Tagged senior portraits

Sneak Peek – Zach 2017

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Zach is a senior at Rantoul High School. He was originally only getting senior pictures to make him mom happy. Then I said the magic word: FIRE! Suddenly much more interest when discussing what to set on fire! Then we talked about his passions: hunting ( shotgun and bow), fishing, and his truck. After that it was just having fun!

You are gonna have to wait to find out what we set on fire this time! Check back in a week or two!!!!

Super Sneak Peek – Johanna 2016

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The beautiful senior was originally scheduled for a week ago today….Cold, wind and rain/snow caused us to rethink our plan. What a difference a week makes! I saw this blue wall a few weeks ago in downtown Urbana, and just knew that Johanna, a SJO senior, was going to look amazing with this as a backdrop. I love how it makes her beautiful blue eyes just POP! Special thanks to H2O Salon for hair and make up. Stay tuned til tomorrow for more photos of this gorgeous senior!

Super Sneak Peek – Leighanne

This beautiful Urbana class of 2016 senior totally rocked her senior portrait session!!! She showed everything from attitude at the graffiti  wall to playful fun with bubbles in the idea garden. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, the breeze did incredible things with her hair, and we had an absolute blast. Check out her “attitude” shot below and be sure to check back Monday for more awesomeness!

2016 senior girl at graffiti wall

Sneak Peek – Daniel

I promised you fire…So I am showing you the hockey puck on fire shot, I am just not sure its completely finished yet. Still need to shoot inside the hockey rink and get some background stuff, as well as some way cool shots on the ice, but that’s for another day. This was a fun, fun shoot. Daniel was an easy guy to work with and I feel like we got some great expressions. We hit all of the fun points: Hockey, fire, graffiti and an awesome car! 2015-14_blog 2016 senior guy with graffiti 2016 senior guy in bw 2016 senior guy 2016 senior guy with car

2015 St. Thomas- More Senior – Vaishali

Spring seniors always make me nervous. I would love nothing more than to give them awesome outdoor photos, but the weather in the spring is far from co-operative. Often there is little more than leaden skies and muddy ground, hardly the beautiful background these seniors dream of. When Vaishali contacted me in late March wanting outdoor photos with a lot of “nature” I was very nervous. Stressed even. I was even more so after scouting locations and not a pretty location to be had. Plans B,C,D were forming in my head to give some resemblance of the pretty outdoor backgrounds she wanted. And then we had 3 or 4 days of beautiful warm weather, and all the stress was for naught. The grass greened up and the trees started blooming and the beautiful Vaishali got her beautiful backgrounds for her senior photos. Normally I show 5 images for a sneak peek, but the last was so much fun, I wanted to include it!

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Fisher 2015 Senior – Nolan

I enjoy it when guys come in and actually talk about what they want to do for senior portraits.Even though he is kinda quiet, Nolan had some definite ideas and lots of game! ( and he gets bonus points for a) laughing at my lame joke and b) there was fire involved!) Yeah, he gets to see those first…..watch facebook in about a week to see some way cool baseball sportraits!

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Alley – Super sneak peek!

It was probably the hottest day of the summer, but that didn’t stop Alley from totally owning her senior portrait shoot! This is one of my favorites with this gorgeous raspberry color dress and the breeze moving her hair.She has such an open natural smile, it makes you smile back without even thinking about it. Not very often I come home from a shoot and my face hurts from smiling so much!!!! So pop back early next week to see a selection of other beautiful images from her senior shoot!

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Jenny – Fisher Class of 2015

I am so in love with Jenny’s beautiful red hair! And Allerton Park was the perfect place to showcase this gorgeous senior! We had exceptional Karma going that night, as we not only didn’t get rained on, but got an amazing sunset as the final, final last shot!! Here are just a few of the amazing photos from her shoot!

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Class of 2015 – Rachel

Rachel was a lot of fun to work with! She went from “can’t keep a straight face, to supermodel serious, to girl-next-door”  in a heartbeat! She was game for anything, and we played on the U of I quad until dark! These are just a few of my favorites. I swear these girls are killing me as I try to edit all of these amazing photos!

