Wondering if a morning or evening session is best for you? Find out which time of day will produce images that suit your dream senior experience at James Madison University!

Morning

The most important thing that allows my style of bright and colorful portraits to look the way they do is LIGHT! If there are no clouds in the sky to create pretty, diffused light, photographers want the sun to be behind their subjects. Little photographer tip for you- for photos taken on your phone, have the sun facing you and for photos taken on a professional camera, have the sun behind you! On JMU’s campus, the sun happens to rise behind all the most popular spots on campus. This means gorgeous, even light when photographing a session.

A morning session is for you if:

-You love Wilson Hall and want it to be an integral part of your senior portraits. The light at Wilson is just perfect in the morning!

-You want an empty campus. There are hardly any people on campus in the mornings. This means little to no wait times at the columns and fountain (which we love!) and almost no people in the background of your images at Wilson Hall.

-You are okay with an early wakeup time. We will begin at either 7 or 7:30am depending on the day you book. P.S. this means open parking at Grace Street Parking Deck!

Evening

My favorite time of day is golden hour! JMU’s light, bright campus is sunset’s best friend! Light at the columns is beautiful and the trees behind the glittering water in the fountain are glowing from the setting sun. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a few clouds right when we stop at Wilson Hall or the sun will drop behind Harrison Hall just in time for our arrival.

An evening session is for you if:

-Golden hour is also your favorite time of day! The light is glowy and beautiful, illuminating campus.

-You’re okay with long wait times and the chance of less photos. There are more crowds and long wait times in the height of senior season. This means we may have to skip around to spots or if we’re running out of time, potentially lose out on a location.

-You don’t care as much about Wilson so we can spend more time with better light at the columns or the fountain. Wilson is a classic and we’ll absolutely grab some photos there! The sun sets in front of Wilson which, like I mentioned before, is best for phone photos, but not necessarily on a digital camera because of the harsh shadows. A cloudy day or a morning session is ideal for Wilson photos if that’s your favorite spot!

-You are okay with the chance that there will be people in the background of your images. I do the best I can to avoid this but due to the popular locations and time we shoot, it is sometimes unavoidable.

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Still not sure? Check out these images to see morning or evening for a JMU senior session

Morning or evening senior sessions by Amanda Coll Photography at James Madison University