making the most of your senior portraits
If you’re doing senior photos (and especially if it’s your first time being professionally photographed), you’re bound to have questions.
What do I wear? How am I supposed to pose? Should I have professional hair and makeup done? How soon after my shoot will I see my photos and will I get the digitals?
Whether you’re feeling excited and have a specific vision for your session OR you’re feeling completely clueless, rest assured that I’ll walk you through every step and help you come away with incredible, magazine-style senior photos that you’re proud to share.
The Planning Process
Step 1: First things first, schedule a call. A short 15-minute call is a chance for us to talk through the overall look and feel you’re going for with your photos and decide on a day and a location (studio or outdoors). I love the opportunity to learn more about you and this is where we start cooking up ideas for a shoot that truly feels like YOU.
Step 2: Add to our shared Pinterest inspo board. Once your session is booked, I’ll create a Pinterest board just for you. I’ll ask you to take a few minutes to browse images you love and add them to our board. This step helps make sure you and I are on the same page, visually, and lets us aim for a similar look with your own portraits. This can also help inspire your outfit choices as well.
Step 3: Select your outfits. I recommend 2-4 different looks for senior portrait sessions. Sometimes seniors will choose one look that’s more dressy, another that’s casual, and then a third that’s reflective of their future plans (such as a shirt with a college logo). But you can go any direction with this that you like and I love when seniors have fun with it and let their own personal style shine through.
Other Options to Consider
Professional hair and makeup About half the seniors I work with choose to have professional hair and makeup done for their session. If this is not your thing, please skip it, but it can be a fun experience and a step up from your everyday look. If you’re interested, let me know and I can connect you with a wonderful hair/makeup artist I work with often.
Personalize your shoot with elements that highlight your interests. This might mean bringing along a guitar/skateboard/volleyball/favorite book. If you’re into horses or dance or pickleball, we can find ways to incorporate those things. While we don’t want to get overly-focused on props, it can be fun to give a nod to a hobby that’s meaningful to you.
Create a playlist If you’ve opted for a studio shoot and have a playlist that makes you feel amazing, by all means let me know. I always love to have music on in the background for my indoor sessions, and even if you don’t bring your own music, I’ll have some going for us.
Include family members Senior portraits are a special way to bookmark this chapter in your life and some seniors want to include family for the last 10 minutes of their session. There’s NO additional fee for this and it can be a great way to capture a handful of portraits together while you’re already dressed up and looking and feeling amazing.
Here’s What to Expect
I’ll check in with you the day before your session to confirm any last-minute details and make sure weather is cooperating. (If not, know that it’s not a problem to reschedule you, usually with 10 days of your original shoot date.)
Most people show up a little nervous, but within just a few minutes we’ll be moving and laughing and having a great time. Know that I’m going to walk you through EVERY STEP (all posing and expressions) to make sure you look cool, confident, and relaxed in your photos.
About 10-14 days after your session, you’ll receive an email from me with a link to your gallery, where you can browse and download your final images. Included in your package are your web resolution digital files (around 40 of the very best, edited photos). You’ll be able to download those immediately. They’re sized perfectly for sharing online or with family and friends and will reprint at 4x6 size.
We’ll also schedule a time for you to come into the studio and view your photos on a larger monitor. We’ll walk through them together and let you select your favorites so that you can use your included $500 print credit toward wall art or print products.
Bonus tip:
Drop a hint to friends and family that they can contribute toward your portrait session as a graduation gift. This can offset some of the cost of your session fee or give you a larger credit toward prints. Share this link and they’ll have an easy way to purchase a digital gift card toward your session.