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Delaney – Fisher High School Class of 2015

Delaney is another one of those awesome senior girls that cannot take a bad photo, and never quits smiling!!! No fear, no hesitation when I say… “Climb down those rocks or jump into that water fall!” And she does and then Awesomeness occurs! Had a blast driving all over downtown Champaign and then campus, and then back to downtown, and then back to Campus! I think it was totally worth it though cause we got some really sweet senior photos!Senior Girl in Bookstore Senior girl with chalkboard senior girl with waterfall senior girl in denim jacket senior girl in field of flowers senior girl in waterfall

Maddie – Fisher High School Class of 2015

Yay!!!! Another gorgeous senior girl to play with!! And the really cool part, is we were given permission to photograph IN the Urbana Free Library as part of her session. Now how cool is that? Played in downtown Urbana, taking advantage of the art deco marquee at the Cinema and the flapper dress, before heading for the U of I Idea Garden….Where it promptly proceeded to RAIN…ALOT…FOR A LONG TIME!!! But, we stuck it out, dashed out among the sprinkles and got some amazing shots with dramatic skies and flowers!

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Mindy – Fisher High School Class of 2015

Yep. That’s right folks, next year’s senior portraits are under way!!! And we started off with a BANG!!!! Beautiful Mindy didn’t want to do anything “normal”, so we didn’t. We had the pleasure of photographing at the Champaign Preservation and Conservation Association Warehouse, in and around salvaged bannisters and doors, bathtubs and radiators. Then we went around the corner and into an alley…normal until you realize she was wearing a prom dress at the time!!! A girl after my own heart, we rigged a tent ( Thanks to her dad, Jeff) and piled in cushions and books, lots of books!!! We photographed her favorite boots and a beautiful sunset, and then……the paint started flying! All in all a most wonderful way to kick-off the class of 2015 Senior portraits at Laura Trovillion Photography!!!

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Senior in Salvage Yard

Mindy at PACA

What makes a Senior Portrait Great!

Good or Great Senior Pix

 

When choosing a Senior Portrait Photographer, you probably do one of two things(or both) ask friends and search the internet. After about the 500thousandth photo, your eyes are glazed and your fingers numb. How are you supposed to know what is just okay and what is great? This is why I have put together this lovely graphic with some quick tips on what to look for!

  • Beautiful skin – good retouching to remove blemishes without making your Senior’s skin look plastic
  • Eyes that sparkle – This is a result of two things: light being correctly positioned to create “catchlights” and illuminating the eyes. The other reason is they are having fun!
  • Professional hair and makeup – I consider this a must for my seniors. It makes all the difference in the world.
  • Poses that flatter you – We cannot all be model thin and able to pose beautifully at will. The photographer should know how to pose you, “clear down to your eyelashes”, so you look your best! No one likes to feel awkward in front of the camera!
  • Variety – Multiple poses with each outfit/background are a must. You need a variety of verticals and horizontals: smiling and serious: casual and formal: beautifully posed and carefree dancing
  • Gorgeous Lighting – This is last, but most important. Look for photos that demonstrate the photographer’s ability to handle any situation and create different looks with light. Do they have the skill? Do they have the equipment?
  • If in doubt look for the Laura Trovillion Photography Logo! You will know its Awesome!

Three Ps to Better Senior Pictures – Part 2 – Prepare!

To do list for better senior pictures

In our previous post on the three P’s of Better Senior Pictures, we talked about planning. Planning involves answering the questions; what you want, what to wear, where to go and when. This post breaks it down even further into how to prepare for your senior pictures!

The first step is to talk to your photographer.  You need to both be on the same page and you need to schedule your Senior Portrait Session!  Your photographer should be able to give you more advice as to what to wear and where to go.(unless you have somewhere specific in mind) Most photographers are not mind-readers, so you have to tell them what you want or at least what you think you want. Remember, the photographer wants what you want; Awesome Senior Portraits!

Once the date is set for your Senior Portrait Session, it is time to prepare!

  • Plan to have your hair cut/colored no later than 2 weeks prior to your session. (Especially in the summer). Do NOT decide on a new hairstyle right before your senior session…This includes shaving your head for sports camps!!!! Gals if you are getting your brows waxed, schedule it a few days prior.
  • Shop or select the clothes you plan to wear. Make sure everything fits well and is comfortable. If it needs ironing, do it now.
  • Each outfit should be put together on a hanger, and any special undergarments, accessories or shoes go into a plastic bag, also on the hanger. Hanging clothes prevents wrinkles. Wrinkles are bad!
  • If you plan to have Sportraits or other photos in a sports uniform, contact your coach ASAP, so you can have access to the uniforms you will need. If your sports portrait also requires a special location, such as a swimming pool or gym, make sure you will have access on your selected date as well. Reconfirm the week of your Portrait Session to make sure everything is a go!
  • Sports uniforms, like other outfits all go together on a hanger. All gear associated with that sport should go in a duffel bag. This includes headgear, helmets, pads, goggles, balls, bats, poms, EVERYTHING you need goes into the duffel.
  • If you want photos in your letter jacket, make sure it is up to date with your most recent letters and patches.
  • Avoid the sun for the days prior to your Portrait Session. More specifically do not make plans to go to the beach, boating, fishing, or any event where you will be in the sun for hours on end. Not only do sunburns hurt, they are ugly when they peel and are more difficult to contend with in post production.
  • Get sleep the night before…enough said
  • Gals make sure your nails, fingers and toes have either no polish or are freshly polished…chipped, nasty nails just look bad.
  • Guys…shave(I don’t care if it’s “No Shave November”)

