Some senior portrait sessions are special because of the photographs we create. Others are special because of the person standing in front of my camera.
With Cruz, it was definitely both.
Cruz is a graduate of Salinas High School, but to me, he has been my son’s best friend for longer than I can remember. I’ve had the privilege of watching the two of them grow up together, and there is something a little surreal about realizing that the boys who seemed like kids just yesterday are suddenly graduating from high school and heading into the next chapter of their lives.
Getting to photograph Cruz for his senior portraits made this session especially meaningful for me.
An Urban Senior Session in Downtown Salinas
We started Cruz’s senior portrait session in Downtown Salinas, using the historic buildings, brick walls, staircases and architecture surrounding the National Steinbeck Center.
And this is exactly why I love photographing seniors downtown.
You don’t need a field of flowers or a beach sunset to create an amazing senior gallery. Downtown Salinas has so many textures, lines and tucked-away spaces that can completely change the look of a photograph within just a few steps.
For Cruz, it was perfect.
His simple black tee, jeans and sneakers worked incredibly well against the old brick buildings and industrial staircases. The combination gave his portraits a relaxed, modern feel while still showing off some of the history and character of Salinas.
We mixed more traditional portraits with images that were a little moodier and editorial, including some black-and-white photographs that quickly became favorites from the session.
A quick change into a white shirt gave us an entirely different look without changing locations. The modern architecture, glass, concrete and parking structures around downtown gave us even more variety and a clean, contemporary contrast to the historic brick buildings where we started.
That is one of my favorite things about planning a senior portrait session around the person I’m photographing. We aren’t limited to one backdrop or one particular “senior picture” look.
The goal is to create a gallery that actually feels like you.
From Downtown Salinas to Sunset in Spreckels
But we weren’t finished yet.
For the second half of Cruz’s session, we headed to Spreckels—and brought along something that absolutely deserved to be part of his senior portraits: his vintage Mustang.
And this is where the session took on an entirely different personality.
With the Salinas Valley farmland and rolling hills behind us, the sun dropping toward the horizon, and that beautiful Mustang in front of the camera, we went from urban senior portraits to something that felt almost cinematic.
Cruz added a jacket over his white shirt, which was the perfect choice for the setting and the car. As the light became warmer and lower, we photographed him beside the Mustang, leaning against it, sitting behind the wheel and incorporating all of those gorgeous details that make a classic car so much fun to photograph.
The combination of the dark Mustang, golden evening light and open farmland was pretty hard to beat.
Some of my favorite photographs from the entire session are the wide images where you can see Cruz, the car, the fields and those familiar Salinas Valley hills stretching out behind him.
They don't just show what Cruz looked like during his senior year.
They show a little piece of where he came from and who he was at this moment in his life.
And that is exactly what senior portraits should do.
Bring the Things That Are Part of Your Story
Cruz’s Mustang is also a perfect example of something I tell my senior clients all the time:
Bring the things that matter to you.
Your senior portraits don't have to look like anyone else's.
Bring the car. Bring the cowboy boots. Bring the letterman jacket. Bring your sports equipment, instrument, college sweatshirt, surfboard—or whatever else represents this chapter of your life.
Those personal details are often what turn a beautiful portrait into a photograph that actually tells your story.
Years from now, I don't just want my seniors to look back and think, That was a nice picture of me.
I want them to remember.
The car they loved. The clothes they actually wore. The places they spent their time. What they were excited about. Who they were becoming.
Senior year is such a short transition between childhood and whatever comes next. It deserves to be documented in a way that feels personal.
Congratulations, Cruz
This is one of those sessions that will always mean a little more to me.
Cruz, I have watched you and my son grow up together for so many years that I'm not entirely sure when you two stopped being little boys and became high school graduates.
I'm also fairly certain nobody asked my permission.
Seeing the friendship the two of you have shared through all these years has been incredibly special, and getting to document your senior year was something I won't forget.
Congratulations on graduating from Salinas High School, Cruz.
I’m excited to see where life takes you next—and very grateful that I got to capture this part of the story before you headed there.
Planning Your Own Salinas Senior Portrait Session?
Your senior portraits should look and feel like you.
Whether that means historic Downtown Salinas, the beaches of Monterey County, Carmel Valley, open farmland, your favorite sport, your first car—or a combination of completely different locations—we can build your session around the things that make your senior year yours.
Class of 2027 senior portrait sessions are now booking with Sheryl Bjorn Photography throughout Salinas, Monterey, Carmel Valley, Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea and the surrounding Central Coast.
