Graduation Portraits: Meghan Mayfield

Portraits to mark milestones are always special. The portraits are special memories for the person achieving the milestone, their friends, and their families.

Last week, we had the opportunity to spend part of our afternoon with Meghan Mayfield, just before her graduation ceremony, shooting portraits of her on the Capital Building grounds in her gown. After a gray, dreary few days, our backup plan was to take her portraits inside the Capital Building, but we were blessed with a beautiful day of blue skies and sun! It was a bit windy and gusty, but we decided that we’d use that in our favor and take what the day gave us to make dynamic images.

As is normal for a location shoot, I spent a few hours the day before wandering the grounds and getting a feel for what locations, poses, and backgrounds might work best. Rather than trying to develop a script of shots to crank out, I was more looking for a general framework for how the shoot could go. Starting where we’d agreed to meet, I then walked the grounds and started taking reference shots as I went to see how various locations actually looked in camera. For scouting trips like this, it’s a great idea whenever possible to go at the same time of day as the scheduled shoot.

Armed with a basic idea of the how the session would flow and a loose idea of the route through the grounds, my photo assistant and I were able to hold to the framework, but still be loose enough to let spontaneous creativity flow. Letting spontaneity into the shoot adds a playful energy to the images giving them more life and joy than they might otherwise have.

Part of not being married to scripted, pre-planned shots is allowing yourself the flexibility to work with what the moment gives you. For Meghan’s shoot, it was windy and gusty. Instead of fighting the wind and waiting for it to die down and then quickly rushing a shot before the wind “ruined” the moment, we simply rolled with it and let wind-blown hair become a deliberate part of the composition. In some instances, we actually found ourselves waiting for the next gust of wind instead of shooting quickly before it came.

The wind also added a dynamic element of movement and action to the images, especially the candid shots. Had we been following a script, we would have missed some of the candid moments that became some of our favorite shots!

Understanding how to work with what your subject brings to the table allows you to tailor shots to the individual. For instance Meghan’s tall athletic build lent itself to full body shots of her walking towards the camera. Altering the camera’s perspective by kneeling accentuated her height giving the images an almost runway model look.

And when there are stone stairs and railings to frame her as she descended towards the camera from the stately building behind her, the portrait gains a majestic quality.

Working with Meghan to create her Graduation Photo Portfolio was a delight! Providing her with images to mark her graduation milestone was an honor and a pleasure!