senior girl with guitarSo, you have talked with your photographer. You have scheduled your Senior Portrait Session. You have your outfits planned, and on hangers. You have your sports gear and permission from coach to use the pool, gym, etc. Your hair, eyebrows and nails are all done and beautiful. You have rescheduled your trip to the amusement park and the all night gaming party scheduled for the night before. Guys have a post it on their mirror that says: SHAVE!

You are officially prepared. Next we will talk about the fun part…Participation!

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone stays safe and warm through this next round of winter weather! Laura T

Three P’s to Better Senior Pictures!

Planning for better senior pictures

Everyone wants awesome Senior Pictures. To get awesome, there are three things you must do…Plan, Prepare and Participate! Today I am going to address the first P: Plan! With the wealth of online images and glossy magazines, this is probably the easiest part. Go to Pinterest(a link to my senior girls inspiration board is HERE), Google or your other favorite image search and type in Senior Pictures, Senior Portraits or Senior Poses. Start a folder on your desktop and whenever you see an image that you like, copy it to that folder. Even if its something that you found that isn’t a “senior” image. Other searches may be fashion, trends, sports,(Joel Grimes is a favorite of mine for his incredible sports photos) or whatever you are in to! The goal is to figure out what you like and what you want your senior pictures to look like.

What does your schedule look like? Are you into Fall Sports? Crazy busy with school, work, sports, looking at colleges, applying to colleges, applying for scholarships, hanging with friends and other activities? Then you should plan to have your Senior Session during the summer between your Junior and Senior year. I highly recommend having your senior pictures photographed during the summer so they are done and you can start your senior year with amazing images and one big thing checked off of your Senior Year To Do List!

Where do you want to go to have your photos taken? Is there someplace that has significant meaning to you? A family farm, the cabin where your family spends the summer, or someplace or thing that always reminds you of home. Maybe you don’t have any place special to you, but you know you would rather be photographed in the woods or near a lake, or maybe in a downtown urban area. All of these things get taken into consideration when selecting locations for your photos. Maybe its not a where, but a what. Where is secondary to including some THING in your photos. Your car that you rebuilt with your dad, your dogs that are like your babies, your guitar, your drums, the list goes on…What is your passion? It’s your story, TELL IT!

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What to wear? Go back and look at your folder, there is probably a trend towards what you like and do not like. Are your images filled with soft dreamy flowy dresses, or vivid colorful clothes? Maybe your a fashion forward kind of gal and want to dress to the nines…..Look at the limitations set by your photographer on the number of clothing changes and then shoot for that number plus 2. Why bring 2 extra? Because you never know what might happen the day of a shoot or you just may not be “feeling it”. It happens. It is most important that the clothes  fit well and are something you are truly comfortable in. Your senior portrait session is not the time to “try out” a new look. However, you also don’t get to plead “I am only comfortable in sweats” either. (HERE is a link to my pinterest “what to wear” inspiration board to get you started) Figure on at least one very casual, one dressy casual, one dressy and one other look.( other being sports uniform, favorite prom dress, etc) I tell my seniors that shopping for new clothes isn’t required, but its usually a lot of fun!

Congratulations, you have completed Planning for your Senior Pictures! You have:

  • an idea of what you like in terms of style
  • when is going to be best for you and your schedule
  • where you want to go
  • what to wear

Stay tuned for the second P of Senior pictures – Preparation!

Take care and stay warm!!!

Face it!

face sheets ,free makeup

After I go to the salon to get my gray hair hidden and trimmed up out of my eyes, my husband always compliments me on how nice my hair looks.So, I could run to the salon daily for a blowout..NOT….or learn to do it myself. So the next time, I made sure I pestered my awesome stylist to show me how to do this…..what brush he used; what product he used; how he held the brush; Everything. And now after daily practice, I come close, not perfect, but close enough that I feel pretty good about how my hair looks. And I realized that this was a huge thing for me to not just look good leaving the salon, but to be able to do this for myself. Headslap….….. We should be offering the same service with our complimentary makeup before a Senior Portrait Session….. And so now I a proud to announce..(trumpets and drum roll please….) Face sheets and complimentary makeup included with your Senior Portrait Session!!!!! Now you will have a “map” of where the stylist put each color on your face, AND you get to take home the eye palette, lip color and brush that she used for your session. Now how much fun is that?

