Senior Photos: How to Prepare for Yours
Prepping for Senior Photos
You only graduate once, right? Yes. Unless you go to college. And, then you celebrate those milestones. AA, BA, Master’s, and maybe even a PHD. But, not everyone goes to college, so let’s celebrate you graduating High School! It was hard work, long nights, tons of homework, last minute projects, quite a few spelling tests, and friends coming and going.
Studies show the majority of kids won’t get any more portraits taken after they graduate high school until they get married. That could be in two years or thirty years, or more.
That’s why it’s important to get high school Senior portraits. Senior portraits are a whole experience! They are more than just senior pictures.
As a photographer, I want to share some tips to prepare for your Senior Pictures. Your portrait session can be as simple as a cap and gown photo for the yearbook. Or, as elaborate as you want, including photos with your car, both pets, and your group of friends!
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
First things first
The best thing about taking senior pictures, is it’s all about you! You get to make all the decisions. And, the first thing is, to decide who you want in your Senior pictures. Do you want your siblings to make an appearance? How about a photo with mom and dad? Or, maybe you want to include grandma.
Of course, the photos will be for you, and all about you, but you can also choose to have others in a few images too.
If your group of friends wants to do a group shot, get them together and contact their photographers to see how that will work out.
Location, Location, Location
Now that you’ve decided who you want in your photos, where do you want to take your photos? The high desert is huge and full of gorgeous spots.
Don’t consider a local park as your only option.
You might want photos in front of your high school. If your college is nearby, you could get some of you there as well. Perhaps a few photos at the farm if you’re in FFA. Ask to borrow a music stand from your teacher and grab a photo of you playing your flute. If you’re in archery, meet with your photographer after school to get photos of you with your bow. These will take a little cooperation with your teachers, so plan ahead.
Have a cool car you want to show off? Get senior photos with it.
If you love your old car, how fun would it be to take a photo of you at an abandoned gas station? An empty parking lot is a cool option too. El Mirage, the local dry lake bed, can create a really exciting background.
Mojave Narrows in Victorville has old silos, perfect for a ranch style setting, or the beautiful lake for photos.
Big Bear and Wrightwood both have beautiful forests with lots of big pine trees.
There’s a cemetery out in Apple Valley that has a pretty bridge that is nice for photos.
Out past Apple Valley and on the way to Lucerne, there are really big rocks. A lot of people like to take photos out there.
When looking at this image, what color do your eyes look at first? And, then did you read the tag prices?
What to Wear
Now we can get into the fun part. What outfits will you wear? Below are a few rules and tips to help you pick your items. (That link will also take you to another post on photo preparation.)
Rule #1: Yes, you have to take your cap and gown to your session. That’s a given. But, after those photos are taken, we can play dress up.
Rule #2: Wear only what you’re comfortable in. This is more about feeling like yourself, than wearing uncomfortable shoes. If you wear something you hate, it will show in the photos. Hate wearing ties, but mom made you wear one, fine, we’ll grab a few with the tie on. Then, we’ll remove it to get more relaxed photos.
Rule #3: Loose and baggy clothing isn’t going to show up nicely in photos. This is especially for the gals, we’re trying to create shape, and the shape isn’t a sleeping bag. No hate to the muumuu, but please wear a dress with less of a pillowcase shape to it.
Rule #4: Plain and solid colors look best. Except red. Red draws the eye to the color, instead of your face. If you wear a burgundy dress, that’s okay. However, you won’t want to wear a red shirt or pants. Make sense? If you plan on wearing a T-shirt, that’s great. Make sure it doesn’t have a logo or words on it. Words also draw the eye in. You want the viewer to see your shining face, not reading your shirt. The exception here is a band T-shirt for an edgy photo. But, bring other shirts as well.
Guys, you can wear clean, wrinkle-free jeans and a plain T-shirt, or a button up. Or, you can wear a full suit if you want. If you love funky socks, wear those. A cowboy hat brings personality to photos.
Gals, you can wear a sundress and sandals. Jeans and a fun top, with quirky shoes, will add personality. Have a favorite band T-shirt, bring that too. Want a photo with your cap and gown, while wearing docs? Bring it all.
I suggest you pack a little bag filled with extra shoes and clothes. Hang your clothes to keep them wrinkle free during the car ride.
Rule #5: Bring props! If you play soccer, bring a ball. If you want to go to medical school, bring a stethoscope. Play the guitar, bring it!
Senior pictures are meant to tell your story. Bring all the things.
“It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
The main take-away is you want to wear clean, wrinkle-free clothing. I cannot photoshop wrinkles out, it looks odd. And, don’t wear red. If your cap and gown are red, that’s fine, obviously.
To make up or not. That is the question.
Grooming
Talking about hygiene can feel weird, but I want you to love yourself in your photos.
Arrive with clean, freshly washed, dry hair. If you have short hair, use a little gel to keep the fly aways at bay. If you have long hair, use a little hairspray to tame the baby hairs. Bring a comb or brush with you in case it’s windy. We are in the high desert after all- the land of wind. And, a small bottle of hairspray.
Skip the SPF on photo day. Opt for primer instead. Your skin will be fine for one day. I was born with shiny skindrome- (oily skin) and it’s not nice in photos, so I say this with lots of love. Bring powder if you suffer from shiny skindrome, as well.
Come with clean hands, and clean trimmed nails. If you plan on wearing polish, make sure it is nice and fresh, without any chips. Use hand lotion as well, or bring some with you.
Brush your teeth as though you were going to the dentist. I see things in your photos you don’t realize are there. Wink-wink.
Use lip balm or chapstick on the day of. It helps your lips look nice in photos. This is for guys and gals.
If you usually wear makeup, go a little heavier on photo day. Beware of flashback though- if you know, you know. Don’t try a new makeup technique you saw on TikTok. If you don’t wear cat eyeliner, photo day isn’t the time to try it out. Do your regular routine, just a little heavy handed.
If you don’t usually wear makeup, add a light coat of mascara and fill in your brows. Ask mom or a friend to show you how. Don’t share mascara, eye infections are not fun. Buy a new one just for you.
And, last but not least, don’t stress over a blemish. If you wake up on the morning of your photo session with a ginormous pimple, don’t stress. That’s what Photoshop’s for. I got you!
Kick up your heels! You’re graduating!!
You want to look and feel your best in your senior portraits. These tips are all from me, a professional photographer. I’ve photographed many people and these tips are to help prepare you for your portraits. I honestly just want you and your photos to turn out perfectly. In the end, these are all about you, so do what you want and what you feel comfortable doing.
As always, if you have more questions, give me a call! If you want your mom to call me, give her my number. I’m happy to help.
Congratulations,
Annette
