This session was such a treat!
My experience with portrait photography has definitely proven it to be a seasonal business. I was feeling the dry spell some weeks ago, so I decided to plan a portrait session as a portfolio builder and just for fun, really. New work and fresh photos to edit are so invigorating.
I'd never done a portrait session entirely for my own enjoyment before. For school or a client or family, but never just for the sheer fun of creating new work. Yolanda was the perfect subject! We've known each other for about 3 years now and met at the Austin young adults BSF class when we were placed in the same discussion group. Yolanda has a bubbly personality and was such a joy to photograph. I absolutely loved taking her portraits!
Since I often photograph in more natural locations (I'm lookin' at you, Bull Creek), I decided to get out of my comfort zone and use a more urban location. So we headed downtown, to the UT campus specifically. And it was most definitely out of my comfort zone: driving, and especially parking, in downtown Austin makes me very nervous. But thankfully, it was painless; summer means easy garage parking and a pretty nearly empty campus. Sure it's hot and there are those pesky mosquitoes, but tradeoffs, you know?
We stayed within a block of the architecture building on campus and it was absolutely gorgeous. I'm usually a type A planner, but since this shoot was just for me, I felt a little more freedom to go with the flow. I didn't have a play-by-play in my head of how the session would go and that was okay. This session was an ideal exercise in spontaneity. Note to self: relax.
I'm always eager to photograph people with faces so let's make something together!
