Aubrey’s Senior Experience: From Carmel Valley to the Monterey Coast

Aubrey’s Senior Experience was the perfect mix of country, flowers, and the California coast—three completely different settings and looks that came together to tell the story of her senior year.

A graduate of Salinas High School, Aubrey spent all four years cheering for the Cowboys. For her senior portraits, we wanted to create a session that felt fun, relaxed, and completely her, while taking advantage of some of the beautiful locations we have here in Monterey County.

Senior Portraits at Garland Ranch in Carmel Valley

We started Aubrey’s session at Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley, where she brought a little country style to her senior pictures.

Aubrey wore a soft pink flowing dress paired with cowboy boots, and we added a cowboy hat for some of her portraits. Between the rustic wooden fences, old barn, golden grasses, and Carmel Valley hills, this location was made for this outfit.

The warm afternoon light gave us that gorgeous golden California look, while the dress and boots added just the right amount of personality. We photographed everything from traditional senior portraits to movement shots, including walking, twirling, and laughing—the moments that often end up being some of my favorites.

Flowers, Sunshine & a Completely Different Look

For our second stop, we headed to a local flower farm, and Aubrey made a complete outfit change.

This time she chose jeans and a simple white tank top, giving this part of her Senior Experience a much more casual feel. Surrounded by rows of colorful flowers and greenery, the simplicity of her outfit let both Aubrey and the location shine.

This is one of the things I love about a multi-location senior session. Your senior portraits don't have to have just one look or one personality. Changing the location and outfit can completely transform the photographs while still making the entire gallery feel connected.

Del Monte Beach Senior Portraits

We finished Aubrey’s Senior Experience at Del Monte Beach in Monterey, just in time for that beautiful end-of-day coastal light.

For the beach, Aubrey changed into all white—a white top and long flowing skirt that looked incredible against the sand, ocean, and sunset.

We started with portraits along the shoreline before heading right into the water. And yes, that meant getting wet!

Those final photographs of Aubrey laughing, running and splashing through the waves were the perfect way to end her session. They feel less like posed senior pictures and more like a celebration of finishing high school and stepping into whatever comes next.

Celebrating a Salinas High School Senior

After four years as a Salinas High School Cowboys cheerleader, graduation marked the end of a pretty big chapter for Aubrey.

Senior year goes ridiculously fast. Between classes, sports, activities, graduation plans and everything else happening during that final year of high school, it can feel like it's over almost as soon as it begins.

That's one of the reasons I love creating a Senior Experience rather than simply taking a few senior pictures.

Aubrey's session took us from cowboy boots and golden fields in Carmel Valley, to colorful flowers, and finally barefoot on the beach in Monterey. Three locations. Three completely different looks. And one gallery that captures this particular moment in her life.

Planning Your Own Senior Experience?

If you're a Class of 2027 senior in Salinas, Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Santa Cruz, San Benito County or the surrounding Central Coast, now is the time to start planning your senior portraits.

Your Senior Experience can be designed around you—your style, interests, favorite locations and the things that have been part of your high school years.

Want golden fields and cowboy boots? Let's do it.

Downtown and something a little more editorial? Absolutely.

Finish the night barefoot at the beach? Even better.

Class of 2027 Senior Experiences are now booking. Contact Sheryl Bjorn Photography to start planning yours.

Cruz | Downtown Salinas Senior Portraits & a Vintage Mustang at Sunset

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.

Purple Blooms & Coastal Dreams | Samantha’s Senior Portrait Session | Senior Photographer

Wild flowers, Waves, and Graduation Dreams

Samantha, Class of 2025

Samantha’s senior portrait session in Pacific Grove was filled with vibrant color, glowing light, and the effortless beauty of the California coast. Surrounded by the famous magic carpet of purple flowers, her session felt both dreamy and unforgettable.

We began among the stunning coastal blooms, where golden light poured across the landscape and created the most beautiful glow. The coastline was alive with color, offering endless gorgeous backdrops. Samantha proudly wore her University of California, Irvine sweatshirt, celebrating the exciting next chapter ahead. It was such a meaningful way to honor all of the hard work that brought her to this milestone.

Pacific Grove Senior Portraits

For one of her classic looks, Samantha chose a timeless white dress paired with matching shoes—an elegant choice that will never go out of style. Her long chestnut brown hair, styled in soft curls, added a romantic and polished touch that complemented the coastal scenery perfectly. The simplicity of this look allowed her natural beauty to shine in every portrait.

Sheryl Bjorn Photography, Senior Portraits

Monterey Senior Photographer

We also captured fun cap and gown portraits along the bluff, with the ocean stretching behind her. These images beautifully marked the significance of graduation while showcasing the breathtaking scenery that makes Pacific Grove so special.

As the evening came to a close, the wind picked up and gave us a bit of a challenge, but it ended up adding so much movement and personality to the final images. Samantha’s lovely pink dress and flowing hair created the carefree, playful look we were hoping for as she walked through the sand at sunset. The breeze, warm light, and peaceful shoreline came together to create the perfect ending to an incredible session.

Monterey Senior Photographer

Samantha’s senior portraits captured so many beautiful sides of her—graceful, joyful, confident, and full of excitement for what lies ahead. Celebrating this milestone with her along the coast was truly such a joy.