The Beginning of Something NEW: Madison Senior Portrait Experienc

Most people know me as a wedding photographer and videographer.

Hey look! It’s me! How are ya?!

Weddings have become the heart of what I do at My Only Visuals, from capturing those quiet moments before the ceremony to the beautiful chaos that happens once everyone hits the dance floor.

But sometimes, a new chapter begins when you aren’t even looking for one. That’s exactly how senior portraits found their way into My Only Visuals.

So… How Did This Even Start?

Funny enough, I wasn’t sitting around one day thinking: “You know what? I’m going to start offering senior portraits.”

It actually started with one of my past wedding clients, Alyssa Bazala. I had the privilege of photographing Alyssa and her husband Michael’s wedding, and I’m incredibly appreciative that they trusted me to be part of such a magical experience in their lives.

There they are!

Then sometime later, Alyssa asked me a simple question: “Do you do senior portraits?” At the time, senior portraits weren’t really a service I was offering.

But the question got me thinking. Why not?

My background in wedding photography, filmmaking, lighting, portraiture, and storytelling could translate into something completely different. Instead of only photographing couples beginning a new chapter together, why couldn’t I photograph seniors standing at the beginning of one of their own? And that’s where Jadyn, Alyssa’s niece, enters the story. Jadyn is actually going to be my first senior portrait client and, in reality, she’s where this entire new adventure begins.

One request from a previous wedding client suddenly planted the seed for something I hadn’t originally planned.

And now?

That seed is starting to grow. So thank you, Alyssa. Sometimes all it takes is one person asking, “Do you do this?” to make you realize… Maybe I should. And Then Came Madison

That’s what brings us to Madison. Which I thank her mother, Maria, so much for contacting the love of my life about senior portraits.

Maria and Madison!

As I began preparing to explore senior photography more seriously, another opportunity arrived. Madison’s upcoming senior portrait session gives me another chance to develop what I want the My Only Visuals senior experience to eventually become. Senior year isn’t just about taking pictures before graduation. It’s the closing of one chapter and that strange, exciting moment where the next one hasn’t quite been written yet.

For Madison, I want to create something personal, natural, cinematic, and most importantly, something that feels like her. Rather than simply choosing a location, showing up, and taking photographs, we’re building the experience together and creating Madison’s vision

Before the camera ever comes out, I want to understand what my client actually wants. For Madison, we knew we wanted to lean heavily into a natural, outdoor aesthetic surrounded by greenery, trees, textures, and scenery that complements her rather than overpowering her. Once we had our environment figured out, we could start building the creative direction.

Building the Look Together

One of my favorite parts of photography is collaboration. I don’t want to simply tell someone: “Stand here. Turn your head. Smile.” I want my clients involved.

For Madison, we’re building a Pinterest inspiration board where we can explore poses, outfits, moods, compositions, and creative ideas before August 30th arrives. We’re not trying to perfectly recreate somebody else’s photographs. Instead, Pinterest becomes our creative roadmap. We take pieces of inspiration, combine them with Madison’s personality and my own photography style, and transform everything into something original.

When session day arrives, we aren’t wandering around wondering what we’re going to do. We already have a vision.

Then comes the best part, which is creating it. Two Outfits, Two Different Looks. We also wanted plenty of variety throughout Madison’s gallery, so we’re planning two different outfits.

I love this approach because senior portraits shouldn’t force someone into showing only one side of themselves.

You can be elegant.

You can be casual.

You can be serious.

You can laugh.

You can have photographs that feel cinematic and others that simply feel like you. Bringing cinematic photography into nature. My filmmaking background has a huge influence on how I approach photography. When I look through a camera, I’m thinking beyond whether the photograph is technically correct. I’m thinking about lighting, atmosphere, composition, emotion, depth, and story. For Madison’s session, I’ll be bringing professional off-camera strobe lighting into our outdoor environment.

That gives me additional control over how Madison is illuminated while still allowing us to preserve the natural beauty surrounding her. Essentially, we’re bringing a miniature photography studio into nature.

No walls.

No outlets.

Just cameras, lighting, batteries, nature, and whatever we decide to create because senior portraits should actually be fun. There’s another part of the My Only Visuals experience that’s incredibly important to me.

