Senior girls, this one’s for you! I know you are excited to book your senior portrait session, and you want everything to be perfect. Planning for a successful session starts with our consultation. The reason for this is to talk about your style, and ultimately what you want your session to look like. Here are my top 5 tips for having the perfect senior portrait experience.
1. Bring your ideas to the table. If you want to incorporate your favorite activity, or something cool you saw on Pinterest, let me know! You never know what’s possible until we brainstorm. There are so many ways to incorporate your ideas into our photoshoot, don’t knock it until we talk it through. Themes can be a great way to make your shoot original, and sometimes renting a few props can make all the difference.
2. Plan your outfit head to toe. Think about every aspect of your outfit – shoes and accessories play a big roll in tying the look together. If you know me already, you probably know how much I love to accessorize (when in doubt, add a hat!), and I can’t stress enough how important the styling is to finishing the look. I always encourage people to bring outfits to our initial consultation, since the clothing can inspire our location, and vice versa.
3. Location. If you have seen my work, you know location is important. I LOVE location scouting, and I am always searching for interesting places to give my seniors a special experience. I am always open to your input and suggestions, but please keep in mind that I try to stay away from more mainstream places that are overused as a backdrop. Again, the more insight you give me as to what you want, the better your experience will be.
4. Preparation. It sounds like we are pretty well prepared with our styling and location so far, but the best thing you can do is to finish preparing for your session the 24 hours leading up to it. HYDRATE the day before, if your skin is dehydrated, the camera will show it. Do your nails the day before, or at the very least, remove any old, chipped polish. If you are having your hair and makeup professionally done, make sure to show up with clean, dry hair, and a clean, makeup-free face. If you want your hair and makeup done a certain way, be prepared with a Pinterest board or visuals to show your hair and makeup artist to make sure you get the look you want.
5. Have fun!!! I know this sounds incredibly cliché, and pretty obvious, but if you take no other advice I offer, please take this. The best sessions are the ones where we can laugh together, be silly, and let our creativity fly. If there’s something you want to try, speak up! My favorite photos (and usually yours too), are the ones that let your personality shine. So please, if all else fails, don’t take yourself too seriously, enjoy the experience, and trust me to capture the best of you.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I always love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment below or reach out to me with questions or comments!