10 Ways to Rock Your Senior Portraits / Step by Step Guide to Senior Pictures
1. Find a photographer that fits your vision and style.
It's important that you find a photographer that you connect with personally. (Me, me!) Just kidding. But only a little.
You want to find a photographer that you believe can portray your personal style and ideas for your senior pictures! If you visualize your senior pictures being very laid back and natural, you wouldn't hire a studio portrait photographer, and vice versa!
Your best tool for finding a photographer that fits your style is something you already use everyday:
Instagram.
Here's mine if you'd like to take a look!
2. Choose outfits that make you comfortable and confident
Of course, you want to look like a total babe. Or cute. Or handsome. Or drop dead gorgeous.
But while looking like a rockstar, you also want to feel completely comfortable. If you don't ever wear heels, don't like wearing them, and feel like a wobbly baby deer when you try to stand in them, don't force yourself to wear them!
Your pictures will turn out the best if you wear something you feel not only confident and cute in, but also comfortable in. I normally recommend one dressy outfit and one more laid back casual outfit.
3. Pick locations that express who you are as a person!
A lot of people come to me when they're booking their senior pictures and have NO idea where they want to do their senior pictures at.
And thats okay.
You don't have to know where you want to do your senior pictures, you just have to have a general idea of what you want, like, and want to center your style around. Everyone has a unique style, it can be colorful and bold, outdoors and woodsy, southern, urban, vintage, you name it! The possibilities are endless.
4. Accessorize!
Whether it's with fun jewelry, hats, your favorite band t-shirt, your college team's jersey, these things may be as small as a cute necklace or your favorite shades, but it adds little details to your session and little details are what bring it all together.
5. Include your hobbies.
Find a way to incorporate your passions and hobbies! Whether you are sporty, artistic, intellectual, a little nerdy, whatever it is that you enjoy doing, there are a thousand ways to incorporate any hobby or interests you have to make your photoshoot as you as you possibly can!
6. Don't over think it!
I know it's easy to put all these intense pressure on your "senior pictures". You want your hair and make up to be flawless. Don't stress if your eyes are squinty when you smile, or if your hair doesn't want to work with you that day, or if a big ole pimple pops up the morning of your session, you can't let the little things stress you out or ruin your confidence. Coming from someone who's face still breaks out at 23, I know how stressful a breakout can be on an important day, but that's something that is easily fixable. Don't overthink the small stuff. As long as you are smiling, laughing, and feeling comfortable and natural for your senior session your pictures will turn out flawless.
7. Bring someone to your session that keeps you laughing
whether it's your mom, sister, best friend, whoever, bring someone who can help you relax and make you laugh.
Having someone who can help you feel comfortable and keep you laughing during your session helps to make your photos look natural, candid, and fun!
And on the flip side, don't bring someone who you will feel self conscious in front of while having your picture taken.
Don't bring your boyfriend if it's going to make you feel embarrassed to go all model-stat in front of him, and don't bring your mom if she will critic you and make you question the way you look!
Bring people that encourage you.
8. Remember: These pictures are about YOU.
While you can take into consideration what other people are doing for their senior pictures, or what your friends and family think you should do, it's ultimately about expressing yourself. If you have a great idea or something that you really want to center your senior pictures around, don't let your ideas be swayed or turned into something you really don't want to do.
9.
10. Have fun with it!
This is the most important factor in totally rocking your senior session. You HAVE to have fun with it! Don't be afraid to give me the Tyra Banks, Americas-Next-Top-Model look. Don't be afraid to be a total goofball and get silly. Your senior session is meant to reflect and represent you, so be you!
Wanna see more of the rad seniors that I've gotten to work with this year? Check out my senior information page.