Your Senior portrait session is one of the most important photo sessions in your life. It’s a huge milestone that must be done right. You will be looking back on these photos for a lifetime, showing these to generations after you, and probably be looking at these displayed in your living room wall for a long time. So it’s important that you prepare for this day, by knowing the dos and don’ts of your senior session.
DO book your session ahead of time
Graduation season is one of the busiest season for most photographers, so you want to make sure that you choose the prime session slots. Those sessions usually take place on the weekends during sunset time. I wish we had multiple sunsets each day, but we don’t, which means the sessions get booked months ahead of time and run out quickly. Choosing a weekend will give you ample time to prep for your session and you’ll be less stressed.
Edith R. had her sunset session at the Hidalgo Pumphouse in Hidalgo, TX
DON’T forget your flip flops or Crocs if you are wearing heels to your session
Most venues are large and we will be doing a lot of walking. Walking in heels or tall shoes may take a toll on your feet faster than you’d like. It’s a good idea to pack some comfy shoes for walking around the venue between sets.
DO bring your hype person
Everyone needs a hype person at their photo session. That person is the person that encourages you, helps you with changing, holding your things, and also just hyping you up. It can be a parent or a best friend. If you don’t have a hype person don’t worry, I’ll be your hype person!
DON’T book all your beauty appointments the day of
Setting up all of your appointments on the day of your session could become very stressful. Especially if one of those runs behind schedule. The last thing you want on your session day is to lose some session time because of this. Try and schedule your Mani & Pedi, tan, haircut or touchup, at least a few days before. This will also give you time to correct things if you don’t like how they turn out. Always give yourself extra time to get to the studio in case of bad traffic. 4
DO hang up all your outfits & organize the accessories for each outfit
This can save you so much time during your session. That means that you’ll have way more time for taking pictures. You can also avoid wrinkles or folding creases in your photos. To do this, you will hang up each outfit individually, take a Ziploc bag and put in all of the accessories for that outfit. Make a hole in the bag and loop it on the hanger so that it all stays together.
DON’T forget about your furry BFF
I’m always down for including your pets in your session (and there’s no extra charge). After all, you will really miss them when you leave for college. Having a framed photo of you and your pet is a great way to remember them while you’re away.
DO write down any must have shots, or save photo inspiration for your photographer
Nothing is more disappointing than finishing your session and remembering the one shot you wanted and didn’t get. Although your photographer will typically get a wide variety of shots, there might be one specific one you had in mind. Make sure you bring this up to your photographer and hand them a list, or forward inspiration photos for them to take.
DON’T choose just any photographer
Make sure to do your research on your local photographers. Some questions to keep in mind are:
- Do you like their style of taking photos & editing?
- Do they have plenty of experience in taking senior or grad photos?
- What do they offer in their packages?
- Do you know anyone who has worked with them before? You definitely want to vet them out beforehand.
- Do they have a website where you can look at past work, and updated Instagram that they are active on?
Asking yourself these questions could definitely lead you to the right photographer for you.
DO be ready to have fun!
I always say that your emotional state will come across in your photos. Which means if your uncomfortable, stressed or upset, you will be able to see that in your portraits. My goal is to make each session fun and stress free, to make the person as comfortable as possible and most of all bring out everyone’s beauty in their photos.
If you follow these Dos and Don’ts, you should have a great photo experience! Most of all ENJOY it!! This only happens once!
For any help on prepping for your session, visit pixelanniestudio.com and fill out a contact form to reach me. I’d be happy to help!
I liked it the most when you shared that each senior photo season has distinct clothing styles. My friend wants…
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