If It’s Worth Doing,

It’s Worth Doing WELL

I’ve never needed much convincing to go all out. I’m the girl who likes to dress up for the airport, a trip to the grocery store, you name it. So when it comes to something as once-in-a-lifetime as your senior pictures, you can probably guess where I stand.


But, going “all out” for your session doesn’t have to mean spending money just for the sake of spending it, though. To me, it means being intentional about the things that matter to you, like the location you really love, outfits you feel amazing in, and the little details that turn an ordinary session into the perfect representation of YOU!


And Cambrie’s senior session at The Grand Lady might be one of my favorite examples.


This session was already an extra special one for me because Cambrie is the little sister of one of my best friends from high school. Time has absolutely flown by, and she’s now a Class of ’27 senior at Wimberley High School, applying to colleges all over the South as she decides where she’ll head next.

Woman in white floral midi dress standing on stone path in lush garden with wooden fence gates.
Young woman in navy maxi dress sitting on white porch steps, smiling, with elegant colonial architecture behind her.
Young woman in pink dress and glasses smiling in a lush flower garden.

Choosing a Location Worth Investing In



When it came time to choose a location, Cambrie and her mom knew they wanted flowers. Every CGP senior receives my location guide with a collection of options for their session, including free public locations as well as private properties and studios that can be rented for an additional fee. When they saw The Grand Lady in Austin, they knew it was the one.


One of the things that stood out to them was the property’s beautiful, manicured gardens. If you’ve spent a summer in Texas, you know how special that is! We don’t exactly have East Coast hydrangeas happily basking in 70-degree weather all summer. By the time senior season rolls around in the fall, finding lush flowers can be a little harder unless they’ve been very intentionally cared for.


Rather than settling for a location they just liked, Cambrie and her mom decided to invest in the location they loved! I coordinated the rental for them, and for $250 we had The Grand Lady privately for an hour, with access to both the historic home and the back gardens... and it made such a difference. Because the property was reserved just for us, we weren’t fighting other photographers for the prettiest spots, working around people in the background, or posing in front of a crowd of strangers. We could simply take our time, move throughout the property, and choose the best setting for each of Cambrie’s outfits. The whole experience felt calm and unhurried.


Her mom kept saying she wanted to move into the property, so I think it’s safe to say they were happy they went with their dream location!

Young woman in floral dress smiling in a garden surrounded by colorful blooming flowers on a sunny day.

 

Three Looks

(Without Buying Three New Dresses)

 

The same intentionality went into Cambrie’s outfits. She wanted each look to feel different while still making sense with the location, but that didn’t mean she needed to go out and buy three brand-new dresses just for senior pictures.


Cambrie and her mom used Nuuly to order six dresses they loved, then tried everything on at home and narrowed it down to the two that felt best for her session. Her short pink Hill House Home dress and blue and white FARM Rio dress were both rentals, while her navy Altar’d State dress was the one they saw and decided to purchase and keep.


This is one of my favorite ways to plan outfits for senior pictures. What looks perfect online might fit completely differently once it arrives, and having several options takes so much of the pressure off finding the perfect dress on the first try. You can see everything on, move around in it, and think about how each piece will photograph before making your final choices.


And in Cambrie’s case, it worked out perfectly. The FARM Rio dress ended up being their favorite look of the session, especially photographed among the flowers in The Grand Lady’s back gardens.


Going all out doesn’t always mean buying more. Sometimes it means giving yourself more options, then being really intentional about choosing the ones you love most.

Young woman in floral maxi dress smiling among colorful garden flowers surrounded by lush green trees.
Young woman in pink dress smiling on brick path outside white house surrounded by lush green trees.
Young woman in black maxi dress smiling outdoors on brick path with lush green garden background.

 

Going All Out, Your Way!

 

Going all out doesn’t mean choosing the most expensive option every time. It means deciding what matters most to you and being intentional about it. For Cambrie and her mom, that meant investing in the location of their dreams while getting creative with outfit rentals for three completely different looks.


Your version might be a dream location, professional hair and makeup, a dress you’ve been saving, or somewhere simple that already means something to you. Whatever going all out looks like for you, make it something you’ll be glad you did when you look back on these photos years from now!