Session Spotlight: Cricket’s Senior Portraits – An All-American Adventure
- Lizzie Knapp
- Mar 13
- 4 min read
Hey y’all! It’s time for another Session Spotlight, and this week we’re shining the light on Cricket, a soon-to-be graduate of Pangburn High School (Class of 2026!). I recently had the absolute pleasure of photographing Cricket’s senior portraits, and let me tell you, this session was a blast from start to finish. Cricket is the definition of an all-American Southern girl—archery, trapping, hunting, you name it, she’s all about it. So naturally, we had to make her session a reflection of everything that makes her, well, Cricket.
The Outdoor Adventure
Cricket showed up ready to roll, bringing along her bow and her favorite hunting rifle—props that screamed her personality. And because my husband’s a trapper (and I’m still waiting on him to take me out to use the gear he got me—honey, if you’re reading this, the mink traps are gathering dust, let’s get a move on!), I raided his stash and snagged a few traps to add to the mix. It was the perfect touch of rugged charm.
We kicked things off outside in my side yard, where I’m lucky enough to have plenty of wooded areas to play with. The trees made for a gorgeous natural backdrop, and we started with some relaxed poses up against them—simple, timeless, and totally Cricket. Then we broke out the rifle, traps, and bow for some action shots. She also brought an American flag (because of course she did!), and those shots turned out so stunning that one of them has already snagged me a ViewBug award. Cue the happy dance!
Moving Indoors: Studio Vibes
After nailing the outdoor shots, we headed inside to my studio—or, as I like to call it, my “living-room-turned-temporary-studio-until-the-real-one’s-built.” It’s still a work in progress, but I’m beyond excited to get the actual studio up and running later this year—eeek! Cricket brought some outfit changes, so once we wrapped up with her first look, we switched gears for some fun indoor magic.
For the next setup, I stuck with my trusty continuous key light paired with a reflector, but I added a honeycomb grid and barndoors to focus a narrow beam right on Cricket’s face. She’d slipped into a yellow dress for this part (more on that later), and I decided to spice things up with colored lighting—an orange light on one side, a red light on the other, bouncing off a mylar background. The result? A jaw-dropping “lake of fire” effect that looked straight out of a dream. To make it pop even more, Cricket’s mom jumped in and shook the background while I snapped away. Teamwork makes the dream work, y’all!
Light Painting Fun
Now, here’s the thing—Cricket wasn’t thrilled about the yellow dress. It was more of a “wear it for Mom” situation, bless her heart. But I wasn’t about to let that dress go to waste without having some fun with it. So, we dove into light painting! I grabbed some red, yellow, and orange tissue paper—the kind you’d stuff in a gift bag—arranged it into a cone, and dropped a cheap little flashlight inside. Standing behind Cricket, I turned the light on and off in a circular pattern while the camera did its thing, creating a flame-like glow around her. For that swooshy effect at the bottom? I just kept the light on and swooped it around her continuously. The result was pure magic, and I think we turned that yellow dress into something she’ll never forget.
Wrapping It Up with a Lightsaber Twist
For the final round, Cricket changed back into her original outfit, and we brought the bow back out for one last hurrah. This time, we grabbed a toy lightsaber from Walmart (because why not?) and went to town with some light painting. The glowing streaks paired with her bow made for some seriously cool, dynamic shots that tied the whole session together.
The Wrap-Up
Cricket’s session was everything I love about senior portraits—capturing who they are, what they love, and having a ton of fun along the way. From the wooded outdoor vibes to the fiery indoor creativity, we made memories and images that I hope she’ll treasure as she heads into her final year at Pangburn High School. Here’s to you, Cricket—keep shining, and happy hunting (and trapping, and archery-ing)!
Stay tuned for the next Session Spotlight, y’all—I can’t wait to share more stories and snaps with you!
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