Take care and stay warm!!!!

Senior Pictures – Hannah

Hannah was unsure coming in for her senior portraits. She doesn’t like to have her picture taken. She isn’t really crazy about a lot of makeup either. I asked her to trust me. Half-way through her shoot she was rocking the posing and looking beautiful and seeing how amazing she is. When I look at these photos, I see an AWESOME senior!!! Hair and makeup by Sarah Kellems.

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Senior Photos – Taylor 2014

Taylor, a senior at St. Thomas-More, could have had a bad day, it was windy, it got cold and we had already rescheduled once. Taylor had an AWESOME day, despite the wind, her hair looked amazing. Despite the cold, she ventured into the pond. We got fun, amazing and beautiful photos for Taylor’s Senior Portrait  Session!  Crazy weather proof hair and makeup by Tia Crom!

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2014 seniors in Millenium Park

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I had the pleasure of taking these three beautiful Class of 2014 Seniors to Downtown Chicago’s Millenium Park this week for a Senior Portrait Mini-Session. It is so inspiring to go somewhere that you have never photographed before. It was a great adventure for all of us, and hopefully I will get the opportunity to go back for a full senior session later this year. Special thanks to Kathy Browning for driving, and helping to make this trip awesome!

Transformations

We know a little bit about transforming women at Laura Trovillion Photography. This is what we do. The glamour photographs on my site aren’t models, they are real women. These are the same women that you see picking up their kids from school, stopping by the grocery, or in this particular case, enjoying spring break.  Normally this process occurs over a couple of hours with 3 to 5  clothing changes, some tweaks to your hair and makeup and  changing up the background and props. On April 20, 2013 we have raised the stakes – We are transforming one woman every thirty minutes for ten hours. Is 15 minutes total enough for hair and makeup? Can she be posed and photographed in 15? Will she look amazing? The answers are yes, yes and YES.  Two weeks ago, we did a trial run and these are the results!

Before:

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After 15 minutes in hair and makeup:

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And here are 9 of 10 fantastic images photographed in 15 minutes:

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And another before:

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And after 15 minute of hair and makeup:

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And 9 of the 10 amazing photos we achieved in 15 minutes of photography:

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Call us TODAY at 217-897-1166 to reserve your 30 minute time slot  and get transformed…Your $100 donation will make a difference in the lives of women at The Center for Women in Transition.

Class of 2014 Seniors – Rockin the Mini-shoot!

These Class of 2014 Seniors ROCK! It was cold, snowy, spring break and a Sunday afternoon….And they totally brought their A game! For most of these seniors, it was the first time in front of my camera. For everyone involved, its was the first time creating amazing senior images in 30 minutes.

These mini-shoots were a trial run for our Makeover Marathon in April. The girls arrived with straight hair and no makeup. In 15 minutes the amazing Hair and Makeup artists, Sarah Kellems, Tia Crom and Stefani Smith transformed these girls. Each girl then spent 15 minutes in front of my camera, where we achieved multiple images where they look like covergirls! The guys were spared the hair and makeup, but spent an intense 15 minutes in front of the camera as well. I am excited to be working with such a great group of seniors. They are all so beautiful!  Special thanks to Stefani, Sarah and Tia – you ladies are AMAZING!!!


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2013 Senior Pictures – Michelle

Michelle is a very pretty, kind of quiet Senior at Fisher High School. Due to the crappy weather, we were unable to do any location photography, but these photos aren’t about the surroundings, they are about the beautiful person in front of the camera. She has a great smile when I could coax it out of her. She was amazing and a pleasure to photograph. Hair and Makeup by the  awesome Sarah Kellems.

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2013 Fisher Senior – Brendan

Senior boys with trucks, cowboy hats and flaming bats…what more could a photographer want? I had a great time photographing Brendan’s senior portraits this week. We totally lucked out with nice weather, not warm enough to go without a coat, but at least we weren’t freezing to death, it is February after all! I wish him luck at SIU where he will be majoring in Civil Engineering!

