He did a backflip.
Right in the middle of his senior portraits in downtown West Palm Beach, against a wall of jungle plants.
It wasn’t on the shot list. He just went for it, and it turned into some of the best pictures of the whole night.
We didn’t do one senior session. We did three, and we let the light decide.
That tells you everything about this senior. Creative, outside the box, and always one idea ahead of me.
Golden Hour · the classics
Blue Hour · the city wakes up
Flash Hour · the editorial stuff
Golden hour: the classics
BLAZER ON
Classic portraits first. We started at the tail end of sunset with clean, classic senior portraits. Soft light, real smiles, the works.
Parents, this part is for you. These are the ones that go on the wall, in the graduation announcement and on Grandma’s fridge. Every senior needs a handful of them, even the ones who’d rather be doing backflips.
Blue hour: the city wakes up
AFTER SUNSET
Then the night started creeping in. Right after sunset there’s a short window when the sky turns deep blue and the city lights flicker on. CityPlace became a completely different set. Same spots we’d just walked past, totally new mood.
That’s when we stopped being polite and started getting creative.
He found a vending machine, so obviously that became a set too.
Flash hour: where it got fun
Out came the flash, and the session turned editorial.
The flash lights him up while the city glows behind him on its own. He pops off the frame, the background goes moody, and suddenly we’re not at a shopping center anymore. We’re in a campaign.
FLASH HOUR
Flash at night turns a sidewalk into a magazine spread.
THE STAIRCASE
Then he found a spiral staircase and climbed right out onto the edge. One hand on the rail, one foot in the air. Of course he did. The flash threw a hard shadow across the ceiling, the white columns framed him in, and that became one of my favorite frames of the night. We kept going, all around CityPlace and out onto the street, and every corner handed us something new.
About that backflip
THE BACKFLIP
Against those jungle plants, with the light hitting just right, it was perfect. Sometimes the best photos happen when you stop directing and let a creative person be creative. My job is to be ready when it happens.
The color (and the lack of it)
This is where I really played. Some frames got a film look: warm light leaks, grain, a few scratches and specks of dust, like the photos came out of a camera that’s been through some things. That red-orange glow against the blue neon? On purpose.
Others went straight to black and white. When the flash is that sharp and the architecture is that good, color just gets in the way.
City senior or beach senior?
You’re a beach senior if… you want soft, golden and classic.
You’re a city senior if… you want bold, a little cinematic, and nothing like everyone else’s senior photos.
And you’re both if… you want the classic portraits your parents will frame and the ones you’ll actually post.
Most of my seniors are both. That’s exactly why this session had all three kinds of light.
Session Details
CityPlace
Downtown West Palm Beach. Architecture, greenery, fountains and city lights, all within a short walk.
Questions about senior portraits in West Palm Beach
Yes, and that’s exactly how this one went. Classic portraits at sunset, then creative and editorial once the night rolls in. Parents get their wall portrait. Seniors get the photos they actually want to post.
At the tail end of sunset. That gets you golden light first, then blue hour, then flash once it’s dark.
Bring one classic outfit and one with personality. Texture, layers and a little shine look great under flash. Bonus points for confidence.
It’s one of my favorite spots for senior portraits in West Palm Beach. You get architecture, greenery, fountains and city lights within a short walk, and it looks completely different at sunset than it does after dark.
Not at all. Some seniors want all golden hour and beach. Some want all city. Most want a mix. We plan the session around who your senior actually is.
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