…planning your senior portraits

Many students are very excited and nervous about their senior portraits because they care so deeply about how they will look. Being thoroughly prepared for your photography session will help keep you calm and confident. Chances are, you haven't done anything like this before. We have put together some information to help you prepare for your portrait session and look your very best..

Please arrive on time. This is important. If you are running late this will make you even more nervous and it will be harder to relax. Also we may have to reschedule part of your session because we may have another session scheduled after yours. You would not want to have to wait because the person before you was not on time for their session. Props and poses are chosen according to your clothing style. Please bring at least one extra outfit, just in case.

Get everything ready the night before your session. If you know you've got everything together you will be more relaxed and ready to enjoy the session. Make sure that your clothes are ironed as we may not be able to remove wrinkles that show in the photos. Even if we can, it may be very expensive to retouch them out.

Special Concerns

Friends

Having a friend in your photos is part of the fun of your senior portrait experience. If they are going to be part of your indoor session, they should be at the studio when you arrive. Remember, this is your day! We suggest limiting your photo with a friend to one outfit only. If you want to share your day with your friends - additional hours can be held for a full day session with you all taking turns. If this is the case everyone should bring several outfit changes.

Collections and special props

Collections and activities are part of you and your life. Sports equipment, uniforms, musical instruments, artist materials, or part of collections, all say something about you. We will gladly work them into your photo session. If you have any questions, call. Chances are we can do it!

Hair

Your hair style is ultimately up to you, wear it the way you normally do. Quick hair-do changes are a fun way to showcase your different styles, but keep it simple. You don't want to waste your session time in the front of the mirror! Avoid a radical change in style right before your session.

Make-up

Wear your makeup as you normally do, just slightly heavier, as you would for an evening out. Don’t normally wear make up? Try just the basics: concealer will even out skin tone, powder will help with any unwanted shine, and lip gloss will add a perfect finishing touch. Don't forget to bring your make-up and hair brush with you to your session.

Facial Hair

Guys, please make sure you are clean shaven. If you have a moustache, beard or goatee it should be neatly trimmed.

Braces

Most everyone likes to have at least a few poses with a beautiful smile. If you have braces, please practice smiling naturally. Don't worry about your braces. If you hate them - we can remove them with digital imaging and they won't appear in the final portrait.

Glasses

Unfortunately most glasses have glare, and some prescriptions have more than others. We recommend checking with your optometrist, as most will loan you an empty set of frames similar to yours for your photo session. We try our best to have poses and lighting that do not cause glasses glare but we don't want to sacrifice a great pose and expression for something that can be eliminated. Our digital imaging can remove some glasses glare in your portraits, but not if it covers the major portion of the eye. Also some glasses distort the appearance of the eye. We can often correct that but the retouching may be expensive.

Contact lenses

Bring your solution and contacts case. The lights may dry your eyes and cause you to blink. Contact lenses rarely show in a photograph, however, colored lenses can add a great deal of color.

Jewelry

Keep it simple, we want the attention on you. Big, shiny jewelry can be distracting. If you have different jewelry for different outfits, put each set of jewelry in a plastic zip lock bag and hang it on the hangar with that outfit.

Sunburn

Avoid excessive sun prior to your session, sunburn and peeling do not photograph well. Digital imaging can help fix this problem, but it looks best without sunburn at all. A suntan can enhance your photographs but tan lines are very unappealing and difficult to correct. If you are tanning, move the straps around so that you don't develop tan lines. If you do have tan lines, wear clothing that will hide them.

Tattoos, Piercing and Scars

Please let us know whether a visible scar, tattoo, or piercing is something you would like to have show or not. If possible we can conceal them before the photos are taken. Scars and tattoos are not automatically retouched unless you request it. Most can be removed or softened but if extensive work is needed to conceal a tattoo or scar there will be an extra charge.

Moles and beauty marks

Session Fee: $25.00 per person

Mileage: $0.45 per mile

Senior Special Pricing:

* We request that all wallet sheets not exceed two poses/images.
* Contact Sheets are available upon request at an additional cost.
* Additional “individual” 4x6 and 5x7 are available. The cost is $2.00 for each 4x6 and $4.00 for each    5x7.
* All collage and design specials apply.
* Ask about memory books or coffee table art books.

Page Layouts

The following page layouts will fit on a standard 8.5 x 11. The photo sizes shown are industry wide standards. Custom sizes are also available. (ie. - 5x5 inch square frame or a 4x10 inch panoramic frame)

Standard Price List:

Invitations: Prices vary by size and quanity.

Magnets: $12.00 per sheet. Multiple sizes available to fill the sheet.

Small Sheets:

(5x7) $5.00 each

(4x6) $3.00 each

Standard Sheets:

(8.5x11) $10.00 each - these can be laid out with multiple photos in various sizes - see the chart.

Large Sheets: (13x19) $35.00 each - this rate includes any design time necessary for album layouts.

OriginalDesign Albums/Coffee Table Books: Prices vary by size and quanity. We need to discuss albums in person so that I can ascertain exactly what you are expecting.