5 Must-Know Tips for Your Senior Session

This is one of the most common questions I receive! If you’re wondering how to plan for your senior portrait session wardrobe, you’re not alone. For my clients, the goal is always to have a fun and stress-free photo experience. In order to do this, and to get the most out of your time in front of the camera—preparation is key! So here are my 5 Must-Know Tips for Your Senior Session!

Tip 1: Wardrobe

Clothing

When preparing for your senior session, figuring out what to wear may seem like an intimidating task. The main objective is to choose outfits you are comfortable in and something that suits your unique style. Be true to yourself and pick outfits and props that really reflect the true you. My goal is to capture gorgeous portraits that show the best version of yourself. If getting all dressed up is your thing, that’s great; if it’s not, that’s okay too! Everyone is beautiful, so don’t stress about it too much! Just be yourself and have fun!

Choose at least three outfits, but no more than five. Try to make sure that your outfits are different from each other, to give your images variety. For example, go with a dressier outfit, a casual outfit, and something in between. Try to choose colors that coordinate and suit your skin tone.

Make sure your outfit choices mesh well with the location and season of your shoot. If your location has a lot of color, try to stick with neutral clothing. If you’re being photographed in a more neutral setting, throw in some color to stand out. Make sure all clothes are clean, wrinkle-free, and hung up a few days before your session.

Accessories

Accessories are a great way to add extra touches of personalization. Fun necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are great as long as they don’t distract from you! Make sure nails are freshly polished or bare. Avoid nail polish that’s too bright. Remember, shoes must be clean and stylish, too! Hair can be one of your best accessories! Consider wearing your hair down for part of your session, then adding a hat or headband, for another part, and then wearing it up or in a loose braid for some more variety.

Avoid

Sometimes, those bad hair and makeup days are unavoidable. However, your senior session should not be one of those days. Your senior experience will bring out the most glamorous, beautiful side of you!

Everyone struggles with acne from time to time. Get your face prepped for your shoot ahead of time by making sure you cleanse regularly, eat well, and avoid too much stress. Most minor blemishes can and will be touched up, but it’s always important to practice good hygiene. Be sure to have well-groomed eyebrows a couple of days in advance, too!

Trendy, Timeless & True to You is a great motto to remember as far as your wardrobe goes.

Choosing a range of outfits that are trendy, timeless, and that is true to who you are can create a dynamic and overall great look for your session.

Tip 2: Hair and Makeup

Having your hair and makeup done, professionally takes the question of “will I look good enough in my pictures” off the table. A professional, hairstylist and makeup artist can get your picture ready based on their knowledge of how the light and weather will affect you during your session. The professionals I work with take the time to listen to what you want and apply that to get the best look possible. One of the major keys to having great pictures throughout the session is to have the stylist on location with us. They keep you looking fresh and touched up.

Tip 3: Locations

Something that often gets overlooked during the planning of the session are location possibilities. I urge my clients to think about locations that mean something to them whether it’s a family property or a place that they like to go. Including these locations in your session gives your pictures even more meaning. In addition, clothing choices can play a role in helping identify locations. Flowing dresses may point to a field possibility, while having formal-type clothing may lead to a more formal-type setting.

What season it is definitely plays a part in choosing locations. Wanting flowers and foliage in your pictures will lean towards Spring and Summer. Wanting a field with high grass might lead toward late Summer or early Fall since late fall is when most fields are cut. Having beautiful rich foliage will lead us towards a Fall season which would couple with a great Fall wardrobe.

Tip 4: Hobbies and Sports

Including different sports and hobbies into your session is a great way to remember the things that your senior enjoyed during this time. While I love photographing seniors who play sports and striving to get a unique look, I enjoy just as much being able to photograph seniors, who have unique interests such as theater, playing musical instruments, comic books, reading, working on cars, and make-up. These ideas are just a few of the hobbies that have been included in sessions. Each one tells the story of that senior and I’ve had many a parent cry and say “that is exactly them, you captured it perfectly”.

Tip 5: What You Want to Remember

When everything is over, the session is done, graduation has come and gone, and your senior is now heading off to college, what are you going to remember and how will you? Displaying memories around your home and office will be the daily reminders of your Senior. A canvas wall art displayed in your living room, prints in your bedroom, an album laid out on your coffee table so that you can grab it and flip through to remember that time that has moved so quickly. even thinking about what prints you will want to gift to friends and family.

If you’d like to know more about my senior sessions or how to schedule a session, I’d love to chat with you and send you my Senior Session Guide.

Let’s make your session one to remember just like your senior year! As part of the session, we do a pre-session consultation where we discuss all the above tips and put together a custom session that shows of your senior and who they are. Let’s take your session to the next level!