Hi seniors! I'm starting a new category, just for you. (If you're a bride, check out the "for brides" category!) In these posts, I'll be sharing thoughts/tips/tricks/answers to frequently asked questions... Your senior pictures are a once in a lifetime event, and my goal is to help you get the pictures you want, and have a GREAT time in the process! I hope these posts prove helpful to you!
So, I thought I'd get this started with one of the most common questions (well, two, really) I receive from seniors: "How many outfits should I bring?" And, "How many locations can we go to?"
First, a bit on my session philosophy: You might have noticed that my sessions are looong. Up to 3 hours! My thought is, "You get to do this once. You've put a lot of time and effort into choosing your clothes, and getting ready, and we'd better make the most of it!" I want you to walk away with an image collection of great variety, and the more time we have, the more variety we can get!
Ultimately, you can wear as many outfits as you'd like, and we can go to as many locations as possible, within those 3 hours. It usually works out to about 3 - 5 locations, and about 3 - 5 outfits. There are lots of things that factor into how many outfits and locations are possible, like how far apart the locations are, etc. Rachelle made a lot of good choices that resulted in a great, varied collection of images, and I will use her as my example.
In the storyboard at the top of this post, Rachelle accomplished three very different looks simply by making good use of layers! She started out with her white jacket, then simply removed the jacket and let her blue scarf stand out, and then removed the scarf to achieve a 3rd look. All of these pictures were taken at the same location, which is the second smart decision she made: The main location she chose had a lot of different backgrounds to offer. There were grassy fields, concrete steps, manicured lawns, a gazebo... even an old metal barn adjacent to it! So we were able to achieve a great variety of images without using up time driving around. Awesome!!
Let me show you a few more examples from Rachelle's session. Here again is the great use of layers:
Notice how she put her hair up in a few of these, to further change things up:
(A hat can be a great way to add variety, too!)
And here are two more looks Rachelle achieved, just by switching out her cardigan:
One last thing that helped us achieve a great variety for Rachelle's image collection was that she had kind of converted the backseat of her car to a closet, so we were able to quickly look at colors/textures/patterns, and coordinate them with our surroundings as we went.
So, to recap:
1) Make good use of layers!
2) Choose locations with a lot of variety.
3) Bring accessories (hair clips, hats, etc.) to further change your look.
4) Bring lots of clothing and accessories, hung "closet style" in your car if you can!
If you have a question/topic/whatever you'd like to see addressed in a future "For Seniors" post, please e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com!
To book a session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com
