What to Expect at a Senior/Grad Photography Session
Hello High School Seniors and College Graduates
Now that you are embarking on completing this chapter of your life, I understand that documenting this milestone is absolutely essential! These documentations are some of my favorite to capture. This piece will help you understand the process and what to expect as we move forward with your session.
Planning your Session
We will work together to customize a session that creates the vision that will best represent you. I will send out a questionnaire that will ask about your interests, activities, what you like to do with friends, what you feel is your best feature, if there are specific images that you want captured, etc.
The questionnaire will help us determine the mood of the session. You will also get a chance to view a location gallery to help with a vision if needed or to just help with a desired location.
I highly recommend locations that have many different scenery options for my senior sessions. This way there is a lot of variety in your gallery. A few that have different scenery options are the Wetlands and Ghost Town. The Dry Lake Bed is great with different options for light~ harsh light, sunset golden hour, and blue hour (post sunset).
Choosing your Wardrobe
Be prepared to change outfits. Having about 3 outfits will give you a variety in your gallery as well as different personal looks. I do recommend having one casual outfit, one formal or more dressed up outfit, and one outfit that highlights your interests.
Of course, how you feel wearing your outfit is extremely important! Confidence is key. Think as if you're dressing for a nice dinner or school event.
Caps and gowns are always a great addition, however they are not always available. College grads have access to those more than high school seniors do, for the fact that high schools rent them out right before the graduation. Some high schools will allow you to rent them sooner, and if so we can definitely photograph you wearing those items.
Front and Center
If you're more shy in front of the lens, please know that you're not alone. It is quite common. Most feel unsure of what to do. That's where I come in. I will guide you with prompts and poses. We'll typically start with the traditional poses that the grandparents love and move into genuine candid moments that the parents and teens want. I'll encourage a smile here and there, however the look you want is what we'll roll with.
There will be a variety of shots that we aim for~ from close-ups and full body to more candid and in the moment type of shots.
There will be movement~ walking, sitting, standing, spinning (more for the ladies), and laughing.
Personality and Interests
What do you like to do? Are you into sports, music, art, or possess other passions? This information will come forth on the questionnaire that you fill out. With this being said, I want to bring to your attention that bringing props is always a wonderful idea. If you're an athlete, then a jersey and sport equipment can be captured in your images. If you're a guitarist, then your guitar can be captured in your images with you. The options are endless.
Post Session
After the session, I cull through the photographs, edit the best of the batch, and email them in high resolution downloadable format. This way you and your family can create photo announcements, prints, photo books, etc. with the images. The process of editing and sending the images your way takes about 2 weeks.
Senior & Grad Portfolio