Urban Senior Portraits in Scottsdale & Phoenix
The urban senior Portrait Session has a lot of allure: the lights, the architecture, the people, the sounds, and the vibe. It’s outstanding. Scottsdale and Phoenix have countless opportunities for creating the exact look, vibe, and emotion you want.
Before we create these amazing looks, we need to note that there are rules and regulations governing shoots in most cities. Permits may be required. We may sometimes be asked to leave or even escorted out of specific areas. We need to be respectful. Most often, we pose, snap the picture, and move on.
Scottsdale Urban Senior Portraits – the Location
The first step to nailing the shoot is determining the look you want. Yep, I know you are thinking, “Urban” is the look I want. But there is so much more to it than just picking a city, grabbing the gear, some wardrobe, and shooting some pics. Way more.
Even if we decide to pursue an urban vibe, it is important to ensure everyone agrees on the definition of urban. Scottsdale has a certain vibe (think of Old Town), and Phoenix has its own vibe. Both will make excellent settings for urban senior portraits, but the looks and results will be completely different.
Downtown is full of location options. I am an expert at seeing well beyond the obvious. The simple parking garage is a great example – see the first image in this post. We used a couple of strobes and some gels to create the color saturation in the image. Such an awesome shoot – but I am getting off track. I am also well-versed in the spots we can shoot in, the spots we cannot (like illegal cannot), and the spots we need to plan, run in, shoot, and get out – not quite illegal, but we probably should not loiter around.
Suburb-urban (yes, I did just make up that word) is very cool and can often add a bit of a personal flare to your urban senior pictures — sort of like the next image you see here.
The above shot certainly has an urban vibe to it. Shot on location, obviously, we hit a small diner that was a family favorite for years and years. The look was perfect for the shoot. I loved the idea when I heard about it – we nailed the look she wanted.
Urban is a matter of perspective. Sure, we often think of large cities, skyscrapers, lots of people, etc. Sure, these are pretty accurate descriptors, and if being super-technical, urban does pretty much mean hitting Scottsdale or Phoenix. However, perspective and perception are everything. If you think downtown Scottsdale is urban enough – then you are right.
Are you looking for an urban senior portrait session? Let’s go! I have my camera bag packed and am ready!
Be sure to let me know your thoughts, and keep in touch!
Read more about our Senior Pictures process.
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