Gabe’s Senior Portrait Session & My Favorite Lens

There are sooooo many things that go into creating photos at a portrait session.  Equipment is just a very small part of that. I always hesitate a little to share too much about what equipment I use, but beginning photographers can put too much stock into that, thinking if they go out and buy the right thing, that their photos will look like they want, which is not at all the case. 

With that being said, what equipment a photographer uses, and in particular what kind of lenses, does really contribute to her overall style. So I thought I’d take a moment to tell you about my favorite lens.  

My favorite lens in my bag is a Nikon AF S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G Fixed Lens with Auto-focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras.  I love the look of this lens.  It’s a prime lens, which is generally all I shoot with.

Zoom Lenses vs. Prime Lenses

There are two main types of lenses: zoom lenses and prime lenses.
If you have a entry level DSLR, then the lens that came with it (which we often refer to as the “kit lens”) is probably a zoom lens. 

Zoom lenses provide ease in mobility…you can zoom in and out from where you stand. Prime lenses do not zoom to move in and out – you have to move your feet.  However, the benefit in using this type of lens is that a detailed and sharper image is produced. The focus is quicker with this type of lens and will allow more light in your camera.

Why I love my 85 mm 1.8

I absolutely love the creamy backgrounds I can get with this lens.  It’s super sharp, fast, and the 85 mm focal length is perfect for flattering portraits.  

Why it doesn’t stay on my lens all the time

If you’ve had a portrait session with me, you’ll notice that I switch lenses A LOT.  That’s because I do generally only photograph with prime lenses.  If I’m shooting with my 85 mm, and your toddler comes to close to me, then I’ll be photographing their nose hairs and not much else.  I can’t zoom out with my lens, since it’s not a zoom lens.  So I either have to back up, or switch lenses.  Also, I want to give you a variety of images for your gallery so I don’t always use the same lens.  For example, if I want a wide photograph that takes in the entire scene, I’ll switch to my 20 mm lens that will include a lot more of the background in the photo than my 85 mm would.  Here is are two photos taken from relatively the same spot.

The first is with my 85 mm and the second is with my 20 mm.  You can clearly see the difference.  Notice how with the 20 mm, you can see a wide view of the town in the background that you can’t see with the 85mm. I also stepped a lot closer to Gabe to get the second shot with the 20 mm lens.

85 mm Lens
20 mm Lens

A suggestion for new photographers:

My 85 mm is by far not the most expensive lens out there, but it isn’t the cheapest either, and not what I recommend (yet) for those trying to learn photographer.  But I DO usually recommend that new photographers consider a prime lens.  But instead of an 85 mm, i recommend the much less expensive, 50 mm (sometimes called a “nifty 50” or a 35 mm.  Either of these will be a good overall lens that will perform way better in lower light than your kit lens.  Are you into photography?   What’s your favorite lens?  If you are interested in learning more about photography, ask me about my photography workshop for moms. 

Gabe’s Senior Portrait Session

One thing I love about shooting Senior Portrait sessions, is that I am able to use my favorite 85 mm lens a lot more than I can at a family session with little kids, because I have more control over my subjects, who generally stand where I tell them to (unlike an energetic two year old.) I also love that Senior Sessions allow me to play with creative backgrounds and framing more than I typically can with younger kids.

I have to brag a little on the guys I’ve photographed lately for Senior photos. They’ve done an amazing job, Gabe included. It’s no secret that the guys are normally having these photos done just because mama wants them, but that hasn’t stopped the guys I’ve photographed lately from doing a fabulous job. Their mama’s should be very happy & proud of their young men.

Another Senior Session in Downtown Franklin

“Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.” – Neil Gaiman

This was kind of an unusual week for me in having two senior guy sessions in one week, since I normally shoot more family sessions.  Both the guys chose downtown Franklin as their location, which works for me because I love this spot for Senior Portraits.  It’s not the best place for small kids, as I like to let the little ones roam free, without worrying about traffic, and sometimes downtown requires patience for waiting on other people or cars to move out of a scene.  But it’s perfect for seniors, and I adore all the colors, shapes and textures. 

