with various shutter speeds.


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## Jayce

Aren't these a bit racy for what should be considered a senior shoot?  I like them, for what it's worth.


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## GFruge

Great photos as stated.  However, also like stated, I think they're just a little over the top for a 17-18 year old girl.  That's just me being a little old fashioned.  Anyways, away from my personal opinions, great shots.  Good lighting, good composure, and good mix of shots.


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## Josh220

What makes it "racy" if you don't mind me asking? The fact that you can see her leg? If she were standing in a more "basic" pose with her leg covered, no one would say anything... Guaranteed. 

Careful guys, there is a fine line between old fashioned and being a prude. (Not calling you either, just saying).

Great shots IMO. Good lighting, and I like the less "standard" poses. Something different for a change.


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## littlesandra

Thanks, and I understand where you're all coming from with 'racy' but unfortunately that's just the style that's in right now. Big poofy prom dresses are on their way out in exchange for Hollywood style close fitting gowns.


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## leftypony

I think they're great ... just not what I was expecting with a High School Graduation Shoot. I can see where Jayce is coming from, only that these aren't what you'd picture grandma and grandpa hanging on their wall for all to see. #1 is probably my favorite because it's the only one that her face really draws my attention. I also think that #2 is really interesting with the stairs and the reflection.


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## Sbuxo

I think the first one is totally amazing, and they can work as Grad shots. (Almost) Every girl wants to feel like a model sometime, and those are really fashion-y. I would try and clone out the lights on the floor in #1. 

#2: Not crazy about the composition, my eye keeps going to the blue pole behind her. I think it would be better as a b&w image.

#3: My least favorite from the batch, too much environment vs subject. 

#4: While taking this photo, I would have composed the glass *out*, it's not even a good complete reflection. Plus, she has a pole coming/going in/through her head. 

She's really gorgeous and should definitely consider modeling if she isn't in it, already.


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## burnws6

Sbuxo said:


> I think the first one is totally amazing, and they can work as Grad shots. (Almost) Every girl wants to feel like a model sometime, and those are really fashion-y. I would try and clone out the lights on the floor in #1.
> 
> #2: Not crazy about the composition, my eye keeps going to the blue pole behind her. I think it would be better as a b&w image.
> 
> #3: My least favorite from the batch, too much environment vs subject.
> 
> #4: While taking this photo, I would have composed the glass *out*, it's not even a good complete reflection. Plus, she has a pole coming/going in/through her head.
> 
> She's really gorgeous and should definitely consider modeling if she isn't in it, already.




*sigh*


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## eric-holmes

Is there supposed to be a man standing in the background in #3?


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## littlesandra

eric-holmes said:


> Is there supposed to be a man standing in the background in #3?



Is that really all you people have to bug about? How inappropriate she looks for her age and there's a miniature man in the backrgound blended in that I didn't even notice? Haha. 

Also, get rid of the glass?? No. But I totally agree about the pole. I also don't agree about b&w, the colors of this location stand out so much that black and white end up being lack luster. I've tried both, and the color is much better suited. 

These obviously weren't all the shots we did, we did some suitable for her family - she is actually into modeling with FMG Group here in my city, so the shots did take a more mature look as she could also use them in her portfolio.


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## artoledo

I think the shots are great. I wouldn't change anything. Great job and keep shooting! Maybe some people are a tad bit too critical or try to find flaws in everyones shots. (not trying to start any problems, just making a point)


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## littlesandra

artoledo said:


> I think the shots are great. I wouldn't change anything. Great job and keep shooting! Maybe some people are a tad bit too critical or try to find flaws in everyones shots. (not trying to start any problems, just making a point)



Thanks! There's a few things, such as the blue Pole and how sharp they are blown up.. but I was pretty satisfied with them.


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## Derrel

littlesandra said:


> Thanks, and I understand where you're all coming from with 'racy' but unfortunately that's just the style that's in right now. Big poofy prom dresses are on their way out in exchange for Hollywood style close fitting gowns.