Having fun!

Being photographed can already feel awkward. Someone points a giant camera at you, and suddenly… your brain decides it has completely forgotten what human beings normally do with their hands. That’s why I don’t want my sessions to feel like an assembly line.

We’ll talk.

We’ll laugh.

We’ll walk around.

We’ll play music you actually enjoy. And yes, I’ll probably throw a few terrible jokes into the mix if that’s what it takes to get a genuine smile. I want you to eventually forget there’s even a camera pointed at you. Because sometimes my favorite photograph isn’t the pose we planned. It’s the laugh immediately afterward. It’s the expression between photographs. It’s that tiny moment when someone’s real personality sneaks through the frame.

Those are the photographs that feel alive.

Hi Sarah and William, hope you both are doing well!

This is where my experience with weddings and engagements actually connects beautifully with senior portraits.

I’ve always believed photographs should tell stories.

A wedding represents the beginning of a new chapter between two people. Senior year marks the beginning of an entirely different chapter. And that’s what I want these sessions to capture. You bring your personality, style, interests, music, outfits, and ideas. I’ll bring the cameras, lighting, filmmaking background, creative direction, and energy.

Then we’ll build something together!!! Senior year only happens once. Your photographs shouldn’t simply prove you were there. They should remind you who you were when the next chapter of your life was beginning.

ALSO! There’s also another creative who may be joining us during Madison’s session.

Her name is Bethany from Thomas Road Media. Bethany is an upcoming photographer who wants to gain more experience, particularly within wedding photography, so I’ve invited her along to learn, photograph, observe how I approach sessions, and continue developing her craft.

So Madison, if you see Bethany with us on August 30th… That’s Bethany! Inviting her represents something else I want My Only Visuals to stand for as we continue growing.

Photographers and Videographers Should Help One Another. I genuinely believe creatives should support other creatives. Photography and videography don’t always need to revolve around competition. There is plenty of room for us to teach, learn, network, collaborate, and grow together.

If you’re an upcoming photographer or videographer and would ever like to join me during a session to observe, learn, create, or experience how another photographer works, you’re always welcome to reach out.

Maybe there’s something I can teach you.

Maybe there’s something you can teach me.

None of us ever truly finish learning our craft.

And I appreciate every photographer, videographer, creative, client, friend, and person who has supported what I’m trying to build. We’re still small, but we’re growing! We’re still building. We’re still experimenting. We’re still learning.

But we’re slowly growing, and I think this new chapter proves that.

A wedding client asked me one simple question. That question led to Jadyn. Jayden became the beginning of something new. Now Madison is becoming another piece of that story. And soon, this new service will officially become another part of My Only Visuals.

Every wedding.

Every portrait.

Every referral.

Every share.

Every inquiry.

Every person who trusts me enough to stand in front of my camera... It all moves this dream another step forward.

Which I’ll end on this note. I Have to Thank Olivia. Through all of this, there’s one person I especially have to recognize. The love of my life, Olivia. She has been pushing me forward from the very beginning and encouraging me to keep creating, experimenting, growing, and seeing just how far My Only Visuals can go. Having someone standing beside you while you’re trying to build something from the ground up means more than I could ever fit into one blog. For that, I am forever grateful to the love of my life and forever my soulmate, Olivia. I love you so much.

I love you so much, Olivia :)

As My Only Visuals grows, I never want to forget the people who were standing beside me while it was still small.

This Is Only the Beginning

So yes…

I’m a wedding photographer.

I’m a wedding videographer.

And weddings will continue to be an enormous part of My Only Visuals. But we’re growing.

A new service is coming to My Only Visuals very soon.

The official announcement will come later.

For now?

Consider this your little sneak peek that all started from ONE question.

Madison, I’m looking forward to August 30th, and Jadyn, I’m looking forward to our session as well on August 29th! Thank you both for trusting me and My Only Visuals to capture this chapter of your story. I can’t wait to see what we create together. And thank you to everyone who’s continuing to watch, support, share, recommend, and grow alongside My Only Visuals.

And this is only the beginning.

Until next time, this is Fernando De La Cruz of My Only Visuals, signing off. And always remember… Here we tell stories to never be forgotten.

“Because you are the one.”