10 Tips for a Fabulous Senior Portrait Session

Have you booked your portrait session for your Senior Pictures? I’d love to have you call my studio and inquire about our services. This is the time to book your session. July and August are almost full and you don’t want to be stuck doing them once school starts in the fall, that’s just asking for a headache when it comes to schedule conflicts.

I’ve put together my top 5 tips to get you prepared for a successful portrait experience that leaves everyone, even mom, feeling good at the end of the day. Read on!

Check out all your options
You think I’d just say, call me, fall in love, be done! LOL! Well, that’s all fine and dandy, as long as you’re a very go with the flow kind of person… but if you haven’t researched the options, you won’t have any point of reference to judge quality, service and price. Is quality important to you? If the answer is a resounding yes, then choose a professional photographer, someone who has been in the business for a while and you’ve heard delivers a great product. Service is huge too! There are amazing photographers out there, delivering high quality photos at high and low prices, but if they’re so overbooked (because they’re cheap) or so high and mighty (because they’re so ridiculously expensive) then they are not going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Finding someone in the middle ground who is going to appreciate your business and work hard to please you, that’s who you’ll want to hire.
Find the person you feel comfortable with
As soon as you get on the phone… and PLEASE, get on the phone with your photographer… you’ll know if this is a person you and your child will “click” with. The personality of your photographer is going to make or break the outcome of the session (AKA the beautiful portraits you hope to hang on your wall). Don’t sacrifice price for someone who takes forever to get back to your or seems annoyed by your questions. Having someone who is cheerful and patient is going to result in images with genuine expressions and natural poses.
Ask the right questions
Instead of asking “How much is this going to cost?” instead ask, “What will I get for my investment?” You might be able to spend $500 at two different places and you would be amazed at the difference in the quanitity and quality of what you’ll be walking away with at the end
Choose outfits with care
It used to be that there were “rules” about what to wear. Dark colors, solids, no prints, v-neck & long sleeves. Now days those rules are blown out of the water. Yes, if you follow those guidelines you’ll be able to get a nice, classic, simple portrait that focuses on your beautiful face… but life is so much more interesting and colorful than all that. So I always recommend one “classic” outfit and then ANYTHING GOES for the rest. Keep in mind, you’ll want to pick items that fit well, that flow over your body and don’t cling to areas you’re not wanting to showcase. Also, if you wear a print, just make sure it’s a flattering proportion to your body and if it’s paired with other items, let those be more simple so they don’t compete.
Communicate with your photographer
My favorite part about almost everyone having a smart phone with a camera is that they are able to text me pictures of the outfits they’ve chosen and I can spend a day or two thinking about their upcoming session and where I might want to take them if we are going on-location. I also love when moms send me pictures they have of their older children that they want to capture something similar to, to complement the wall arrangement. Waiting to announce something like that at your ordering appointment isn’t a good idea, best to be proactive and that way your photographer can make sure they capture it, versus trying to find something that “fits” later.

Well, there you have it! My Top 5 Tips!

I’m super excited for all the upcoming senior portrait sessions this year. I hold off on doing them until after July 1st if possible, which most photographers would tell me I’m crazy, not to take advantage of June, but I just feel it’s too early! I think kids need a little break after school ends, and the mosquitoes get horrendous around here. We spray for them, but all those great places to get photographed, in the long grass or just off the beaten path will still be bad. And what about the June winds and rains? That’s just asking for rescheduling headaches. So I, along with my high school seniors take a break. I connect with my kids, take them to the park and the pool and just enjoy being with them. I hope you’ve been doing the same this month!

Enjoy,

Becca