Senior Pictures in Corvallis

Hey, guess what you guys?  It’s that time of year again! It’s graduation season so it’s time to say goodbye and good luck to all of the high school seniors we had the pleasure of working with this year.  So I’d like to send out a big set of best wishes to Mr. Cole.  He's graduating from Crescent Valley High in Corvallis.

Cole came to us looking to have some senior portraits that really highlighted his love for baseball, his girlfriend and his dog.  Talk about being a wonderfully well rounded guy.  
 

We chose to photograph Cole's baseball images first because he wanted a strong gritty look and I knew that to do it right we were going to have to use studio strobes on location.  Studio strobes are the greatest asset a photographer has (next to his/her brain of course).  With studio strobes you can basically change and override any natural light situation giving you maximum flexibility and creative control.  Taking the lighting gear out to Crescent Valley's baseball field means bringing the studio to where our athletes are the most comfortable.  Makes for even greater pictures!

Cole's a pitcher so we sent him to the mound and began setting up two lights around him.  We had to be careful how close we set each light because Cole was going to actually be pitching and we didn’t want him getting hurt if he accidentally knocked over the lighting gear.  We also had to consider my safety because Cole was going to pitching right over my head.  But after watching him warm up I realized that this guy's pitching was not only powerful, but accurate as well.  I knew I had nothing to fear so I got into position and we began creating some really strong images.

Next up we decided it was time  to include his girlfriend in a few shots.  

For these types of shots I always find it best to be as unobtrusive as possible.  That means most of the time that I stow the lighting gear and become a fly on the wall and shoot with natural light.  I grab the longest lens in my bag so I can shoot from a distance and eventually my subjects forget that I’m even there.  That’s when the real expressions and personalities of my subject come out and I’m in the background quietly capturing it all.

WE loved getting to include Cole's new puppy. I love working with family pets because you never know what's going to happen.  Dogs will listen to a point, but eventually they get the idea that they're the center of attention and from then on it gets a tad crazy.  Cole's pup was no exception but at the end of the day we got the shots we were looking for.

And some we weren't planning on ;)

It was a fun shoot and it was a pleasure getting to spend the afternoon with Cole and his family.  Cole, I’d like to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation and I wish you the very best in all of your endeavors
Daniel
Follow this for more Senior Pictures
Check out more Real Sports Pictures
 

---

Daniel Troutman
daniel@troutmanphoto.com
Albany, OR

Daniel Troutman started his career in 1999, is an internationally published photographer. He began as a staff travel photographer, and is now runs a retail studio in Albany, Oregon. His images have been published by some of the largest agencies in the world, such as Newsweek, VH1 Music Television, The Food Network and Best Western Hotels.

More of Troutman's Portrait Studio Blogs

• Family Pictures 6
• First Birthday 5
• General 13
• Headshots 2
• Senior Pictures 13