Senior Session in The Desert
The 2020 graduating senior class has had a year like no other.Kinsey Sage, as she is known on Instagram, has found her last semester of high school to be extremely unique. She now has to continue all of her classes online and has no idea whether she will return to school at all before the end of the school year due to the coronavirus. The school canceled all sports and events such as prom and is likely to cancel graduation as well. The unknown is what has been most unsettling for Kinsey. If she only knew what the rest of the year looked like, she would be able to deal with the reality of it all.
Although Kinsey has been faced with this unique situation, she is optimistic and hopeful for her first semester in college. Kinsey is attending a liberal arts program where she intends to pursue a career in painting. She has a passion for post-mortem art and would like to paint portraits of the deceased for families or something in that realm. I just love how creepy and cool this girl is! She also plans to study abroad in London or France where she can learn from all the historically great painters of the past.
When we discussed different options for the location of her photoshoot, Kinsey chose the desert because she felt she most identified with this landscape and found that most of her classmates had picked the similar settings for their photos, the forest. She wanted to stand out because that's what she does best.
We ventured out to Moon Rocks. Moon Rock is one of my favorite desert locations to shoot in the Reno, Nevada surrounding area. The rock formations are distinctive and diverse. The reds and browns that pop in the granite make for an awesome backdrop. There are some beautiful juniper trees and rabbit sage brush in the area that greatly depict the Nevada landscape. On a typical evening, the sunsets are bright and colorful, although on this particular evening there weren't any clouds in the sky.
Kinsey chose three outfits that best reflected her diverse style. The first outfit was fun and causal with a teal crop top, ripped jeans and black Dr. Marten boots. All of her outfits were accessorized with a collection of bracelets, a glass necklace, her original tattoos and blue and pink streaks in her hair. Her second outfit was a light and flowy yellow and white printed Free People dress. This outfit was so fun to play with in the light! The last outfit was a black long sleeve crop top with a burgundy bohemian printed skirt. This outfit reflected her witchy side and photographed nicely after the sun set when the lighting became darker and moodier.
I thoroughly enjoyed hiking around the desert with Kinsey. She let me play around with some double exposure images and a prism to get some creative photos of her. It is clear that she won't let the pandemic keep her from pursuing a creative life in painting. She is an amazing young woman and I am excited to see where she grows.
Congratulations on your graduation, Kinsey!
xx,
Ashley Robison Photography
