Aviation Themed Senior Photos Moeller High School Senior At The Air Force Museum

January 11, 2024

Combining Two Photography Passions

It is a rare day when I get to combine two of my photography passions, senior photography, and aviation photography to create one-of-a-kind aviation senior photos. Early on an October Sunday morning, I met this Moeller High School senior and his mom to create one-of-a-kind senior photos at Dayton’s Air For Museum. This talkative young man loves military aviation history and was by far the most knowledgeable senior when it came to aviation. We had a great senior portrait session at this Dayton museum.

Our Photography Plan

We had a plan to do 95% of the aviation senior photos in the WWII gallery and the remainder in the Cold War Gallery and in the Air Park outside. We started off with the P-51 Mustang and the Memphis Belle. Since I am one of the special events photographers at the museum, I was sharing my own cool stories about photographing these aircraft.

Creating Aviation Senior Photos

The museum can be difficult to photograph in due to the low light. I always bring a remote light to light my subject. It can be tricky on some aircraft to get a good shot, but most work okay. The aircraft hanging from the ceiling are not usable to seniors, so make sure your senior knows this. It is most helpful when the subject can review the airplanes ahead of time. Since the museum is free, he or she can walk through the museum to identify which aircraft they like. Then, once the session comes around, we can use their ideas as well as mine to create some cool aviation senior photos.

The Air Force Museum

The Air Force Museum is officially known as the National Museum Of The United States Air Force. As a kid, I went to the museum for field trips and with grown-ups. I never really liked it. Fast forward to becoming a professional aviation photographer, and now I go several times a year to create beautiful artful photos.