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GCMS Senior – Darren

I love it when I learn new stuff from the seniors I photograph, and I definately learned all kinds of cool automotive tidbits from Darren. A senior at Gibson City, a member of FFA,  and a three sport athlete, this guy knows his way around a car engine! We lucked into perfect fall weather, found some way cool vintage cars and had a whole lot of fun!

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2013 Fisher Senior – Katie

Katie is a beautiful senior girl with a passion for bling! Tractors, combines and cornfields, you kind of expect in this  neck of the woods, but rhinestones, sequins and sparkles were the fun twist in her senior portrait shoot yesterday. The day could not have been more perfect for our location shoot on her family farm. I really enjoy using places that are significant to the senior as backdrops for these special images.  Farms are great places to shoot. There are so many things to use as props and backgrounds and the unexpected twist of a sparkly dress in front of  old barn is just the kind of thing we are known for! Katie was amazing: she took direction, had great expressions and worked the poses to perfection! As a result we have some awesome senior photographs to share as her sneak peek! Hair and makeup by the amazing Sarah Kellems. There will be a video of Katie’s senior portrait experience by the one and only Carly Wilson coming soon!

 

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2013 Central High School Senior – Claire

Claire is a fun-loving, book reading, loves-to-argue kinda girl! She was so much fun. She could pull this beautiful smile one minute and a do- you-really-want- to-mess-with-me look the next! We shot like crazy until we ran out of light and then found an indoor location and shot some more.  Watch for her softball Sportraits next week!!! Hair and makeup by the awesome Sarah Kellems!

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2013 Fisher Senior Girl – Alex

I knew Alex was going to be alot of fun. We did all kinds of fun photos in little out-of-the-way places on the University of Illinois Campus. Flowers, grasses, architecture, scupture and a drop dead gorgeous senior girl, its a recipe for AWESOMENESS!!!! ( and I love her freckles!!)  Hair and makeup by the amazing Sarah Kellems

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Looking for class of 2013 LTP ELITE SQUAD MEMBERS

Laura Trovillion Photography is looking for members of the class of 2013 to become part of the LTP ELITE SQUAD!  Squad members will receive: complimentary mini session, complimentary full senior sitting with free upgrades including our ever popular sportrait, complimentary product upgrades to senior portrait packages, discounts on sports action photos, a bigger variety of images in portrait packages. the coolest products around and above all, some of the most awesome senior pictures in the area. Membership is limited, so do not delay. Call me at 217-239-1658 or email me at tlaura@trovillionphoto.com for details. Elite squad membership is open to all High Schools in the Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie and Sangamon county areas.

Elite Squad image sequence

2012 Fisher Senior – Kristian

Senior shoot in January….OUTDOORS! We so totally lucked out with the weather yesterday! Kristian brought lots of great prop stuff, clothes and a totally awesome attitude! We walked around downtown Fisher, kicked back on a “beach”, and rocked some very cool photos in the studio!! But don’t just take my word for it, take a look below and tell me what you think!

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2012 Fisher senior – Boyd

Boyd’s senior portrait shoot was alot of fun in spite of the weather and the late date. We were in the woods where the wind was blocked and it was quite a bit warmer than the shoot the night before, which was a blessing. Boyd has gorgeous hair and  the colors of the autumn woods really complimented his coloring.  He smiled alot, which was great. He seemed to be having a good time.  We  shot a couple of looks in the studio, and then decided to play a bit with a football shot. I think it turned out pretty cool!

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2012 Fisher Senior – Mike and his dog

Mike was another senior that got a really cold, windy day for his senior portrait shoot. He was game though and toughed it out even though I think his teeth were chattering! Luckily the second half of his shoot was in the studio with his puppy, Mia. Mike wasn’t mr. smiley, but I like the images we got and I hope he does too.

2012 senior boy photos

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2012 Fisher Senior Pictures – Chaney

Chaney is our senior from last night. Yep, we were shooting outside, freezing our butts off. However, as you will see, it was totally worth it! Chaney had some really great ideas for her senior pictures, and was game for anything! Finally we came into the studio so she could have some photos with her adorable dog and to show off her great new smile!

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2012 Gibson City Senior pictures – Jordan

Jordan is from Gibson City and his senior portrait sitting was just about what you would expect from someone who eats, sleeps and breathes soccer. The first half of the photoshoot were shots for mom. These we took in funky places and alleys in downtown Champaign. The second half of the shoot was the “fun” half and taken on the soccer fields at Parkland College. It didn’t really matter which half it was, cause Jordan totally rocked the shoot! Special thanks to Storm for helping with the lights and being the defender for the soccer shots.

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