Senior Portrait Tips - Summer Portraits

Summertime is the best time to do your senior portraits, the start of your senior 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 until spring it will be May when the grass starts 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 yourself a favor and do your portraits in the 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

Senior Portrait Tips - Pricing

There are two basic types of pricing by photographers and portrait studios. The traditional method of pricing is the sitting fee and then selling the client prints. This was the case for many years, the sitting fee covered the cost of the photographer’s time and the cost to develop film and print the proofs. The benefit of this pricing is the low initial investment cost. If you do not like your portraits you do not have much money invested in them and some studios even waive the sitting fee so the only real investment is your time. The downside is, if you like sharing images on social media sites you may not have permission to use files because the photographer needs to sell prints to make a profit for the studio. Since the inception of digital photography there has been a trend to creation pricing. That is where the photographer charges a price that includes their time and then provides you with files, prints or both. The initial cost to creating portraits is larger and many times more than just a sitting fee but with this pricing you know ahead of time what you will be receiving. The scary part for many clients is what if I don’t like my portraits? You need to find out what the photographers refund policy is. There are benefits to both and different photographers prefer one or the other. The important thing is to find a photographer whose work you love, then understand how the photographers pricing works. I prefer to use the creation style of pricing because then I know what the budget is and know I will earn a fair profit for my time. I do not have to worry about selling prints and I can concentrate on the creative and artistic part of photography.  I also stand behind my work and if someone does not like their portrait I will give them a full refund. 

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.