I was so excited for this unique senior photoshoot
This senior's mom sent me an email asking if I could possibly do senior photos on a sailboat. While this was my first time with this experience, I was ecstatic to give it a shot. One thing that keeps my photography passion alive is photographing unique things, so I was definitely excited to add this to my portfolio.
Her son spent the summer instructing sailing lessons to kids at Hoofers by the Memorial Union. What a fun job! I would love spending so much time on the water of Lake Mendota. Summer in Wisconsin is so beautiful, so I'm sure it was a great way to spend his days.
He was obviously very familiar with the docks there at Hoofers. We started the session by him teaching me a little about the rules of what he can and can't do with his sailboat docked to the pier. Then we just got started taking photos of him in action while setting up the sail!
It was definitely tricky getting photos of a moving object.
Even though this senior had control of his boat, the water still created an obstacle as it made the sailboat sway back and forth. He had to focus on me and my camera while dodging the sail above his head, and I had to run back and forth depending on where the sail was at the moment. It was a lot of fun, and a good learning experience as well.
We were NOT going to miss a perfect picture!
Between my senior, his mom, and myself, we all brainstormed as many different poses with the boat that we could think of. Other people that were walking by were definitely interested in what we were doing, and we had a lot of support from other sailers. Somebody even told the senior boy's mom that he looked so classy!
As the sun set, he took the sailboat out for a quick spin
All three of us weren't sure if we NEEDED our senior to actually take the boat off the dock. We had already gotten a lot of beautiful images using the sailboat, the sun was setting quickly, and we still had plans to take some more photos without the boat. We decided that since we were there, we might as well. We were all SO HAPPY that he took it out for a spin. The sun was glinting beautifully on the water, and the sky was turning shades of pink, orange, and purple. We could not have asked for a more beautiful evening for these senior portraits.
To create some variety in our final gallery, we took some more photos around Memorial Union.
It wouldn't be a trip to Memorial Union and Lake Mendota without a moment to sit in some terrace chairs, or a quick stroll down the Lakeshore path. We stopped at one of my client's favorite spots along the path for a few quick photos among the trees, and then back to the terrace. We were definitely past sunset now and into blue hour, but we managed to find enough light for these portraits. Overall, we had a wonderful session together. The three of us were all excited about the photos we got. What a neat way to commemorate this senior's interests.
