Stranger Things Inspired Photoshoot | Historic Opelika, AL
If Stranger Things took place in Opelika Alabama, Vecna wouldn’t stand a chance against these kids! 6 of my incredibly awesome and creative Class of 2026 senior portrait clients joined me for a creative Stranger Things photoshoot in Historic Downtown Opelika this month to celebrate the release of Season 5! Each wore outfits and had props that related to the show and it’s time period and characters.
One of the defining features of Season 5 of Stranger Things is Vecna’s Victorian style childhood home - a setting he recreates and psychically brings Hawkins Indiana kids to in order to bring about his seriously evil, world-ending plans. Naturally, I thought it would be awesome to search our own historic neighborhoods for similar architecture to use for this photoshoot backdrop. When I remembered the old Opelika Chamber building, the choice of location was easy! I called up Ali Rauch, the Chamber President, and she said our request to do a session on the property was totally approved! (Thanks Ali for taking such a random call!)
I hope you’re still enjoying the photos and reading at this point because my favorite photos are still to come! This group were such great sports, because in addition to all the “normal” vintage Vecna house photos I created with them, I really wanted to try my hand at something with more of a cinematic “Upside Down” lighting and editing feel while we were there as well!
I packed a few of my strobe lights and some red gels and my ND filter and got to work for a few more experimental shots at the end of our session! With the help of everyone holding light stands and blocking some sunlight, we were able to get some great base images that I was able to further color grade and tweak in Photoshop with creepy elements and dramatic tones! I’ve shared this on social media already, but I really wanted to create these without using AI, and am really proud of the results being totally achieved by hand.
What shows, books, or other franchises inspire you to be creative?! Let me know what you think of this shoot and if you’d like to see other themes for future creative projects!
