Its SENIOR year! It’s the most exciting time and also probably the most nerve wracking! Oh man mama… I can’t even imagine being in your shoes. Didn’t you just teach them to swing by themselves?! Pump and straighten… pump and straighten! Didn’t you just navigate hard things like figuring out test taking skills and leaving them home alone?!
Now they are talking colleges and graduation?!!! Weren’t they just squishy toddlers!!
But here it is, senior year and it’s time to get their SENIOR PORTRAITS! It’s not like in our days where we went to a studio and sat on barrels in over alls one minute and walked around the corner and had the standard studio set up the next (wait was that just me?).
Today they have full on senior sessions that are wonderful and beautiful and hopefully if you find the right photographer… FUN!
It can all be overwhelming and one thing that shouldn’t be hard is finding the right senior portrait photographer! That should be the fun part! That should be something that makes you excited!
So here to help is my top 3 tips to making sure you find the right photographer for YOUR senior!
1. STYLE
We are lucky that there are so many photographers out there and it truly comes down to finding the photographer that YOU love! You GET to choose and that is a powerful thing! Go online with your senior and start looking at the photographers in the area and find the one that matches both of your styles! Do you like the look and feel of the images! Do you like the colors and the warmth? Do you want your images more posed or candid? These are all important questions to ask yourself and your senior and then start looking for what you like in their artwork!
*Most photographers only post their best work online in their instagram feeds or on pinterest! Once you reach out to them, see if they will allow you to see a full gallery so you can see the range of their work. Check out their website and all available information!
2. PERSONALITY
This one is incredibly important and most people skip right over it! It’s super important to make sure that you LOVE or at least like your photographer and you think your senior will get along with them and feel comfortable with them! When you are comfortable and trust someone, vibe with them, it will show in the photos. If you can have fun with them and laugh and joke or be playful and vulnerable the session will be beautiful and truthful to who your senior is deep down. You will see the person you know and love represented in those images! However the opposite can be said if you don’t know your photographer or your senior does NOT feel comfortable around them. I can promise you, no matter how good the photos might be technically… something will be missing!
*I always try to talk on the phone with my clients before booking! I want them to get to know me and there is just something about a personal phone conversation that allows that to happen. You get to understand a little bit about them by their voice and how they interact with you even if it’s over the phone! If you are comfortable with them and get a good feeling from the start, that’s a good sign!
Everyone gets a little nervous or feels awkward in front of the camera! You want someone who will make you feel safe, supported and at ease!
3. EXPERIENCE AND RAVES
Whenever I am looking for a good book to read I always ask my friend Char! She is a media specialist at an Elementary school and she reads more than anyone I have ever met. Plus she always recommends the best books and I have never been disappointed! If I am looking for a new restaurant, I always ask my friends who live in the area or I’ll ask my friend Amanda because they are always going out! Word of mouth is a powerful thing!
We trust our friends. They usually have the same taste or they know what we like! The same goes with photographers as well. Once you find a photographer that you like the best thing that you can do is to check out their reviews or past client testimonials! Check their website to see if they have any listed or ask them specifically for references. This will give you ALL you need to know about what it’s like to work with them. It will give you an idea of what the experience is like and more than anything experience is important!
If you still aren’t sure, ask your friends which senior portrait photographer they have used and then check them out for yourself! As I said before, word of mouth is a very powerful tool. Just make sure you also speak with them personally to make sure it’s a perfect fit!
Check on their experience with seniors as well. This is different than the experience I listed above. That was the experience they provide while you work with them. That’s more like customer service and that’s important!
This is experience in photography and years working with seniors in particular. Ask them if they have worked shooting senior portraits before and again if you can see a portfolio. While this might not be as important (I think) as experience in yeas as a photographer or making someone feel comfortable and the other tips listed above. You do want someone who knows what they are doing and how to pose a senior!
Again, check with your friends and use all your resources! If you like what you see then get on the phoen with them!!
FUN AND LEGACY
Senior portraits should be FUN! They should be unique to your senior and should be a collaboration between what you want as a mama and what your senior wants as well! Most importantly though they should capture this special time and everything that makes your senior unique right now, in this moment in a way that lasts!
So what are you waiting for!!! There’s no time to waste!!!
To inquire about a senior portrait session with me click here