I have to say, I wasn’t sure at first about senior sessions because photographing young children was my first passion.  But I truly enjoy the different opportunity that photographing these young men and women offer.  It’s fun to be able to plan a shot out in more detail, and to focus on the framing and perspective without fear of losing the moment.  With active toddlers, you don’t get much of a say so on the exact location and posing, so Seniors are a really fun change for me. 

There was one spot in a back alley that I came to at my first session this week and I took a few photos there. But I found myself wishing I had done more with the spot, so I was excited to go back for this session. I just love the perspectives and colors in the alley.  It was so much fun.

I enjoyed getting to know Jack.  It turns out, my daughter played Hockey with his younger brother last season, but I didn’t even realize that until we were chatting during the session. Such a small world!

Senior Session in Downtown Franklin

“Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that.” – Ellen Degeneres

I’m literally about to run out the door to go work some more on Cheetahfest 2018, but I just couldn’t help but share these photos of my senior session in downtown Franklin on Monday.  I was afraid it would get rained out, but it turned about to be a gorgeous day!  I am quite aware that my senior guys aren’t really into having their photos taken, and are generally just there because the love their mamas, but Drew was such a great sport, and I love the way his photos turned out. 

And its never a dull moment in Franklin.  During our session, we were cheered on by passing cars, offered a donut in exchange for a photo for a scavenger hunt, photobombed by a random stranger, and offered free popcorn from a very sweet attendant at the Franklin Theater who noticed us outside taking photos.  I love this town!  

Ok, I’m out the door, but if you don’t have any plans on Friday, please join me at my other “job” (PTO President) and come out to food trucks, bounce houses, a petting zoo, games and more on Friday at Chapman’s Retreat Elementary Cheetahfest from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.  There is also an AMAZING silent auction. You can also bid on a session from me!  If you were planning on booking a session before the end of summer, this is a great way to give back to a great cause. Hope to see you there!  

The Schafran Family

Last night was actually the first time I had met Brandilee and & Dan, but I’ve known their oldest son, Gavin, for several years from my daughter’s school.   I’m at school quite a bit volunteering with the PTO and have gotten to know Gavin through my time there and he is such a sweet boy.  My first experience with the rest of Gavin’s family was this past May at the Special Olympics.  Gavin has Cerebral Palsey and was competing in one of the races.  I had been asked to photograph the event as a whole, but was of course drawn to events where our own Cheetah’s were competing, so I was focused on Gavin’s race.  As he started getting closer to the finish line, Gavin started having a little trouble when his two little brothers came in to give him a hand.  It was the sweetest moment, and the three of them just won my heart right then and there.  

It wasn’t until after the race that I learned that Gavin’s two-year-old little brother Finn was battling a rare form of bladder cancer.  I have followed their story since then through posts from mutual friends and through their blog.  You can read more about their journey on their blog, “Finn’s Fans”.


In the past, I had photographed a few other families dealing with childhood cancer, and it was good to feel like I could do something for them, no matter how small.  (If you remember those sessions, you may want to know that little Arya is doing great and Katelyn is about to finish up her last chemo treatment!)  So I was really excited about the opportunity to finally meet Gavin’s little brothers and his sweet parents.


Finn recently had surgery to remove his bladder and the surgery was a great success, but his fight is not over.  He will be starting chemo again soon to fight any remaining cancer cells that might still be there. I am glad we were able to fit in a session before chemo started for him again. 


It was a perfect evening for a session and it’s finally starting to feel like Autumn. We played with the leaves and the boys were particularly fond of gathering sticks. Four-year-old Everett even made a really cool fire pit with his sticks.  I think he’s probably on his way to a position in the boy scouts.  My favorite moment was when I asked the three boys to race towards me for a photo, and when we said go, Finn took off in the opposite direction.  Gavin thought it was pretty funny too.  


The courage & faith with which this family fights their battle has been very inspiring to me, and to many others who have been praying for them. Please keep praying for Finn and his family as they continue on this journey.