High School Senior Portraits

Being a senior photographer, I always end up trying different locations. There are urban settings, maybe using local landmarks in the images. Grungy locations, nature areas, there are so many options.  Or, why not a bit of everything? I’m a photographer, I am happy to try everything. Any photographer who loves their craft will work hard at your photography. Getting great pictures is the goal.

Senior Portraits FAQ’s

What Will I Wear To My Senior Portraits Shoot?

Senior photographer logic goes out of the window on this one! With a standard portrait bright or garish colors would normally be avoided, but for senior portraits, everything goes.   We are capturing who you are, in this moment of your life.

The best advice is to bring along everything that you could possibly want to wear. If we are doing a studio session there will be changing facilities. If it is on location, available restrooms work, even a car can be pressed into service for a quick change.

What Makes You Feel Beautiful, Or Handsome?

Whatever those clothes are, that’s what you want to wear in your pictures. These are pictures that you want to feel great in, and that will affect how you feel when you view them.  So the clothes you love to wear, need to be in your pictures. The photography will turn out better.

Gradually Dress Down.

Start with the dressier outfit. It’s better to have to pull on a pair of jeans in the middle of a senior portraits session than to be climbing into a dress or pants. Start dressed, and work towards casual.

One thing you absolutely should do – it’s bring your favorite outfit or item. That thing that you feel great wearing?  Bring it.  Despite my years of experience as a senior photographer, I’m still amazed at the wardrobe people can show up with. It’s totally cool.

What About Hair And Makeup?

For boys, if you are getting a haircut, make sure to have it done at least a couple of days before your session. Newly cut hair looks .. well, newly cut.  It will be obvious.

Girls, as with the boys, don’t have your hair cut on the day of your session. You can obviously have it styled, and that really can make a huge difference to your images.

Makeup will look heavier in camera, so it’s best to tone it down a little from the level you ultimately want. A natural style of makeup will usually be the best fit, but again, rules are made to be broken. So if you want to go a little crazy…

Should I Get A Manicure?

It’s a great idea for your pictures, yes, you should. Since your hands will be in many of the pictures, a manicure is a good idea. 

A word of warning about waxing. If you intend to get your eyebrows waxed, or any other wax treatments, do it at least a week before your session. Your skin needs time to recover, you don’t want to have areas glowing red in your pictures.  

The same thing goes with tanning, don’t do it close to your session. As always, a photographer is a great source of advice on these matters.

Do I Need Props For My Photos?

You don’t absolutely need props, but like tons of clothes, they are useful to have around. Hat’s scarves, canes, a boa, musical instruments, items from your hobby, and anything that screams who you are should be with us at your session. If you don’t want to bring anything – that’s cool. As any senior photographer will tell you, more is better. I have never done a senior shoot where I thought I needed less stuff. More stuff, more photography, more pictures.

What Should I Expect From My Photographer?

The first thing you should expect from your photographer is professionalism. I think that being respectful and obeying social boundaries is crucial. Personally, I will never walk up to a client and touch them in any way. If some hair is out of place, I ask them to fix it. The same with clothing.

My preference is that you bring someone with you for your photography shoot. They will offer moral support, and be on hand to help with any hair or clothing adjustments, and it’s just a more sensible approach to take in our current world. 

Senior Pictures Checklist

1. Pre Session Consultation.
Let’s have a conversation about your clothes, style, colors, etc.

2. Professional Make Up.
Girls, this will make a serious difference to the results of your session

3. The Photo Shoot.
Typically, a senior portraits session lasts 1 – 2 hours and sometimes can be even more.

4. Editing & Retouching.
This is where a lot of the work is done, highly polishing your final images.

5. Choosing & Ordering.
Here we view your images and help you with the image selection process.

6. Your Product Delivery.
Take delivery of your beautiful senior portraits. Digital files are sent through email, physical products must be picked up.

7. Online Gallery.

An online gallery will be created so that you can send family and friends to view your entire image collection.

 A Senior Photographer Should Always Be On Hand.

This is a big deal, getting senior pictures taken is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. And so you can contact me at any time before, during, or after your senior photography session if you need advice. 

Want some ideas or info?  Have a look at these sample poses.

Check out the Portraits and Family sections.

Other Photography Services

Here is a list of typical photography services provided. Of course, it is not exhaustive, so please got in touch if what you need is not listed.

Family Photos.  Our family photo examples are here.

Kids Photography. Check out kids’ photo examples here.

Portraits.  Portraits are here. 

Headshots.  Business, social, and actor headshots are here.

ERAS Photos. Get your photos for your medical residency application here.