Getting ready for your senior session

Alright, so we’ve officially signed up for a date to take your senior photos. What’s next?!

Fortunately for you, I’ve made this handy little checklist of what to do to be prepared and to get the most of out of your senior photos.

Brainstorming your session

Every once in awhile clients will ask to meet with me for coffee and then we’ll talk about their session, locations, clothing, themes and styles.

This option is included on my remix sessions. If you chose the original session we can still brainstorm, but we can do that over a phone call.

Not every client will want to meet up, but I’ve found that the ones that do get the most creative and inspiring session. At the meeting you can tell me about yourself and what you want and then I can tell you how we can translate those ideas into photos.

These photos were taken from seniors who I met beforehand and discussed creative opportunities and how to get the most out of the senior session.

Choosing a location

This is your first step and is super important, because choosing a location will really change the vibe and the feel and the look of your entire session.

You definitely want to pick a place that fits your personality and most importantly your style. If you’re a down-to-earth country type of person then it makes much more sense to take your photos at a park or in the woods. But, if you like dressing up and being a bit more glamorous we should choose a place in the city to show off.

It’s also important to choose a spot that matches your outfit. If you already have in mind what you wanted to wear and it involves light sneakers, shorts and a flowy shirt then we should definitely choose the beach! However, if you wanted to wear your football jersey or your letterman’s jacket maybe we should choose your football stadium.

How to Decide

I like to ask a series of questions to determine where’s the best spot to take your photos.

Do you already have a spot in mind, either because it’s personal to you (your school, home, hangout spot) or because of its look and style.
If not, I’ll suggest some options.
Do you have any outfits that’d go well in particular locations?

Woods, beach or urban?
1. Woods: Park or Rustic
2. Urban: Downtown or Neighborhood? Grungy and artistic or pretty and clean

A dress or suit is better in an urban location.

Casual attire works better in nature.

The woods

The Beach

Urban

Brick and grunge

Skylines

Downtown

Fields

Pretty park versus rustic park

Pretty park versus rustic park

Pretty park versus rustic park

Fiserv Forum

Personal locations: Jariel chose the Milwaukee City Hall, because he wants to go into politics and Catalina chose this mural to showcase her Mexican heritage.

Unique and artistic location

Unique and artistic location

Near the water

Near the water

Near the water

On the water

Here are some of my longstanding go-to locations that I love

Woods: Seven Bridges and Grant Park, Menomonee Park, Doctors Park and Lapham Peak

Beach: Seven Bridges, Atwater Park

City: Third Ward Neighborhood, Fiserv Forum, Lakefront Brewery area and the Fifth Ward

Choosing your outfits

Once you’ve decided on the location or as you’re deciding, you’ll also want to pick outfits. For the original session, bring one outfit, and for the remix session you can bring 2-3 outfits. Even if you only choose one location but want to show off your style in multiple outfits, I recommend booking the remix session.

The first thing you’ll want to remember is to pick something you feel comfortable wearing or can be confident in. Confidence is most important. If that means going with one of your go to outfits you wear on the regular definitely do that. If that means buying something new and you’re excited to show it off, do that!

If you buy a new outfit, I’d wear it once or twice and run through some poses just so you won’t be surprised at the fit. You don’t want to suddenly be at your session and you’re tugging the bottom of the dress down or pulling the fabric in and out and up and down, because you feel self conscience.

If you have multiple outfits, I’d wear a dressy outfit, a casual outfit and a third wildcard outfit that shows off your interests or personality. (Maybe a 70s thrift store ensemble or a sports uniform or jersey.)

Mona chose a dress, pink overalls and white pants and a light blouse for her outfits

Maia chose two different dresses and then a skirt and top, all different but more classy and dressy.

Hannah chose a dress and then two more fun and artistic outfits, white pants and a colorful top and then a thrift store collection showing off her daring side.

Reilly chose outfits that are more country, a maroon dress and then two different tops with her blue jeans.

Dartanion went super casual for two outfits, a sweater and a shirt and then went super dressy with a suit and tie.

Sophia showed off her artistic and fashion side as she had four different outfits, including her custom made rubber-duck earings.

Madison included her prom dress and her fun personality outfit including stretchy multi-patterned and multi-colored pants and a yellow top.

Myles had four different outfits, but made his life easier by having the same pants in two of them and then the same shorts in the other two. All he had to do was change his shirt and add a jacket to differentiate it.

Chase showed how to go casual with a styled graphic t-shirt and blue jeans. He then went outdoors casual with dark jeans and an open button down flannel. He finalized the shoot with a classy white button down shirt for something more dressy.

Themes and props: yay or nay?

I would say on average I have seniors bring props, not including outfit items, 20% of the time. This could include a musical instrument, a car or sports equipment. I’ve also had others bring items that represent their hobbies, from mixing music to video games to reading books and to pets.

The nice thing about bringing something is that many times it can be an easy addition to the photo session. We can take a couple pictures of you with your saxophone or football for 10 minutes and then move on without it.

If you think of anything else or have any other questions, please reach out!