Senior Portrait Session: Zachery England

Zach is a wonderful young man who I have the pleasure of knowing. He chose the Red Rocks Park near the Amphitheater as the scene for his senior portraits, and I was excited to explore the terrain in the area.

Colorado is a beautiful state, where certain plants grow where you think they shouldn't, and the sky is always blue.

I found a spot south of the amphitheater where traffic was less busy than the touristy area near the parking lots, and I picked the spot for some of Zach's photographs where he and I could sit in the middle of the road without imminent danger.

​Along the side of the road were sunflowers, growing out of the dry red soil. They are beautiful.

Zach called me and let me know that he and his mother were up in one of the parking lots near the theater. I drove up there to meet them, and our session began.

The cool thing about the amphitheater area is that the big rocks curve into themselves, creating natural alcoves and seating which made for great photographs of Zach.

He really is a natural model. I wasn't expecting that at all. He's a goofball at heart, with joy following him around everywhere, and when the camera came up, his maturity and poise shined through the lens, making for strong portraits.

He knows how to tilt his chin just right to look into the camera, and was very natural in front of the camera, even though he told me he felt awkward at first. I just kept talking to him, being my sarcastic, joking self, and he relaxed. His mom is also very funny, and kept him laughing.

I like to include a more artistic portrait in their selections. I guess he liked it, because he has since made it his profile image on social media!

Zach really wanted a photograph in the tunnel near the parking lots. Problem is, it's a touristy area, so we really had to rush the shot before more cars came. I think we did a pretty good job! I had to edit the roof of the tunnel down into the image so that you could tell it's a tunnel, but I think it made for a poetic shot!

Back down at that spot I had scoped out earlier where the traffic was scarce, he was able to sit on the center line, as I laid down on my stomach in the middle of the road to get his portraits.

Thank you to Zach and your mother for allowing me to be a part of your senior year. Zach has since been accepted into college and has a great future ahead of him.