Senior Portrait Tips - Clothing

What to wear during you senior portrait session can be a difficult decision, so here are a few tips. Wear clothing that does not have a busy pattern. Solid colors look best in a portrait. Long sleeves are something I recommend, it may be summer and hot when you create your portraits but your portrait will be hanging on the wall all year long. Bring a verity of cloths from dressy to casual. Be sure to bring Something mom likes, she is your mom and most likely paying for you portraits, you may even get her to buy you some new cloths to wear. Don’t forget to bring a verity of shoes to wear. Most importantly wear something you like, I know I tell people what looks best but it has to be something you like even if it is a Hawaiian shirt with the sleeves cut off. It’s your portrait and it should reflect who you are.

Senior Portriats - Number Of Poses

Limiting the number of poses during a photo shoot goes back to the days of film. It costs the studio money to send in a roll of film and have it developed and proofs printed. With digital it is more about time than money. Studios limit the number of poses because they have many people scheduled that day, so they want to limit your time with them. I want you to look your best and not rush you for one of the most important days in your life. You senior portrait will hang in your parents house for a long time, and you want it to be a photo you love. It takes time to get comfortable with your photographer and it’s hard to do that if they are rushing you to get to the next person. So be sure to ask about the number of poses and also how much time they will give you.

Senior Portriats - Evening Portraits

When taking outside portraits, the time of day can make a huge difference. Photos taken in the middle of the day under bright sunlight will not look as nice as photos taken at sunrise or sunset. I like to schedule my studio appointments in the afternoon when it’s hot and the sun is harsh. After we are finished in the studio the sun is much lower in the sky and has a nice warm glow. Make an evening appointment for your outdoor photos, some photographers charge extra for evenings, but I don’t since I prefer to do your photos in the evening.

Senior Portraits - With Eyeglasses

If you are like me and need to wear eyeglasses you may have the transition lenses, you know the lenses that get dark in the sunlight. They never seem to change when you want them to, or they get dark when you want clear lenses. When doing outside portraits with glasses there are a few tricks that you can do to help. Take your portraits in the shade of a tree or building. You could have an Optometrist remove the lenses, or you can find an inexpensive pair of glasses at Walmart or the dollar store and remove the lenses. You could do your portraits without wearing your glasses but if you always wear them you will not look like yourself since everyone is used to seeing you with glasses. 

Senior Portriats - Digital Files

In the days of film photographers almost never gave away the negatives to their customers, besides most customers would not know what to do with medium format film negatives anyways. Now we live in digital world, and I have clients that want the files to get their own prints and be able to share photos on Facebook. This is a touchy subject for many photographers, some sell digital files and some don’t, I have decided to sell my files because, that is how I share my photos with people and I don’t do that many prints anymore. I do however still have clients that would not know what to do with the digital files and need my help with purchasing prints. As a professional I have access to a pro lab that has products the average person can not get. Many local supermarket and drug store photo labs do not print die cut wallets or have other specialty papers such as metallic and canvas. When choosing a photographer decide what’s important to you, do you need digital files to share with your friends or do you need custom professional prints, or maybe both. Be sure to ask you photographer if files are available and about the quality of their prints.

Senior Portraits - Digital Makeup

Your skin is not perfect and neither are celebrities, but they have access to makeup artists and Photoshop experts. As a portrait photographer I want you to look your best, and I post-process my photos to add a little digital makeup. When you are looking for a senior portrait photographer ask them if they do any retouching and if they have any examples to show you. I found some photos of Naomi Watts and Jessica Alba and did some retouching on them to show you what can be done with a little Photoshop magic. You may not be a celebrity but your photographer should treat you like one.

Senior Portraits - Booking Early

Summertime is the best time to do your senior portraits, next year seems like a long ways away but Now is the best time to start looking for a photographer to do your senior portraits. Bookings for portraits pick up the closer we get to the beginning of school, therefore many photographers offer discounts for booking early. You may not need to take your photos early but you could save some money by getting them scheduled the beginning of summer. The best time of year to do your portraits is in the summer before school starts. if you wait to long the weather gets bad, and your into homecoming. if you wait untill spring you will have to wait utill may for the grass to get green and the leaves to come out on the trees. by then it's prom time and then after that is exam time. so do your self a favor and do your portraits in th summer, you won't regret it.

If you are thinking of having photos done in autumn when the trees are at their peak color, then you want to make sure you book that way ahead of time, and let your photographer know that you want pictures then. There is about a 2 week window when the leaves are at there best for autumn, so you need to plan ahead for it.

if you would like me to do your senior portraits then check out my website www.huronphoto.com

Kodak Moments

On my recent vacation to Disney World it was surprising to see Kodak Photo Spots still posted in the parks. growing up in the 70's all of my family's memories were preserved on Kodak film and paper. Now with digital, Kodak is not the giant in the photography world it once was, but as a business they understood the inportace of saving our memories. here is a video they made to remind us how importat it is to keep, protect and share our photos

Kodak video

Photgraphers Love Props

I love it when clients bring in their own props to the studio. It makes their portraits unique to them. If I use a prop that I have in the studio many clients will have a photo taken with that same prop. If someone brings in their favorite guitar or sporting equipment, their child’s favorite toy or their dog’s bed, then we can create a special portrait that will be cherished even more. Next time you have a portrait done be sure to bring some props with you.

Photographers Style

Every photographer has their own style. A style can be the way you shoot or the process you do to the photographs after they have been taken. I like to photograph on a white background, because I like the “clean” look, there is nothing there but the subject. If you are looking to hire a photographer look at their portfolio, if you like what you see then that is what you will get. I see to often someone looks at a portfolio and then instead of going to that photographer they go to a different one and then tell them to do a photo like the one they saw. I you like somebody’s photos the go to that photographer to get that style of photo that is what they are good at. And oh yea it you like my white background then please see me about taking photos for you.

A Day At School

I was asked by my kid’s school to come in and take some photographs of the students for the yearbook. I have been to Weiss Elementary several times but it was usually some special event such as a Christmas party or field trip. On this day I got to see the teachers and students doing what they do on an average day. I tried to be the preverbal “fly on the wall” which is hard to do for a 200 plus pound guy with a camera. I was able to see first hand how much our teachers care about their pupils and that the kids do work hard, they were even reading during snack time. It was nice of the teachers to share some of their class time with me and see what goes on during an “average day” at school.

When documenting events with photos I like to shoot without my flash and capture the images with the available light. Most photographers think that as soon as they are indoors they must use a flash but I turn up my ISO and try to capture the atmosphere with the light that is in the room. It works well in a school since most schools are well lit.

Get In Close, Then Get Even Closer

I have not been able to photograph much between teaching photography at Saginaw Township Community Ed and having games canceled because of the blizzard. But I need to do another post on my blog since it’s been a while. I think the biggest mistake most new photographers make is not getting in close to their subject. Use a telephoto lens or zoom in with your lens and then move in closer with you feet. It makes for a much more dramatic photo when you fill the picture with the face of you subject and not have you subject standing off in the distance. So remember get in close and then get even closer.

Images Of Michigan

It's a new year and time to set goals. I have a large collection of Michigan nature and travel photos and I am going to do more to promote them. I had a great year last year with my commercial stock imagery and shooting sports, even did well with senior portraits. I love shooting nature photos but have never had much luck selling them so this year I decided to "push" my nature work more and see what happens. If you are interested in purchasing a pring check out http://www.huronphoto.com/ or if you have a shop and would like to sell some prints contact me at mike@huronphoto.com

Mckinaw Bridge in Winter