Yes, but on the shot you pulled out from the collection, you had an upskirt from below...and that dress is split to above the top of the thigh in the front to begin with...


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## littlesandra

This one? 






I think she's stunningly beautiful and the dress suit her perfectly - senior portraits or not! I'd much rather have this hanging of my daughter than a fake smile on a ****ty background in a studio, haha.


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## ghache

littlesandra said:


> This one?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think she's stunningly beautiful and the dress suit her perfectly - senior portraits or not! I'd much rather have this hanging of my daughter than a fake smile on a ****ty background in a studio, haha.


 
+1


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## Jayce

Sorry, I forgot to check back on this thread.  For what it's worth, I am generally pretty progressive.  I'm not easily offended, etc.  I called the photos racy because, as someone else said, they aren't what you'd expect to see displayed in her family's home.  There's no question that she looks gorgeous in them, and that the photos themselves are strong.

In my mind, senior portraits are meant to depict "happy", as opposed to "sexy", and these are very clearly created with sexy being the goal.  There's a HUGE middle ground between ****ty studio background with a plastered smile and these.  I definitely lean towards your style over the typical yearbook photo, but I think it could come down a couple notches, and still maintain the "modern" style.


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## littlesandra

Jayce said:


> Sorry, I forgot to check back on this thread.  For what it's worth, I am generally pretty progressive.  I'm not easily offended, etc.  I called the photos racy because, as someone else said, they aren't what you'd expect to see displayed in her family's home.  There's no question that she looks gorgeous in them, and that the photos themselves are strong.
> 
> In my mind, senior portraits are meant to depict "happy", as opposed to "sexy", and these are very clearly created with sexy being the goal.  There's a HUGE middle ground between ****ty studio background with a plastered smile and these.  I definitely lean towards your style over the typical yearbook photo, but I think it could come down a couple notches, and still maintain the "modern" style.




I hear you, which is why I posted another couple showing a less I guess what you guys are calling "racy" pose.


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## Derrel

ghache said:


> littlesandra said:
> 
> 
> 
> This one?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think she's stunningly beautiful and the dress suit her perfectly - senior portraits or not! I'd much rather have this hanging of my daughter than a fake smile on a ****ty background in a studio, haha.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> +1
Click to expand...


Yes, that's the one. You removed it earlier. Apparently your sense of commitment to upskirts versus,say,****ty backgrounds varies based on poster comments. Whatever. You caved in earlier and removed the shot, yielding to pressure, but now are back, talking tough.


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## trm6346

I need to concur.
The legs exposed ruin the picture.
Its as if the shooter cant decide whether this is an erotic shoot, or a prom night shoot.
One very stable rule of portrature is that skin will always draw the viewer's attention. If you wanted to take pics of her legs, then it's a poor shot, if you wanted to take pics of her face, then they are poor, if you wanted to compose the ambience of the prom night, then you missed that too.
I think the theme should be decided first, and then zero in.

The model is flawless, I would think composing her would be effortless.


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## Jeff Colburn

For the first three:
1 - It's great.
2 - Don't like the "up skirt" angle or the guy in the background. I do like the reflection, but move so the grout line isn't cutting her head off.
3 - Not crazy about the angle of her leg or that her hand is cut off. No matter how you move, either the blue pipe or ductwork would be coming out of her head. Your only option would be to shoot down on her.

The two middle shots are great.

I'm not crazy about the bottom one because of her right foot sticking out out from her dress, the position of her left leg and the "up skirt" thing again. This would have been a good place to get a closeup of her face, maybe by having you move a little more to the left.

Keep shooting.

Have Fun,
Jeff


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## Browncoat

Derrel said:


> Yes, that's the one. You removed it earlier. Apparently your sense of commitment to upskirts versus,say,****ty backgrounds varies based on poster comments. Whatever. You caved in earlier and removed the shot, yielding to pressure, but now are back, talking tough.



Agreed.


