The weather in the PNW has been brutal this Spring ... lots of rain and cold temperatures. Where I expected to have several family sessions, I've had none! We just can't trust the weather yet.
I do have a high-school senior session this week and here are a few guidelines I wrote out for it ...
1) Be well-rested and relaxed. I don’t bite unless you bite first so let’s have some fun.
2) I plan to spend at least an hour, if not two, with you and (probably) your mom. Let’s all agree ahead of time to enjoy each other’s company and the setting we’re in. You’re leaving home soon so you can surely allow Mom to suggest the photos she’d like to have of you before you leave, right?
3) We will focus on photos for your yearbook, but we’ll also have tons of fun with other poses and props, too, because we both know that Mom really wants those photos more than she wants the yearbook one, right?
4) Bring a list of yearbook qualifications to your photo session so we are sure to get a nice variety of photos in the correct orientation to choose from for the yearbook. You could also e-mail it to me in advance. ([email protected].)
5) Choose to wear colors that show off your skin tone and eyes. Avoid wearing white unless you are super tan and we’re shooting in cloudy weather. Patterns (florals, plaids, paisleys) are fine, but make sure they won’t detract from YOU!
6) If we’re shooting at the beach, wear complimentary colors to the sand and water. In other words, avoid wearing white, beige, light blue … darker and brighter colors work best. Denim is fine as long as it is jeans or skirts, but go for contrast near your face. If you insist on white, beige, and light blue, I’ll do my best to fulfill your vision.
7) If we’re shooting at a local park, in the pasture where you keep your horses, or in the forest, don’t wear green unless you are blond or red-headed because you’ll blend in with the foliage and bark. However, if there is plenty of fall foliage, feel free to wear green and avoid red, orange, yellow, and brown. Navy blue is usually a very safe choice.
8) Shades of blue, or brighter colors, such as red, orange, yellow, pink, burgundy, turquoise, etc … work very well with green foliage backgrounds.
9) Bet you didn’t know color played such a huge part of getting great photos!
10) Bring 2-3 changes of clothes, if you’d like. Something casual (t-shirt/jeans or sweater/jeans), something dressier (shirt and tie/dress shirt and slacks/khakis and polo or skirt and sweater set/dress), and something depicting your sport or interest, such as a letterman’s jacket or jersey. What you bring is totally up to you. AND your mom … because she is probably paying for the photos and we all know it’s really for her anyway.
11) Girls, wear a cami or tank top and you can easily (and modestly!) change your clothes on-location.
12) Girls, feel free to wear a dress, but remember that changing from pants to a skirt (or the other way) is much easier than a dress. If you don’t know those tricks, I’m happy to teach you.
13) Guys, doesn’t matter what you wear underneath. Please don’t wear dresses or skirts, unless the skirt is a kilt and you are truly Scottish or Irish. I will make the exception in that case, but you should probably also bring (and be able to play) bagpipes to convince me. A large telephone pole sized log could also do the trick if you are able to toss it for yards!
14) Clothes changes can also be made in public bathrooms or in your car, but I’m not responsible for any ogling from passers-by.
15) Bring props if desired. Baseball bat, football, pompoms, hockey stick or mask, theatre masks, musical instrument, sheet music … feather boas, umbrellas … pets (no rats, snakes, lizards, or armadillos, please) … 1966 Mustang, 2009 VW bug …
16) For the most part, I will be shooting close-ups of your face (or at least the top half of your body) and in a vertical orientation as this is what most yearbooks demand.
17) Don’t worry about pimples. I can fix them in post-processing. Cover them as best you can, but I will make you look normal … not airbrushed like a magazine, but not like a newbie to puberty either.
18) If your school has dress code guidelines, please adhere to them in our photo session. Things such as hair length (boys), beards/mustaches (boys AND girls … just kidding!), necklines (girls), skirt length (girls … unless the guys are wearing kilts?) … I can serve you best when you do your part on this point.
19) Even if the sun is not shining, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have a great photo shoot. Some of my clients’ favorite photos were taken on days with no sun. The silver lining on those clouds provides some really great shots.
20) Above all … let’s enjoy ourselves. Mom loves you and wants to remember this time in your life. And there will come a day when you will want to share it with your children and grandchildren. Believe it or not, that day WILL come and you’ll thank Mom for the photos.