Looking Your Best For Your Senior Portraits

 

Close-Up Portraits-

For your close-up portraits, dress in something simple both in color and style. Boys can choose a suit, sport coat, sweater or button down dress shirt with tie. For girls, a solid dress, sweater or blouse with a simple neckline is perfect. Both should wear long sleeves to keep the eye from being drawn away from the face to the flesh of the arms.

 

Clothing Color & Style-

Proper clothing allows the face to dominate the portrait, with everything else being secondary. Low key portraits on darker backgrounds require clothing in that same tonal family, mid to dark colors, plus darker colors are more slimming! So if you have your portrait taken on a brown background, black or earthy tones are your best choice. A lighter earth tone such as tan is not recommended for a darker background, and should be worn with a lighter tan background.

Bare shoulders or tops with spaghetti straps often make you look heavier, and draw the eye away from the face, and should be avoided.

Stripes, plaids, checks and bold prints also distract from the face and do not photograph well.

 

Informal Portraits-

Informal portraits are better for a larger variety of clothing in way of colors and styles. Girls can choose to wear shorts, jeans, a prom dress, or a casual dress. Boys can choose formal, casual, or a sports uniform. Just bring as many outfits as you'd like to use, and we can help you decide what will work best.

For white on white portraits, it's best to wear white clothing, or very light pastel outfits. Our Black Tie portraits lend better to solid black clothing.

 

Express Yourself!

If you have a hobby, we encourage you to bring anything relating to it with you to your session. For example, if you are in the band, bring your band uniform and your instrument if possible. If you're an artist, bring your painters palette and your easel! You can really have fun in these type of portrait sessions! If you have a favorite pet, bring him/her along! We have a special "Best Buds" add on. Be sure to bring your senior ring too!

 

Planning for your portrait session-

Hair-

Don't try a new hairstyle, you may end up hating it and then hating your portraits. We don't want that. Have your hair trimmed or cut a week before your session to give it time to relax.

Skin Problems-

If you have skin problems, don't worry! We expertly retouch all of our finished portraits.

Glasses-

We highly recommend having your lenses removed from the frames by your Optometrist for your portraits. They will normally do this at no charge for you. We recommend this to prevent glare on the lenses, which turns into costly retouching charges.

Braces-

We can remove braces from your portraits for an extra retouching charge if you would like. But keep in mind, some dentists are willing to remove your braces for your session if you take the time to schedule the procedure.

Tanning-

We can remove tan lines from your image, but to avoid an extra retouch charge for this, we recommend wearing clothing to cover the tan lines.

For Girls-

Fresh, natural make-up or "evening" make-up work best for your portraits. We encourage all girls to wear at least a little make-up to enhance their facial features in their portraits.

For Boys-

Please shave before your session to avoid a shadow. If you have a beard or mustache, trim it up to your liking before your session.

 

Q & A

"What will my session be like?"

Fun! You might be a little nervous or timid at first, but as your session progresses you should relax. Just remember, we don't bite!

 

"Can I bring a friend?"

Absolutely! If you feel more comfortable having someone along with you, bring them along!

 

"When do I decide what I want to purchase?'

After your session, we will set up a time for you to preview your portraits. We encourage purchasing at this time so we schedule the appointment for an extended amount of time. If you cannot decide during this time, we will work with you on a timeline.

 

"Can I order additional portraits later?"

Of course! We keep your session on record for up to six months, then we archive them. You are welcome to purchase anytime, but please note that after six months there will be an archive search fee.

 

More questions? Please call during our regular office hours.