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## Josh220

Bwahahaha.... people calling this "erotic." I sure hope you don't watch TV or go to the movies anymore. 

Something for the grandparents? Perhaps not. However, I am sure other photos from this shoot are better suited for grandparents and prudes. 

I do, however, believe you should have stood strong from the start in this thread. As Derrel pointed out, you caved to the masses expressing their dislike. You have talent, and if this is exactly what the client wanted then no one else can say it's too racy. Some people are more sensitive to things like this, but some find it totally harmless. 

This reminds me of a thread on "another" forum. He had a photo of his wife's breast (in a very artsy and tasteful manner) and his relatives (parents?) got VERY offended by it because their mindset could not differentiate between art, nudity, porn, "erotic", etc. Everything outside of a persons comfort zone (too much skin, or god forbid, nudity) becomes "porn" or "erotic." I feel this is the case with this thread.


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## littlesandra

Josh220 said:


> Bwahahaha.... people calling this "erotic." I sure hope you don't watch TV or go to the movies anymore.
> 
> Something for the grandparents? Perhaps not. However, I am sure other photos from this shoot are better suited for grandparents and prudes.
> 
> I do, however, believe you should have stood strong from the start in this thread. As Derrel pointed out, you caved to the masses expressing their dislike. You have talent, and if this is exactly what the client wanted then no one else can say it's too racy. Some people are more sensitive to things like this, but some find it totally harmless.
> 
> This reminds me of a thread on "another" forum. He had a photo of his wife's breast (in a very artsy and tasteful manner) and his relatives (parents?) got VERY offended by it because their mindset could not differentiate between art, nudity, porn, "erotic", etc. Everything outside of a persons comfort zone (too much skin, or god forbid, nudity) becomes "porn" or "erotic." I feel this is the case with this thread.



for the record I didn't cave and delete it, I wanted this photo as the main photo on my website so I had to delete and re-upload and forgot about the dead link on here, so sorry it was taken as me caving to the bad comments on the picture. I really didn't realize the link went dead. 

A lot of people here jump to conclusions so very easily ha ha ha.


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## SwitchFX

Jayce said:


> Aren't these a bit racy for what should be considered a senior shoot?  I like them, for what it's worth.


I was thinking more along the lines of a bridal shoot.


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## ghache

LOL, f*ckin people. if she likes the pictures, then you did a good job.


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## artoledo

ghache said:


> LOL, f*ckin people. if she likes the pictures, then you did a good job.


 :thumbup:


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## robertwsimpson

littlesandra said:


> eric-holmes said:
> 
> 
> 
> Is there supposed to be a man standing in the background in #3?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is that really all you people have to bug about? How inappropriate she looks for her age and there's a miniature man in the backrgound blended in that I didn't even notice? Haha.
> 
> Also, get rid of the glass?? No. But I totally agree about the pole. I also don't agree about b&w, the colors of this location stand out so much that black and white end up being lack luster. I've tried both, and the color is much better suited.
> 
> These obviously weren't all the shots we did, we did some suitable for her family - she is actually into modeling with FMG Group here in my city, so the shots did take a more mature look as she could also use them in her portfolio.
Click to expand...


These two show her age much better, and as far as representations of the time of her life (which I think is the point of senior photos), they're the best of the bunch, in my opinion.  They're a-typical, but they still look like senior portraits.


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## abc123_4

great photos 
​


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## Aye-non Oh-non Imus

Surely the prudes can have their say, but likewise there are those that appreciate an alternative approach.  Your local culture dictates what is appropriate.  You have a wonderful eye. :thumbsup:


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## littlesandra

Aye-non Oh-non Imus said:


> Surely the prudes can have their say, but likewise there are those that appreciate an alternative approach.  Your local culture dictates what is appropriate.  You have a wonderful eye. :thumbsup:



Very well said.


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## artoledo

Care to share some additional shots of this shoot? I would love to see what else you came up with. I think these are awesome. Keep up the good job!


