Welcome back to senior stories! In this episode, we are diving back into a fun session from last year where we got to feature an antique Saxon car! It is always interesting to learn what is of interest to my clients. When we first started discussing this session, the thoughts that came up were photography, board games, hockey, and cross country running. There was no mention of fancy cars. However, as the time for our session drew nearer, this antique car entered into the conversation. It has been in the family for decades and will eventually be passed down as a family heirloom. It was no shock then that it was an important part this senior's life. We set out to put that car front and center in the session, but we had a few hiccups...

Batteries and Timelines

This antique car was located in a retirement community and was known to not be super reliable (its ~100 years old). For that reason, I had scoped out possible locations for the shoot and had a plan to drive this car about 1/4 mile down the road (staying in the neighborhood) to where we could avoid having any houses in the background of the shot. We would spend half the time with the car and then would head up to Northampton Park to hopefully capture a sunset. I showed up close to 7pm knowing we had about 45 min to spend with the car.


When I arrived, my senior's grandfather was topping off water in the battery of the car. (Batteries have come a long way...) This thing had a crank start and was not behaving. We were still in the driveway rather than in the location where we had planned to shoot. No big deal, but I was keeping my eye on the clock. After about 15 min of preparation, the car was started and it pulled out of the driveway. It then drove about 10 feet down the road and promptly stalled! It was at this point that I needed to make a call. We could have spent all night fussing with the car trying to get it to the ideal location. Doing so would have meant that those shots at Northampton would not happen. The decision was made to get the car back into the driveway and make the best of the situation. Five minutes later, and after some pushing, we were ready to start shooting. I now had a challenge to capture senior pictures in a super cool car while IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD!

Choosing the Angle

How does one avoid getting houses in the background? The answer is to pick a convenient angle that hides other details. Here are some shots we came up with trying to use elements of the car to block out the houses in the background. We also made use of a portable, 4'x5' black backdrop that I brought with me.

And Photoshop...

As much as I captured some great close up shots that hid the houses behind the car, I did want to capture the entire car. Doing so, meant that I would have to open myself up to more background. In this scenario, I had to rely on Photoshop. See below the image straight out of the camera and after I "fixed" it using Photoshop. The final image below was featured by Senior Year Magazine!

Reality (pre-Photoshop)

Final image delivered to client

Last light in Northampton

Have you been to the new all wood "playground" in Northampton Park near the ski slope? About a year ago, they relocated part of the playground from zoo. It is fantastic. It is all made of rough-hewn trees that they assembled into a playground. In addition to that, they added a very rustic hut in the middle of it. The moment I brought my kids there to play, I knew I had to bring a client there. As a bonus, the field behind it is perfect for sunset shots (if Rochester's clouds decide to cooperate...). Leaving the antique car behind, we focused on photography and featured an old Minolta film camera that I was given by my father-in-law. It makes a great prop. Below are some images that we came up with playing around at Northamption.

Time to Book Class of 2023!

It may seem crazy, but it is now time to book for the class of 2023. Do you have a rising senior or know someone who does? Spread the word, because slots are going to start booking up fast for the Fall. I would love to work with you and figure out how we can make some images that will authentically share the essence of your senior but will also blow you away! Reach out to book your session through my contact page.


Till next time... Have a great day!