A lovely day for a Cemetery Session

Settings have a lot to do with photos' impact; a great location can separate an OK image from a great one. Rose Hill Cemetery is a powerful setting featuring ivy crawling up old brick, staircases leading to nowhere cut into the side of hills, and century-old headstones. This southern gothic setting in the summertime really got me excited to shoot with my two fantastic models, Marley and Savannah.

I wanted a departure from more traditional cemetery shoots by asking the models to wear long dresses suitable for the summer, but not overly gothic. Black and lace have their place, but I wanted this session to touch on the earthy beauty of the cemetery and the meditative power we can experience when spending time there. The cemetery is a quiet somber environment, but that quiet can help us to be still even when our mind is racing.

I still wanted these shots to feature some smiles, but I wanted to experiment with softer smiles and more contemplative gazes. The mood of a cemetery called for something a little more dramatic than big grins. My models were excellent in accomodating my requests. I was really happy with looks I got on the day and I feel they added a lot to the session.

I've been a constant or natural light photographer since I began in photography, but I've been learning more Off Camera Flash and wanted to try it out on this shoot. I chose an afternoon shoot that would give me some harsh light that I could use for side and back lighting giving my Flash a chance to shine as a fill. I really wanted to slightly enhance the models, but not give them that "flashy" look.

There were so many great spots to photograph that we were overwhelmed with choices. I chose to focus on some sitting, standing, and even lying-down shots to make the most out of our spots. We were all very happy with the variety of shots we were able to come away with and counted this session a success.

Hopefully, I can shoot in Rose Hill Cemetery soon.

Thank you, kindly.