Rockin' Senior Session

When it comes to planning for sessions, seniors are some of my favorite people to work with. Don’t get me wrong, I love families, children, engaged couples and wedding ceremonies.. but seniors are close to the top of my list.

Why, you may ask? It’s simple: seniors are excited to model, seniors are some of my best marketing tools, and seniors know what they want. They also have a great sense of style, which translates well in their photographs.

When a high school senior books a session with me, I do several things right from the start to help them know I am excited about working with them. I also do my best to get to know them so I can tailor their shoot to fit them perfectly. I find that if you do these things, your session will not only run smoothly, but you will have a client who LOVES to refer you to their friends.

In post processing senior photos, always remember that you are photographing for their parents as much as you are your senior client. I keep “fad” type editing out of the equation because I know ten years from now their parents will want a solid (not overly processed) image on their wall.

Instead of using “fad” editing techniques, I always let the style speak through the locations I choose. You can easily do this by choosing old brick buildings, abandoned farm houses, fields of cotton etc. The seniors love this, and their parents will appreciate the timelessness of the photographs they receive.

It is not hard to rock a session with your seniors, it just takes some extra things to go above and beyond so they know you appreciate them and want to know them. All of those extra things will make your client feel special, and will translate into those coveted word of mouth referrals for you and your growing business!

Being One Is Just So Fun!!

While one year olds are usually a riot, they can also be serious, silly, laughing, crying, and playing. They have a myriad of emotions and they wear them on their proverbial sleeve. I don’t spend the whole session trying to get them to sit still (or stand still) and smile at the camera. I always try to get at least some smiling, looking, sitting still pictures, but during the session I also let them be the drama queens (or kings) that they are.
I spend most of a one year old session looking through my viewfinder. They are usually very busy (whether they are walking or crawling) and don’t look up at the camera very often, so when they do look up you have to be ready to capture whatever expression they are going to give you. Usually if they are in their element, they are happier, sillier, and more like themselves then if you were forcing them to sit still.

Sometimes the one year olds just don’t plain do not want to look up. They like to do whatever their little mind has in it. During these times I photograph all their little baby cuteness. This could be their little toes, to their chubby arms. If they aren’t being cooperative with their face, at least you can capture their sweet profiles. As a mom of three little ones (three, two, and three months), I realize how quickly they lose that tummy roll, and chubby hands and love pictures like that.

Sometimes when you do want the attention of the tiny tot, it’s very useful to have some funny sounds on hand. You may feel silly squawking like a crow in front of the adult clients, but it really does work for babies to draw attention. However, they get very used to the same noise over and over so make sure you have an arsenal of silly sounds.
This is an old tip that is tried and true. I almost always am on my belly or back or leaning over to capture the little ones. I’m tall (5’10 to be exact) and if I would shoot from my vantage point, I would lose a certain sweetness in the photo. We all see toddlers from a tall angle, so when you get down on the ground, it makes it more visually interesting. It catches the world from their short perspective.