Senior Photography Tips

Arrive as early as possible. Make sure to provide yourself with lots of time in order to get to our studio-we don't want you being (looking) rushed. So plan on being in our studio at least a quarter hour before your appointment so that you may get your clothing and special items unloaded and ready in your private dressing room.

A great portrait for your school yearbook means wearing a proper shirt. For the guys, bring a nice button down collar shirt with/without a matching tie or maybe even a sweater. For the gals, a V-neck (not a deep cut), turtleneck shirt or sweater will look fabulous! Pick a medium to dark colored shirt with very little or no pattern. Distracting (loud) patterns or really light colors take the focus away from your face/eyes. Try your best and have a shirt that is long sleeved. Sleeveless shirts definitely will not work well for portrait shots.

Bring along at least one formal outfit and one everyday casual change of clothes. Dress yourself from head to toe including matching socks/shoes-because there will be full body shots.

For gals, if your feet show, it is recommended that you wear the highest heels you have for each outfit. High heels change the shape of the legs in a very flattering way.

Bring along ball caps, those cool sunglasses, letter jackets, and whatever jewelry that says you are you to accessorize your outfit choices. It's always better to bring more than what might be needed than to later wish you should-or had this or that.

Bring along styling products that you typically use in your daily routine. It's usually best to keep your makeup choices/application neutral and natural. Try not to use bold/loud colors that may look dated in just a few short years. Keep in mind- you will be enjoying these pictures for many years to come!

Gals, apply makeup like you're going out to have a nice evening on the town. Apply small amounts and you'll may look ghostly in your photos; apply too much and you'll look like a painted hussy of the evening. The eyes!! You need to pay exceptional attention to those beautiful eyes-that's what everybody first sees when they view a photograph.

All of your finished portraits will be completely photocrafted (retouched), but your proofs will not (typically). To improve the look of your proofs, apply a small dab of cover-up makeup to any noticeable blemishes. If they're gone in the mirror, they will be gone in your photographs!

Bring somebody along to ease those "studio/photographer jitters." Guests, family members, etc are welcome to watch and see you work your magic; help with clothing changes, keep your makeup fresh, watch so that hair doesn't start to go haywire, etc. Parents may be asked to sit out of the senior's line of site, this to help relax and open the senior up for better pictures. Yes, Mom and Dad, they may act differently without you around!

Bring clothing on wide wooden hangers instead of being crumpled up in a small plastic bag-this way your clothing won't be wrinkled when you put them on for your photo shoot.

If you typically wear eye glasses then you'll probably need to have them on in your pictures. To help stop distracting shine and reflections, just call your eye doctor and see if you can borrow some glasses with just the frames like ones you wear; maybe take the lenses out of your own glasses. Most doctors will surely do this with no or minimum charges if you just call and give them time to accomplish it for you. This is usually the best method to improve any pictures that you may be wearing glasses in. If you insist on wearing your glasses just as they are, remember that trying to remove any glass shine/glare from those pictures is done with added expense.

If you have braces, just like your hair style-they're a small part of who you are right now. Don't be embarrassed about showing that pretty smile and if you prefer not to have those braces showing up in your pictures, most can be taken out with digital technology (braces removal-$75).

Schedule a haircut no sooner than five days before your session, to give it a chance to "fill in" a bit. And don't try a radically different haircut or style-your hair should be the way your friends and family are used to seeing it.

Hands will show in some of your photos. For gals, it looks nice to have manicured and/or painted nails for your session. Guys should make sure their nails are trimmed and neat. Don’t forget your toenails if you have sandals or choose to go barefoot.

Picking the right clothes to wear is simpler than you could imagine. When choosing your outfits, remember the number (time is the key here) of changes you'll need to try and get into your Senior Session. While typically there're no "rules" on what clothes to wear, or not to wear, here's a just a couple of thoughts on some possibilities to think about bringing to your Senior session:

Studio Time-Most seniors really go all out and dress up at their studio shoots. The style of your dress up is a critical factor more so than the "proper formality" of your choice. The solid and basic colors photograph best at this juncture of your session. These will be the pictures that will in all likelihood be hanging on your (and relatives) walls for many years to come, and you probably don't prefer your choice of clothes to overwhelm the picture. Your studio clothes for the guys could be a 2-3 piece suit/tie or a simple sport coat and for the girls a long dress or 3/4 skirt, or they could be everyday blue jeans with a favorite t-shirt. Prom and homecoming attire work great for your dress up shots. Whichever style (or anything in-between) typically is your choice, but remember, as in all things in life, the simpler the choice the better it works.

On Location-Outdoor portraits typically are to be casual which so should the choice of clothes. This is appropriate time for shorts, blue jeans, khakis, tank tops and favorite t-shirts. We have found that the correct colors choices to shoot outdoors are medium blues and medium earth tones such as olive/green or tans/browns. While reds/whites do not blend in well outdoors.

Bring your own stuff/items-Basically no rules apply here. Your special activity could in reality be your clothing choices (sports/organization t-shirt maybe even a sweatshirt, how about that band uniform) or it could just go along with an outfit theme (like your favorite rock band's t-shirt and you playing a guitar/drums). If you're wanting car/truck shots, bring along clothing choices that matches your vehicle's color. Pet in the shot-well-if you got a gray pet, bring along that gray shirt. Just try to match any items you bring along with your clothing-you'll be amazed at the great look!

Add-A-Best Friend-If you plan on bringing someone extra such as a friend, family/siblings or boy/girl friend, keep your clothes in a color range that is close but not so much alike that you might look like one big blob in the picture. In simpler words, both set of clothing choices to be close "twins". That doesn't suggest that you should have identical outfits. But anytime there is more than one person in a picture, like colors usually are less diverting to the viewer.

Try and avoid outfits that contain logos/slogans, or other unnecessary distractions. Not to far into the future you may regret a picture that prominently shows the logo of a business that has gone out of business or that has went through a news making scandal.

Careful ironing of your clothing outfits is very important even more so than how new it is. Your pictures won't show the age of the clothes, but they will show every wrinkle, bump or crease.

Two problems that typically occur with seniors, guys bringing/wearing the wrong color of socks/shoes and the gals having darker/lighter panties/bras that show through their clothing.

Don't forget to bring your jewelry, especially your class ring.

If you want to wear jewelry to your Senior session try to keep it as simple as possible while still being elegant. Wearing to much gold/silver or jewelry with large dimensions draws attention away from you in the photograph. Simple and elegant are usually the key words when choosing jewelry for a senior picture.

Get a good night's rest, relax and be ready for a great portrait session!

Come prepared to have a good time, because you will!

What Not To Wear:

Broad stripes or crazy/distracting patterns. This type of clothing can make you look extremely over weight in pictures. Usually solid, dark colored outfits can remove up to 20 lbs and busy/distracting patterns can add up to 20 lbs.

Cutting edge or over-the-edge fashions. These may work when running around with your friends, but clothing styles change so fast that your senior pictures can look outdated in no time at all.

Don't get carried away with lip gloss/ lip stick because it can add unwanted white shine on your lips in the pictures.

Spaghetti thin narrow straps. Thin straps on a top or dress usually draw attention away from your face/eyes and onto your shoulders/arms. This could make you look heavier than you actually are.

White shirts/blouses-unless your whole clothing outfit is done in white. Again-white draws the focal attention away from your face/eyes and has everyone looking at the shirt/blouse, not you.