As seen in the 2024 Senior Style Guide!
What is the Senior Style Guide? A well-established platform that provides support and education to senior photographers worldwide. It started as a blog in July 2011 and has grown to encompass a conference, print magazine, events, podcasts, and social media communities. It is such an honor to be featured in this lucrative magazine!
// Haley Senior Portrait Session
“Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my senior portraits. The entire process was fun, professional, and resulted in beautiful photos that will be cherished for years. I felt like I was treated with the utmost care, and the final photos exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a unique, high-quality senior portrait experience.”
Senior photos are a meaningful tradition for several reasons, both personal and cultural. Here are a few reasons why they’re important!
Celebrating Milestones // Senior photos mark the transition from high school to adulthood. They capture this significant moment in life, commemorating all the hard work, memories, and achievements that led up to graduation. It’s a way to honor the journey you’ve made and celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
Creating Lasting Memories // High school is a time full of unique experiences, friendships, and personal growth. Senior portraits allow you to capture your personality and look back on this time years later. They can be a reminder of your high school days, and looking at them later in life can evoke nostalgia.
Personal Expression // Senior photos are a chance to show the world who you are. Whether you choose a traditional, posed style or a more creative, candid approach, your senior portraits allow you to express your interests, hobbies, or personal style. Whether you're a sports enthusiast, an artist, or into fashion, these photos let you showcase your individuality.
Gifts for Family // Senior photos often become treasured keepsakes for family members. They make great gifts for parents, grandparents, and extended family who have watched you grow up. These photos are a way for them to celebrate your accomplishments and remember the young adult you’ve become.
Yearbook and Graduation Announcements // Of course, one of the main reasons is to be included in the school yearbook, where your senior portrait will become part of the school’s history. Many students also use these photos for graduation announcements, invitations, or social media posts.
A Professional Touch // Senior portraits offer an opportunity to have a professional photographer capture you at your best, with all the lighting, styling, and editing that make for high-quality photos. These portraits can be framed, used in portfolios, or even added to a personal website or social media as you enter the next phase of life (college, work, etc.).
In short, senior photos are more than just pretty pictures—they’re about reflecting who you are at a pivotal point in your life and capturing the essence of this time that you’ll look back on for years to come.
What to expect from your session.
Contact and Consult
Get in touch with me, and let’s brainstorm together! We’ll come up with creative ideas to highlight what makes you unique—whether it’s your clubs, hobbies, sports, talents, car, pet, or anything else you want to feature. We’ll also choose the perfect location(s) that fit your vision, and if you’re interested, we can mix in-studio and outdoor shots. Not sure what to wear? Don’t worry! I’ll offer clothing tips and make sure your outfits complement the backgrounds at your chosen location.
Book and Set a Date
Following your senior photo consultation, I’ll send you my product pricing so you can choose your favorites after the photoshoot. To officially book your senior session, simply pay the session fee, and we’ll pick a date that works for you and your parent/guardian.
Your Senior Portrait Session
This is where the magic happens! We’ll meet either at my studio or outdoors for your session. Your senior photo shoot usually lasts between 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on the number of locations and outfits. I recommend bringing 3-6 outfits for variety. I always use professional lighting to ensure you look amazing, whether we’re indoors or outside. I’ll guide you through every pose, so you never have to worry about feeling awkward—we’ll have an amazing time!
Preparing For Your Session
What makes a beautiful portrait // you!
Creating a captivating portrait involves a delicate balance of composition, light, shadows, and harmonizing colors with the backdrop. I take pride in guiding my clients to bring out their unique personalities and flatter their natural beauty, ensuring they feel at ease in front of the camera. Each portrait session is meticulously crafted to ensure a memorable and successful experience for everyone involved. From professional tips for individuals, families, and even pets, I strive to make every session truly extraordinary, leaving you breathless when you see the final results. Let's create something epic together!
Senior Girl Portraits
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Makeup and hair services are available as part of your session. Please notify me in advance if you'd like to opt for this option so I can allocate sufficient time for your session.
If you prefer to do your own makeup and hair, I recommend avoiding heavy eyeliner or clumpy mascara for your portraits — less is often more in these areas.
If you decide to style your own hair (which I completely understand!), please allow for some flexibility. I love incorporating natural movement, whether it's with a fan indoors or the gentle breeze outside. A touch of natural movement adds a beautiful aesthetic to your portraits.
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Please select a variety of outfit styles for the session, including options like jeans, t-shirts, dresses (both casual and formal such as prom or homecoming attire), sundresses, shorts, dress shirts, tank tops, and sweaters. This will give us a range of looks to capture your personality and style beautifully. But keep it simple. We want your face, eyes and expression to be the focus, not the logo on your shirt!
Either buy or borrow a pair of suitable frames without lenses to prevent glare and reflections from the glass. Or you can ask your optician to remove the lenses from your frames for the photo session. Most will do this for you at no charge, but give them plenty of notice so there is no rush.
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Props are an awesome way to bring your personal style and interests into your shoot. Think sports equipment if you are a team player or fan, musical instruments or hobby items. Bring different outfits that you wear while doing those hobbies such as ballet shoes, yoga gear, football jerseys, baseball hats, etc. Think outside the box! Bring sheets of music, your dog or your favorite book. The sky is the limit!
Senior Boy Portraits
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If you want to get a hair cut before the session, make sure to do it at last a week in advance. Give your new hair cut some time to relax a bit and look a bit more like you do on the day to day.
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Please select a variety of outfit styles for the session, including options like jeans, t-shirts, dresses (both casual and formal such as prom or homecoming attire), sundresses, shorts, dress shirts, tank tops, and sweaters. This will give us a range of looks to capture your personality and style beautifully. But keep it simple. We want your face, eyes and expression to be the focus, not the logo on your shirt!
Either buy or borrow a pair of suitable frames without lenses to prevent glare and reflections from the glass. Or you can ask your optician to remove the lenses from your frames for the photo session. Most will do this for you at no charge, but give them plenty of notice so there is no rush.
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Props are an awesome way to bring your personal style and interests into your shoot. Think sports equipment if you are a team player or fan, musical instruments or hobby items. Bring different outfits that you wear while doing those hobbies such as ballet shoes, yoga gear, football jerseys, baseball hats, etc. Think outside the box! Bring sheets of music, your dog or your favorite book. The sky is the limit!
