Bianca - Elizabeth HS Senior

Some people are just comfortable in front of the camera. They know how to smile so it looks natural and not cheesy. They know how to not smile and not look upset. They don't mind getting a little goofy and letting loose. And, most importantly, almost all of their photos look amazing! Bianca is one of these people.

Bianca is going to be a Senior at Elizabeth High School in 2011. When we first met, she knew exactly what she wanted from her photos: urban, graffiti, not in LoDo, not the typical senior portraits. She doesn't know it, but right then I was doing a happy dance inside my head. Not only did she know what she wanted, but she'd looked at my work and liked my style. Bonus! Not only that, but her dad's a cop in Denver and knows where the good graffiti is. Double Bonus!

We set a date for a Sunday evening on Santa Fe Blvd. Although it was a hot day, there was some nice cloud cover that helped keep the temperature bearable (as well as the light awesome). There were also hardly any people around, which pretty much meant we could shoot anywhere we wanted to.

To get a more urban feel, we spent most of our time in alleys. Alleys? Yeah, you know... dumpsters, graffiti, barking dogs, funny smells... not your typical senior portraits! To be honest, we stayed away from the dumpsters and really, when it comes down to it, there is some pretty picturesque stuff in alleys! As for the dogs, only a few barked at us and they really didn't seem that into it, kind of like they felt obligated to bark but could really care less what we were doing.

One of the things I liked the most about Bianca was that she never seemed to get tired. Her smile was still just as natural and not-cheesy when we finished as when we started. She seemed to think every idea I had was a great idea (OK, maybe that's a stretch, but at least she didn't complain). I don't think she even broke a sweat! I was trying not to melt into a sweaty mess and she's as fresh as when we started. After two hours of walking around alleys in the heat her photos still looked amazing!

All good things must come to an end and our shoot had come to a close. We said our goodbyes and drove away. Of course, I thought of a bunch of different shots while I was driving home that I wish I had thought of during the shoot, but that's just the way it goes. Fortunately, we're going to meet up for a studio session in the next month, so maybe I'll get a chance to try a few of them there. One thing's for sure: I can't wait to shoot with Bianca again!

You can see more photos here.