If you are starting to plan your senior graduation session, you’ve come to the right spot.

For your senior graduation portraits, you don’t want a standard, cookie-cutter experience that every other client receives. If you want your senior session to be styled just for you, you need the session to be planned perfectly. You need to select the perfect place, outfit, and photographer to capture it all. When you look back at the images after the session, you want the images to embody the joyful, celebratory nature of this season of your life. You want the images to be authentic and unique, where your personality shines through.

I completely understand because that is what I need every time I step in front of a camera too.

I am here to help you make the most out of your senior portrait session. To have the best experience possible. As a professional portrait photographer for 13 years, here are the best 5 elements to elevate your senior graduation portrait session.

Connection

Connecting with your photographer matters. I am not exaggerating: selecting a photographer for any special occasion is the most important decision you can make.

If you select the right photographer, you’ll look back fondly at the images for years to come. Seeing the graduation announcement hanging on your parent’s fridge, seeing the pictures with friends and family members hanging upon your walls…

If you don’t vibe with your photographer, you won’t feel comfortable and you won’t like how the images turn out. Make sure you understand your photographer’s process and that it suits you!

For example, my clients LOVE to collaborate with me for their sessions. They also want to feel prepared before they ever step foot on location. So I send every client a customized questionnaire. I offer consultations during the entire planning process to make sure their sessions are unique. I also send an exclusive client guide so my clients know what to expect during every step of the process.

So how do you select the perfect photographer for your senior session?

First, do your research. Look at a photographer’s website and social media pages – make sure you like their photographic and editing style. Review the FAQ pages on their website and make note of any unanswered questions you still have. Ask the photographer those questions during the consultation process.

Second, find connection points. determine which photographers you may click with better than others? Get cozy with a warm cup of coffee or tea and take a look at the “About” page on their website. Does the information included on page immediately make you feel like you could be friends? Does it make you want to know more about the actual owner behind the business? If you’re thinking “yes!” that’s a great sign!

Lighting

Lighting is the most important element which affects how your images turn out. Which is why is so important to take a look at the gallery or portfolio section of a photographer’s website. Make sure you LOVE their shooting style.

Consider a photographer placing you in a stunning setting. Surrounded by mountains, forests, and a field filled with flowers, it sounds perfect right? But if the images are taken at noon in the harshest sunlight without flash, you will not like the images.

Spend some time reviewing the photographer’s images anywhere you can. On their website, on their social media pages. Even request to see an example of a full gallery from a senior session. That way, you will you understand their shooting style and the type of light they work with in their art.

Location

I am going to repeat this again, because it is so important. The lighting ultimately matters more than a location during a portrait session. That being said, the location still affects the outcome of the overall images. The best sessions incorporate both beautiful lighting and beautiful locations at the right time of day.

Consider the overall feel you want for your session. Bright and colorful? Consider shooting somewhere with flowers outdoors or colorful murals downtown! Urban luxury? Classy hotels and skyscrapers, greenery, and neutrals are your go-to in the big city. The options are endless!

Spend some time planning locations you would love to shoot and reach out to your photographer to discuss options. They will provide their professional opinion regarding the locations you have chosen and time of day. Again, review the photographer’s images on their website and make note of any locations which catch your eye. Your photographer will help plan a session for that exact location or will provide similar amazing options!

Angles

Make sure your photographer captures a variety of angles with different types of equipment, close-up shots and farther shots to truly help tell the story of your celebration. You don’t want all of your images to feel onenote and boring because your photographer always shoots at the same angles with the same lens.

This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about the fact that I shoot with both a standard, hand-held camera/lenses and a professional drone. Being a certified drone pilot ensures that I capture your most important moments from breathtaking perspectives you won’t get from a standard portrait photographer.

Accessories and Styling

These elements go hand-in-hand so I’m writing this section as a two-for-one!

Accessories

Adding accessories gives your images range and variety! In the image above, you can see that Marlin paired some statement hoop earrings beautifully with a simple bouquet, giving her images an enchanting elegance.

Bringing different sets of jewelry, cute hats, fun shoes, or purses does two things. First, it makes the session 100% unique to you. The combinations we can play with are endless! Second, it means we can capture some stunning, close-up detail shots as a bonus to your gallery!

If you look at images of past seniors, you’ll see that the accessories they bring gives us so much to play with in terms of detail images and posing to truly tell a story with their final gallery of images.

Styling

Selecting what to wear for your photo shoot is huge. You want to make sure you feel confident and that the outfits you pick photograph well. Typically I advise my clients to wear something comfortable, that suits their style. I recommend that my clients bring at least one dressy outfit and one casual outfit – that way we capture some beautiful variety.

Some key things to consider are to make sure you remove any unwanted eye glasses, hair ties, and watching which can be distracting in images.

Again, this is why I provide an exclusive client guide which covers what to wear! In the guide, I share my best tips for what to wear and how to style your hair and makeup.

If you would like to read more helpful articles to prepare for your senior graduation session, check out the Journal! You can even schedule Flagstaff graduation portraits of your own by reaching out via my Contact page, or follow along on Instagram to stay in touch!