I’m soooo excited to share Amanda‘s senior session today!  Not only because I love this girl and her family, but also because I’m excited to see her as a presenter tonight at the American Influencer Awards in Los Angeles!!!  I know she is going to do amazing – even if I can’t be there to see her in person.  I’m still in Austin, TX until tomorrow; I’ve been at a really incredible but intense training and I’m shooting headshots and branding images all day today … but Amanda and my Influencer Model Team have the opportunity to attend the awards tonight – along with Jami! 

Amanda wanted to shoot her session at Descanso Gardens and since her parents are members, we were able to do so.  Every year I have clients who want to shoot there, but their fee is pretty high – unless you’re a member; if that’s the case, then you are granted one photoshoot per year – but it comes with LOTS of stipulations.  

This is one of the reasons I’m glad I don’t rely on bulky lighting for my photography … long ago, I decided I wanted to keep the look of my images editorial in nature and I also didn’t want to carry around a ton of equipment.  This is also a perk because in MOST of the places I shoot in Los Angeles, the last thing I want to do is draw attention to ourselves  …. most places will insist you need a permit, etc. 

But if you’re a ninja and you know what you’re doing – and you don’t have much gear – you’re good! 

I’ve shot with Amanda now for four years … we started when she was just about to enter high school and now she’s about to graduate!!!!  She is one of the sweetest, smartest young women – and I’m so grateful to have her on my Influencer Team this year!  It means we get to shoot a LOT during her senior year!

I loved ALL her outfit choices – she always puts together the coolest options for our shoots – showing her personality is not something that is difficult for her 🙂  But I absolutely love this Free People dress … it’s kind of amazing, right?  

Descanso Gardens isn’t that big of a place, but it LOOKS like it is, so we were able to get so much variety in her session – it’s almost like we went through three different seasons!  Each outfit she chose worked perfectly for the location; we had gone over the flow of the shoot beforehand and I had shot there before, so I knew when and where I wanted to shoot each outfit.  And this girl is a phenomenal soccer player (as well as a model with Peak Models LA  ) so she can change FAST!  That meant we could get through a ton of outfits!  I always tell my clients that the amount we can get through really depends on their comfort level for changing in public lol!  

If you know me or if you’ve shot with me, you know that I love me some bougainvillea – so when we see some, we gotta shoot with it!  I think it reminds me of Louisiana .. although it’s everywhere here in Los Angeles and in Malibu especially.  Soooo pretty – and Amanda is a pink kinda girl so it suits her 🙂 

So you might be wondering .. is that all her actual hair?  And yes, it is!  This girl has hair for DAYS – we always joke that it’s a prop at this point, because every time we shoot, we get KILLER hair throwing shots.  She’s a pro at this!

I love the Fall vibes of these images – such a cute outfit and yeah, I made her pick up dead leaves and throw them at my camera – anything for the shot right?  (and I had to make a Tik Tok vid with these too)

We ended as the light was fading into amazingness – near the Japanese Gardens … so beautiful, but Amanda manages to outshine them!  Love this girl and can’t wait to shoot more with her as she moves closer to her graduation .. gonna miss her so much when she goes off to college!   

And join me in wishing her the best of luck at the AIA tonight!!!!  I can’t wait to see all the pics of all my Influencer Team members from there tonight!

Thanks to Jami Cox – as always – for beautiful makeup for Amanda!!

Class of 2020, I’m booked through December – but January – April of 2020 are open for booking.  If you want to snag one, click HERE to see the dates I have open and you can reserve right from there, or fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch!

and Class of 2021, it’s time to start thinking about YOUR senior year and whether or not you want to be a part of my Influencer Model Team – or if you want to book a regular session with me.  Your opportunity to do BOTH is coming up in January so now is the time to get on my VIP LIST – if you do, then you can get the info first when I release it!   Click HERE to get on that!! 

xo, Renee