Senior Portraits

trying to decide
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

If you are the parent of a child that is a high school senior this fall, then you have undoubtedly received mail from local photo studios looking for your dollars. A LOT of dollars. Some unabashed lines such as "the most important photographs of your life" had my daughter Marjorie cracking up. She sees through the charade of salesmanship to know that you do not have to spend between $500 and $2000 to get your senior portraits done. She's lucky, and so am I, since I am a photographer, and so is Marjorie. I don't wish to demean other photographers -- they are in a business to make money, and that is their only job. So, whatever angle they put on taking senior portraits to make a buck and support their families is fine. But, I know I can take portraits, too.

I spent a few hours over two days shooting her in several locations. She wanted b&w only. I shot mostly with digital -- in b&w, too. She could look at the screen afterwards while I was shooting and decide if she liked what I was getting. For the most part, I was amazed when I saw the images on my computer and then printed out. She was no longer the "kid" -- I was taking portraits of a young woman at the beginning of a new phase in her life. So, maybe they are not the most important photographs of her life, but as I look at them, I know they are the photos that demarcate the girl from the woman.