HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

TIPS AND IDEAS FOR YOUR PORTRAITS

Eyeglasses…If you wear glasses all the time, you will want to wear them in your portraits. Since glass glare and face distortion on some shaped lenses is nearly impossible to avoid, please bring along an empty pair of frames similar to your own for your session. Many opticians will loan/rent you a pair of frames for a couple of hours or they can remove your lenses temporarily for your session. This will avoid any extra charges to remove glass glare.

Tanning…Tan lines are not attractive in your portraits and are costly to remove. Don’t overdo it in the sun or tanning bed before your session. If you choose to tan prior to your session, don’t allow yourself to burn. Peeling skin is difficult to retouch and tan lines are even worse. A little tan is great, however when your tan gets too dark, the skin tones in your final portraits will tend to look orange!

Props…BRING THEM!!! This is where the fun begins! Be sure to bring everything you can think of that will help us bring out your personality and to show who you are at this stage in your life. Bring props that help define who you are. Some popular choices are: Sports equipment (soccer ball, football, hockey stick, golf, etc.), sports uniforms, music instruments (classic violin to rock guitar), activities (dance leotard and shoes, swimming, hobbies, you name it!), vehicles (motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, cars, jeeps), hats (fun, casual, western, winter hat, scarf and gloves), hobbies, talents (artist, magician, etc.), collections ( stuffed animals, surfboards, etc.), sunglasses, your class ring and anything else you can think of!

Punctuality…Plan to arrive for your session 10 – 15 minutes early so that you can fill out paperwork, freshen up and check your outfits. If you are late, that will only shorten your session and lessen the number of photographs you will have taken. If you need to get ready at our studio, your dressing room will be ready for you when you arrive. If you arrive too late, we may have to reschedule your appointment and you will take a chance of missing out on any current specials at that time.
Our new sessions let you do unlimited looks within your time period. This means if you change fast, you’ll get more variety. Spend too much time in the dressing room and you’ll get less time in front of the camera. Most people can get 4 – 5 looks per hour. More outfits, if you are quick and work easy. Bring double what you think we will do so we have more to pick from. Some of the seniors have found that bringing a jacket that can be added to an outfit you are already being photographed in completely changes the look and you won’t be taking any extra time in the dressing room getting ready for it

Clothing…If your school requires a tuxedo for the guys or a drape for the girls, we provide those for you at our studio.
#1 RULE: Clothing must arrive having been ironed and on hangers, NOT in gym bags!!! All of the wrinkles will show, big time!! We suggest you bring a variety, in colors and styles to your session.
#2 RULE: AVOID STRIPES AND PLAIDS!!! Solids photograph much better! Also bring a variety of colors, don’t bring 5 blue outfits even if it is your favorite color. Avoid clothing that has wording on it except for your own school logo. Vary the styles, all one look (like tanks) gets boring
We suggest that you bring at least one traditional dressy outfit for your formal portraits. Remember, it is best to do one or two outfits that mom will like, then we can do the stuff YOU like. For the contemporary black and white close-up shots, bring a long sleeve solid black top preferably v-neck. For the casual portraits, always bring at least one winter casual outfit (even though it is summer) and bring a wide variety of summer casual outfits suited for both indoor and outdoor photographs. If you are not sure about an outfit, bring it and the photographers will help you decide what looks best.
Some shots are close up, others are full length. Plan outfits completely. Bring everything you need, including shoes, belts, jewelry etc for each outfit. Don’t forget your class ring.

Nails for Guys and Girls…Your nails will show in pictures. Be sure they are clean and nails filed.
For the girls, if your nails have chipped color on them it will show. Many casual shots are taken barefoot, so don’t forget about your toes! Avoid real bright colors. Natural or basic colors look best and will blend better with all of your outfits. We don’t want to draw attention to your neon orange toe nails. You will be happier, in the future especially, if you will avoid the trendy colors of polish, like the real dark colors and black.

SPECIAL CONCERNS FOR THE GIRLS….

Hair styling…Hair styling should be appropriate to the clothing selections. Avoid new hairstyles or having your hair cut the week before your session. If you want to change your hairstyle during your session, it needs to be a simple change that can be done extremely quickly because the more time in the dressing room….the less time in front of the camera.

Clothing styles…Be careful of baggy clothes or clothes that are extremely tight. Depending on your individual shape those clothes may make you look larger. Make sure your clothing flatters you.
If you think you have large arms, be careful of sleeveless styles, they tend to accentuate your arms.
Wild to mild. We don’t really tell you what you can and can not wear. A little sexy is OK for maybe one outfit, but don’t make ALL of your outfits that way. Dresses, formals and dressy suits or pants outfits are for the more traditional look. White or pastels usually are best for light backgrounds. Denim always photographs great. Keep it simple. Don’t forget your winter casual outfits, hats, scarves, gloves and jackets to add to other outfits.

Make-up…Even if you don’t normally wear any make-up you do need to for your portrait. Very few of us are blessed with cameo skin. Most of us have uneven skin tones and some ruddiness to our skin. A small amount of cover-up and foundation will help this out tremendously. Makeup for photographs should be only slightly heavier than normal. Too much makeup tends to give you that “painted look”, too little might make your face washed out and not show off your features. A loose translucent powder is helpful to eliminate shine, especially for oily skin. Since most portraits concentrate on the eyes, great care should be taken to make them perfect. Avoid using excessively bright or frosted eye shadow and mascara should be neat and without clumps. A natural color of lipstick is needed and helps to define your lips. Too bright or dark of a color of lipstick tends to scream at you from the pictures!

Jewelry…Keep it simple. We want the attention on you. Big, shiny jewelry can distract from the real subject, YOU. If you have different jewelry for different outfits, for speed in changing, you may want to put each set of jewelry in a zip lock baggie and hang it on the hanger with each outfit.

SPECIAL CONCERNS FOR THE GUYS…

Shaving…Please make sure you are clean shaven. Retouching stubble is extremely expensive and difficult to do to look natural.

Clothing…Bring the right shoes for the outfits. Docs or sandals photograph much better than big, bright tennis shoes. For those outfits that you wear t-shirts under, bring a dark t-shirt for under dark shirts. A white t-shirt triangle under a dark shirt sticks out like a sore thumb.
Avoid large, bold brand names or words on clothing. Big brand names from just a few years ago, you would not be caught dead wearing now. No need to make your portraits advertising billboards for a clothing brand.
If you are unsure what outfits look best on you, bring a lot and we will help you decide. Don’t forget to bring that outfit Mom loves the best! Make sure that your clothes are ironed and brought in on hangers! For your dressier outfit, bring a sports coat and tie or a suit. Bring at least one winter casual and several summer casual outfits appropriate for indoors and outdoors. Don’t forget the tie, belts, shoes, etc for each of your outfits.

Senior Ring…If your girlfriend has your class ring, get it back for your portraits.