I have always loved a front door portrait for families but this year I love them a little more as our homes have taken on a new appreciation. The front door is often a backdrop for the first photo you take when you bring your baby home from the hospital, it stands behind kids for countless first day of school snapshots and high school dances. It has welcomed family, guests and friends inside for many occasions and celebrations. This year I am even more enthusiastic about front door portraits. Our homes have transformed into schools, offices, hair salons, movie theaters and for families of high school seniors everywhere, this week we add graduation ceremony venues. 

Parents of high school seniors everywhere have bought stores out of 2020 balloons, congratulation banners and balloons in school colors. Families gathered in front of their televisions or computers to watch the graduation ceremony together as a family. Families cheered from their house for the students they have known for years, even though they couldn’t hear them. Photos of graduates being handed their diploma were replaced with screen shots of their names flashing across the screen below their senior yearbook photo.

This home is sending off the last Maine West graduate. The last high school graduation photos were taken last week and I was happy to be apart of it. It was a way to add a little more enthusiasm to this 2020 High School Senior celebration. 

She said she always takes a photo with her pup, Tonks, before school dances and celebrations. So naturally we had to get one portrait in front of the house together with her. She looks pretty excited to be apart of the front door session! A bonus to front door sessions, whether we are restricted to them or not, is that it is easy to photograph and bring your dog to a session at your own front door. 

For our last part of the session I set up an outdoor studio to get a studio portrait of the graduate. Right now, getting into a studio is impossible with all the restrictions. Thankfully my lights and backdrops can travel easily and I can put together a studio right on the sidewalk. And here is the final portrait:

Congrats to all the High School Seniors of 2020! I hope everyone has found a unique way to customize their graduates’ ceremony and end of the year celebrations. If you are still looking for a portrait session to help with that, click HERE for the 2020 Social Distancing Portrait Magazine.