Viviana's Editorial/Portrait Senior Portrait Shoot

From the get go Viviana wanted something different for her senior portrait shoot.  She's very into fashion (she is Foothill High's "Best Dressed" for the class of 2018, after all) and was interested in a fashion/editorial style senior shoot.  When she showed up for her session and stepped out of the car in her first outfit I pretty much squealed with excitement...

"I have a pair of pants that's an even brighter shade of yellow," she explained.  Her mom, Monica, had told me that she still wanted some traditional portrait-style pictures taken, so I spent the session going back and forth between editorial style (like above), and portrait style (see below).  

That olive branch necklace she got at Tiffany's in New York. "Instead of a quinceanera, I went on a trip," she explained. And now, instead of a grad party, she's headed to Tahiti. She's a traveler.

So what's the difference between the two?  Well I like to start off by saying that there's no *one* thing that shifts a traditional portrait over, but editorial style pictures are more like what you would see in a magazine.  Take, for example, this next outfit with the red blazer.  Here is a traditional style portrait.  I shot this with a lens that is specifically designed for portraits because it doesn't cause any distortion.  I'm also shooting from an angle that is pretty straight on.  I blurred out the background because, well, I nearly always do that with portraits so that the focus is on YOU.

Normal, everyday school outfit for Viviana. NBD.

And here is that same look shot in an editorial style:  

It has a very different look and feel to it, right?  For one thing, you see her in the context of her surroundings-- I'm not blurring anything out.  She isn't posed in an absolutely classic position designed to be ultimately flattering-- it's more spur of the moment.  I'm also shooting from a lower angle.  Finally, this was shot with a wide angle lens, rather than a portrait lens. It distorts around the edges of the frame...but in a fun way.  Here's some more back and forth...

"So, I brought along these glasses..." she mentioned off hand. "OMG: Put. Them. On." I exclaimed.

My thing for spiky plants was satisfied. Anybody know what these crazy red balls are???

We wrapped up the session at sunset down by the river.  At this point I switched entirely to portrait mode.  The reason was that when we got there, and Viviana put on this dress, the entire scene looked to me like a classical oil panting.  I could have shot editorial here, but I wouldn't chose to do so with this soft golden lighting. 

What are your thoughts on editorial style shooting?  Does this suit your personality or would you like a traditional portrait style shoot? 

I'd love to know!