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## GeneralBenson

So I think these photo are very good, but I also see where people are coming from with the whole 'racy' thing.  And I don't thin that many people are saying that on the grand scale of prude vs the sexual revolution, that these are racy, but just in terms of what someone would expect from a senior photos.  If you asked 100 people to imagine a senior portrait, I don't think any of them would come up with something like this.  And on the same token, if you showed these to 100 people and asked them what their purpose was, I don't think many people would guess senior portrait.  Does that make them wrong or inappropriate?  NO.  Just makes them different than expected.  If the client loves them and that's what they wanted, than you did a great job.  

I think the girl, dress, poses and lighting are all gorgeous.  Great job there.  I think majority of the foreground scenery is very nice, but a lot of the backgrounds have distracting elements to them.  To me they look like they belong in a bridal catalogue.  And that's probably more of a compliment than a critique.  Great job overall.


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## littlesandra

artoledo said:


> Care to share some additional shots of this shoot? I would love to see what else you came up with. I think these are awesome. Keep up the good job!




here's one more


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## JMLPictures

I have to say.. i think these are great! I work for a big studio and our senior portraits before were very "traditional" and our sales have gone through the floor because thats not what most people are looking for. There is another studio in the same town that are doing these types of senior pictures and they are crazy busy! Times are changing...

I think it would be interesting to see the age of the photogs who are saying things are to racey and whatnot.... 

I personally think these pictures are great! I love the location (i do agree that some spots there is some distracting stuff in there) but other than that it looks great! Very nicely done!

If i was a dad and had pictures like this of my daughter i would be hanging them but im still young. lol

Keep up the good work!!!

Josh


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## Moe

I didn't read every post, but I got the general idea. Bottom line, I bet the girl absolutely loves these and told all her friends. A young girl wants to look like this, not standing in a cap and gown holding a diploma. I suspect you'll see a spike in business by her word of mouth.


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## RPK617

This could be from lack of sleep I have to ask in the 3rd picture of the first post why is the reflection of her different, in the glass her left arm is raised in reflection and not in her pose.

Again I could be totally on crack here it just strikes me as strange.

Plus I thought there were enough comments on the other subject.

Just my 2¢


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## littlesandra

RPK617 said:


> This could be from lack of sleep I have to ask in the 3rd picture of the first post why is the reflection of her different, in the glass her left arm is raised in reflection and not in her pose.
> 
> Again I could be totally on crack here it just strikes me as strange.
> 
> Plus I thought there were enough comments on the other subject.
> 
> Just my 2¢



the reflection you're seeing is not the one directly next to her, it's one glass pane up. 

Thanks for the feedback guys, and she absolutely is in love with them. Already I've got bookings for her friends Grad portraits next year!


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## ifi

Great shots and beautiful subject!


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## gsgary

Don't worry about what people say these are great shots, if we shot seniors in the UK these would be classed as very prude compared to what the girls in the UK would want


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## KmH

+1....The USA is one of the most sexually repressed industrial societies on the planet, and has been for a long time. :lmao:


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## burnws6

JMLPictures said:


> I have to say.. i think these are great! I work for a big studio and our senior portraits before were very "traditional" and our sales have gone through the floor because thats not what most people are looking for. There is another studio in the same town that are doing these types of senior pictures and they are crazy busy! Times are changing...
> 
> I think it would be interesting to see the age of the photogs who are saying things are to racey and whatnot....
> 
> I personally think these pictures are great! I love the location (i do agree that some spots there is some distracting stuff in there) but other than that it looks great! Very nicely done!
> 
> If i was a dad and had pictures like this of my daughter i would be hanging them but im still young. lol
> 
> Keep up the good work!!!
> 
> Josh



I second this motion.


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## gsgary

KmH said:


> +1....The USA is one of the most sexually repressed industrial societies on the planet, and has been for a long time. :lmao:



You should see the young girls out on the town they might as well not wear any clothes, even in the winter


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