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Central PA senior Portrait Photographer: Carly

A free-spirit & nature lover on a breathtaking hike to the “top of the world”…
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Carly got a head start on her senior portraits as she’ll be studying abroad in Portugal during her senior year.
It seemed perfectly fitting for this young journeyer to explore the amazing scenery of the Pennsylvania woodlands and  look out over her beautiful homeland before setting out on an adventure to discover European life and all that Portugal has to offer.
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Carly tends to be quiet at first and have a very kind, soft demeanor.  She has a gentle soul and has a way of putting anyone at ease.  I think you can really see that side of her personality here.
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Once you get to know her though, her creative, spirited, bohemian side comes out.  She is absolutely joyful and has the most contagious laugh.  I used a slow shutter speed here to capture the motion of her hair, I think it really shows Carly’s light, free-spirited nature…
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This central PA native has the most stunning eyes.  I photographed her from a close perspective where the sunlight was illuminating them so that you can see the ribbons of green blue and gold.  Carly, your eyes are absolutely mesmerizing…
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Bringing along a map of the world seemed to fit Carly’s traveling interests while also giving a nod to her upcoming trip to Portugal.  If you look closely you can see it in green, right next to Spain.
I actually have a very soft spot in my heart for Portugal as I’ve photographed several Portuguese-American couple’s weddings.  You can see my most recent Portuguese wedding photography blog of Sofia & Paulo here.
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While these next few images are not portraits of Carly’s face, I think they really capture a lot of her personality and nature-loving ways.  When her father saw the image of her holding the pinecone he mentioned having a similar photo of her little hands as a toddler holding a pinecone!
I love playing with shadows and wanted to somehow incorporate shadows from nature into her portraits in some way.  I shared the idea with Carly and she chose a fern (something she has recently used as a subject in art class) and created a henna-like design along the inside of her palm and arm.
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While I specialize in creative, personalized photography, I also make it a priority to get an eclectic mix of more traditional portraits as well.
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This may be my favorite image of the set…  Carly leaning back and looking at the path ahead of her.  I like that it is under-exposed and shadowy and that you can’t see what lies beyond the trees.  It focuses on this moment of Carly looking out and playing with her hair, but leaves the rest, even her expression, to the imagination.
I like the mysterious feel of this, you also can get a sense of her relaxed attitude about the unknown.
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Hats are fun!  This was Carly’s mom’s idea and it was such a cute prop to play with.  I like that the hat is relaxed and has a wide brim.  It fits her boho style perfectly!
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Natural beauty…  Carly has always been more of a tomboy and originally considered having her make-up done as many of my portrait clients do, but then decided to go very natural– a touch of shimmering eyeshadow is all I noticed, which really played to her boho style.
This made her freckles fully visible and brought out her natural look even more.  I love this photograph as it captures all of those sweet freckles and her gorgeous eyelashes and even the wind moving her hair.  I like this image because it really captures so much about Carly… you can see that she is free
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Mother earth… I wanted to capture the bright blue sky and vibrant green hues present at the top of the mountain.  I like how you can see Carly silhouetted along with the tree trunks in this saturated scene…
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This photo was her sister’s favorite.  This high-contrast black and white image shows Carly at the top of the peak “just chillin” and enjoying the view.  🙂
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Haha, I guess I’ll end the set with something sweet– a polaroid pic from Carly’s camera along with a fern frond, her leather boot and natural gravel background.
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Carly you are an amazing human being, from a fantastic family that I have known for some time (my husband actually met them first, when he was a newborn baby, as Carly’s grandfather was the Rhinehart’s family doctor).  I know that you have the whole world ahead of you, quite literally– you have an amazing attitude, great head on your shoulders and  I can not wait to see what you accomplish!

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