2019 will be my thirteenth year providing senior portraits for local families, and over the years I’ve been working to make the process as simple and friendly as possible. Senior year is a busy time, so let’s start it off with some low-stress senior portraits!
First of all, there are two key ingredients for a successful session:
1. Preparation
Plan your outfits, hair and makeup in advance, and try to remember to bring everything you’ll need. Don’t forget your jeans or your socks, and don’t leave your baseball on the kitchen table – it’s happened!
2. Relax
Most people feel nervous, but then tell me afterwards that they really had fun and shouldn’t have worried. Believe me, 95% of the people you see on my website are just ordinary people like you who thought they would be awkward. Picture yourself laughing, walking, or simply taking a deep breath and just standing quietly. I’ll give you lots of direction and it won’t be hard. You can do it!
Booking
First we’ll pick a date. Most senior sessions are scheduled in the evening, 1-2 hours before sunset. Then you’ll submit an online booking form and pay the deposit. Depending on how far ahead you are booking, we may chat on the phone or via email at this time to plan your session, or we might wait until later. The summer months do tend to book up quickly, so book your session as early as possible to get the date you want.
Location
Your first decision is the type of location you would like – a big Northwest view, a park, the forest, the river, campus or downtown. I have lots of local favorites and can suggest a spot that will suit the look you like best. If you have somewhere special in mind, that can work too. Maybe you’d like to have the session at your home, or you have access to a farm or barn, or there’s a particular park that you love. Take a look through my website to see what type of look appeals to you.
The Session
Usually I will have our route pre-planned and we will take a little walk, stopping at different spots to take photos. I like to keep you moving and engaged, so don’t worry about being stuck in front of the camera wondering what to do with your hands! We’ll chat a lot, I’ll tell you what to do and it will be fun.
What to wear
Take a look at the What to Wear Guides (coming soon!) for tips and ideas. It definitely pays to put some thought into planning your outfits. At some locations, we can leave all your stuff in your car and come back to it to change. At others, you’ll need to pack your things in a bag and we’ll take it with us. Most locations don’t offer changing facilities. You can wear a cami or spandex shorts underneath to help with changing, or plan outfits that are easy to change. If you want to, we can choose a location that offers access to a bathroom or where you can change in your car.
Make it unique
These photos will tell a little story about who you are right now. What is special to you at this time in your life? Think about bringing your dog, your sports equipment or uniform, your musical instrument or your car. If you won’t be continuing with your sport or music after high school but it has been important to you, it’s nice to include it. You could bring your instrument and a favorite piece of sheet music, your track shoes, your whole football uniform or just the jersey or the ball, your camera, or your favorite book.
Pets are a special part of your life too – we often include dogs, but cats and horses and farm animals are possibilities as well.
How about your family? If you’re leaving for college you’ll want some family photos for your dorm room. I love to include families in senior sessions. Usually the family will join us just for a few minutes at the beginning or the end, but we can arrange it however you like.
College graduates
Graduating from college? Be sure to tell me all your favorite spots on campus so we can plan a route to take in as many of them as possible.
After the session
I will be hard at work processing your photos and preparing your gallery. I might post one or two on Instagram (@ali_smith). About two weeks after the session, you will receive an email with a link to your gallery. Your private online gallery can be shared with friends and family, and they can view your photos and even order prints if they want to.
Your session includes your full gallery set of digital images. This is important during senior year, as you will want to make announcements, lots of prints, your senior collage, resumes, applications, end of year programs and all sorts of other uses.
The yearbook
Most local schools require a head-and-shoulders portrait submitted via email or online. You can do this yourself using your digital images, but if you need help with cropping or submission just let me know.
Prints
It’s really important to have prints and other tangible keepsakes. That is why your session also includes some prints, and you can also easily order more through your gallery. Prints ordered through your gallery come straight to you from a top quality professional lab, and you can also choose from framed prints, cards and other items.
An album is another lovely way to preserve your photos. Click here to see my Garden book and Forest album – all you need to do is choose your favorite photos and decide on a color for the cover.
Your digital images
All my sessions (except those donated to auctions for schools and non-profits) include the full gallery set of digital images. You will receive color and black and white versions of each image.
Your digital images are delivered via digital download through your gallery. Just click the download icon at the top of your gallery and a zip file will be delivered to you via email. You can also download individual digital images. Download your digital images from your gallery right away, back them up to at least two places, and keep them safe.
You can use your digital images to make prints, cards and other items. Be sure to get your favorites printed – you and your family will love looking back on these photos in years to come. Some printers may ask for a usage or copyright release – you will find this in your gallery and also attached to your gallery email.
The best quality prints you can get will be the ones ordered through your gallery. For printing elsewhere, choose your print lab carefully as there is a wide variety of quality available. If you are ordering a print larger than 8×10, make sure that you order it mounted on styrene to avoid wrinkling in the frame (MPix offers this) and order a small test print from the same lab first. Always avoid thin, glossy paper and photo printing kiosks.
For some fun things to do with your digital images, take a look at some of my favorite resources: Artifact Uprising, Pinhole Press, MPix, and Minted.
Lastly..
Remember not to worry – this just might be fun!
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