Been asked to do Senior Pics.. NEED HELP

System

I've recently been asked by a few different people to take senior pictures for either them or their friends.. and I say yes, although I really do not know what all is involved with senior pictures. As in I do not know what all I am expected of when doing senior pictures. I always just take people out for fun and send them some pictures through email or give them a DVD.. but I know with senior pictures there are wallet prints and other things that they might want.. but I don't know what to offer them.. or what to charge either. So if there is ANYTHING at all related to taking senior pictures that you would like to share, I love hearing what others have to say because it helps a lot. Thanks!

dogwood

Send your clients to me !

Seriously, if this is your first senior session, you might consider offering to do it for no cost (or just the cost of expenses) for the experience. Let the clients know you're still learning but would like to build your portfolio. Get them to sign model releases and then shoot away. And make sure to experiment! Get some solid shots but try some variety too.

If it goes well, they'll show the photos to their friends. Their friends will want a shoot and you can charge them.

In terms of fees, google for senior shooters in your area. See what they charge. Don't charge as much as them, but don't low ball yourself either. Senior portraits can be fun and they're really no different than other portraits. You want to bring out the personality of the person and make them look their best.

Swartzy

A few things to consider when shooting. When framing, composing, make certain you allow enough wiggle room for cropping those stupid sizes of 5x7 and 8x10...I know a guy who.....well, you get the idea.

Also, look at lots of sites with representation of senior pics....this will give you ideas. Most importantly, what Pete said about taking a wide variety, let me expound just a bit. Try many different angles. Take a small 3 step stool along so you can get up above and don't be afraid to lay on the ground.

Make certain you get some great head shots because these will most likely be the shots they want for wallets. Don't be afraid to tilt you camera either as mixing it up from traditional framing to a bit more PJ style will keep your eye fresh and most likely when culling through them you'll have some nice keepers you weren't aware of at the time of shoot.

Choose good backgrounds as those are just as and even moreso important as a pose or angle. Use walls to your advantage and bring your subject out away from them by 10 feet or so at times. Using flash fill outdoors will help greatly with the catchlight in the eyes.

Jeff has written many things on his blog about senior stuff....don't have that handy...oh wait.......go here:

http://jkmann.smugmug.com/gallery/6057673_NvijZ

The biggest thing is to have fun, talk with them all the time, get them to relax, joke with them....make them feel like a rockstar for your time together....show them the cool shot you just took...get them excited because you're excited....this will make the time fly, you'll get great captures and most importantly will have a satisfied customer.

Good luck!

angevin1

You have two galleries in people: Rachael and Cate.

I think photos in both of these are fine examples of what many people are looking for...and it appears they are pretty darned straight out of the camera. So, for me at least your comp and lighting and all are well within range of providing excellent photos for Seniors.

cheers, tom

System

Thanks for all the reply.. and thanks for the compliment on the Rachael and Cate pictures.. means a lot

jeffreaux2

Swartzy has pretty much said all I would say and included a link to the article in my signature below.

Other than that,

Don't be afraid to approach the kids with "out-of-the-box" ideas or approaches to their senior portfolio. They will be willing to try alternative approaches where older clients may not. This can produce both fun and creative results.

jeffreaux2

PM question

I got a question
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<!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Hey, if you don't mind me asking.. how did you get that color tone in the picture of the CHS drumline leader? I tried for a while last night.. and I LOVE that color.. just don't know how to get that one.. nor do I know how to get the one with the guy riding the horse. Everyone i've shown the picture of the horse to has loved that senior picture. Thanks for the input as well.. Love to hear from other people and their opinions
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www.JonDraperPhotography.smugmug.com

I shoot RAW only. For a year after I began shooting RAW I shot RAW plus jpeg, but only used the RAW files. So now, it's only RAW. I process all of my RAW files in Adobe Lghtroom. I began using Lightroom during it's beta infancy and have loved it ever since. It is a RAW editor with some really awesome features that include the ability to do batch edits. It works best to make global changes on images, leaving touch ups and local corrections to Photoshop. I am finding that I use Photoshop less and less not only as I get more comfortable doing things in Lightroom, but also as I avoid in camera errors that I used to have to "fix" in photoshop.

Of the three images, all were processed in Lightroom from RAW files.

If memory serves, the first and third were done entirely in Lightroom, with the third using a split tone tinting to add the colored tones.

The second one is a bit more complicated. It was processed in color in Lightroom with the BW conversion being done in Photoshop. I always "push" my exposures to the right of the histogram at the time of capture. For that reason, adding large amounts of contrast in post processing can sometimes be problematic...especially on an image such as this where my subject is dressed in white. After a BW conversion in photoshop, I duplicated the BG layer twice. One of these layers was used to increase the contrast in the background (curves). The other layer was used as a curves adjustment layer for the subject. A layer mask was used to blend the two layers to reveal their appropriate parts. Following this, and flattening the image, another duplicate of the layer was used in the "multiply" blending mode to add even more contrast. A mask was again used to separate my subject from that layer. Lastly, after flattening, I went back to photoshops black and white tool and added some toning with a small amount of saturation.
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System

Thank you very much for your response. Appreciate the help and like to hear a lot was done in lightroom rather than everything being done in photoshop

jeffreaux2

Jon Draper Photography wrote:

Thank you very much for your response. Appreciate the help and like to hear a lot was done in lightroom rather than everything being done in photoshop

My photography is far from perfect. It has, however, improved to a point at which I am using the softwares more for enhancement reasons than corrections. I have done portrait sessions and events where I have only had to use Lightroom for ALL of the photos, but in most cases I still spend a little time with at least a handfull of the photographs in Photoshop. The shot of the drum major is a good example of why I do that. It was good enough, quirky enough, that it simply deserved "more" than what I could have accomplished in Lightroom.


As a side note,

I have just sold my first "senior photobook". A hard backed 20 page book containing images from their senior photo session. I used a high gloss cover with images there front and back as well. His mother didn't bat an eye to purchase it. I also showed it to a few of the clients whose kids will be allowing me to also do their senior portraits. They ALL want the books, and I have gotten a good response also in testing the waters with graduation invitations.

Don't end the senior portrait session with only photographs. Press printed products abound, and the market is surely there to grab them up.