Portrait Tips for
Awesome Senior Portraits

Portrait Tips - Guys and Girls

THE NIGHT BEFORE. Get a good night’s rest the day before your portrait session. It can do wonders for your skin tone and state of mind.

SKIN BLEMISHES. Skin blemishes are a fact of life and can’t be avoided. Concealer and powder work wonders for both guys and girls. Do the best you can to conceal them--then don’t worry about them. Any skin blemishes remaining will be retouched out of your final selections at no charge.

SUN. Tan, yes. Burn--NO! Sunburn and peeling do not photograph well. If you are having a spring portrait session, you might consider tanning, but don’t over do it. Redness from the sun will make you look red in your portraits. Tan lines are very unappealing and are difficult to correct. If you do have tan lines, wear clothing that will hide them. Unwanted tan lines and sunburn can be retouched for a nominal fee.

PETS. We love taking pictures of students with their pets, so don’t forget them on your portrait session day!

BEST FRIENDS. You Are welcome to bring your best friend (or friends) along for your portrait. Pal portraits make for great memories! Make sure to check with us when you make your session appointment as to what time we want your friends to be at our studio.

SIBLINGS AND PARENTS. Siblings and parents are more than welcome as part of your hour long portrait session. Please make sure to let us know that they're coming.

PROPS. Just in case you haven’t figured it out by now, we really want to capture the REAL you in your portraits. Bring in things that reflect your personality, talents and hobbies. Choir and dance costumes, instruments, sports uniforms and any sports gear that is part of your life belongs with you in your casual portraits. Footballs, volleyballs, hockey sticks, wakeboards, skateboards, you name it--they’re all welcome in our studio and make for great portraits!

GLASSES. The absolute best way to take care of the problem of glass glare is to have your optometrist take out the lenses in your glasses for the day of your shoot so that we can shoot you with your frames only. Some optometrists will loan you a pair of empty frames for your photos. If you don’t have that option, try to bring in glasses that don’t have “transition” lenses in them, as they still throw off a tint in photos even in room lighting. If none of the above work for you, don’t worry. We can remove any glare showing in your final portrait selections for a nominal charge.

LIPS. Bring lip balm or gloss to keep your lips moist.

TEETH AND BRACES. The first tip for portraits with smiles is to make sure your teeth are clean. If you have braces and don’t want them in the pictures, no problem. We can remove them in your final images for a nominal charge. In any event, please practice smiling naturally in front of a mirror before your session and imagine your smile with your braces magically removed. You’ll look great!

TUNES. Bring your smart phone along with your favorite tunes loaded. Plan on linking into the Bluetooth speaker in our studio so we can all listen to your favorites during your portrait session.

POSITIVE ATTITUDE. The most important tip we can give you is to bring a positive attitude and energy to your portrait session. If you’re having a down day, call ahead and let’s reschedule your shoot. There’s no way we can fix negative energy with Photoshop!

Yearbook Portrait Tips - Guys

1. A dress suit or a navy/black blazer with charcoal slacks and a tie has been the standard for years and we still recommend it. Wearing the complete outfit with dress slacks and shoes allows us to capture full length portraits of you as well as your head and shoulders yearbook portrait.
2. A white shirt under your suit or sport coat is a classic, timeless look. If you are going to wear something other than white, make it a pastel color. Bright colors detract from the focus of the portrait (your face) and will make your skin look off color.
3. Make sure you know how to tie your tie or bring the tie tied already so that you can slip it over your head and under your shirt collar when getting ready to take your classic portraits. Another option is to come to the sitting with your coat and tie on and we will capture those formal images first, after which you can change to your casual clothes.
4. If you decide not to wear a coat and tie, another option is a dress shirt and sweater. The sweater should be a dark, solid color or a sweater with a very fine pattern to it. A V-neck sweater with a tie and dress shirt is also a good look for a semi-casual classic portrait for your yearbook.
5. If you are going to only wear a dress shirt and a tie, make sure your shirt is a pastel color (like a blue oxford) and not white. White shirts look best under a jacket.

Casual Portrait Tips - Guys

1. The key is to be YOU in your casual portraits. We want to capture your “crazy” side. Anything goes with us as long as it’s OK with Mom.
2. Wear what you are most comfortable in. If you’re in doubt, bring a couple of choices and we’ll help you decide what works best for you and your skin tones.
3. Bring the right shoes for the outfit. We’re going to be taking full length photos and want you to look your absolute best.
4. A white T-shirt under a dark shirt sticks out like a sore thumb. Bring a black or gray T-shirt. White T-shirts are fine under light colored shirts.
5. We want your portraits to be timeless. For that reason, try to avoid large or bold brand names on your clothing. Think about it--there are a few big brand names from a year go you wouldn’t be caught dead in today. We want your portraits to be about you, not about a clothing brand.
6. Jeans, khakis, shorts, casual or sports wear, your letter jacket, your sports uniform and equipment are all great for casual portraits.

General Tips - Guys

1. Make sure you are clean shaven. It is very hard to remove razor stubble from your portraits. If you normally wear a little stubble and want it in your casual portraits, then bring a razor and we’ll photograph your casual shots first, then you can do a quick shave for your classic yearbook portrait and keep Mom happy.
2. If you wear a moustache or goatee, make sure you have trimmed it so that it looks great.
3. Make sure you leave at least ten days between your hair cut and your portrait session. We don’t want to see a “tan line” around the perimeter of your hair cut.
4. Make sure you trim your finger and toenails. Depending on the pose, they may show in your pictures!

Yearbook Portrait Tips - Girls

1. The golden rule--dark, solid colors slim--bold colors or patterns stand out. Dark colored tops work best for your classic yearbook portrait. Sleeves that are 3/4 length will keep your arms from looking too large in relation to your face.
2. Wear a neckline that is flattering. Round faces and square jaw lines look best in a V-neck as opposed to a round crew neck top. Thin faces and more pointed chins look best in a round neckline. Turtlenecks look best on those with a relatively long neck.
3. One other tip on the top you select for your yearbook—most school do not accept off-the-shoulder or spaghetti strap tops for yearbook portraits. The reason is that when your portrait is put into the class picture, the oval cropping will make it look like you were in the nude for your portraits!
4. Wear solid colors with no large, distracting patterns as they complement rather than compete with our main subject, your face. Try to pick colors that don’t approximate your skin tone. Short sleeve tops and spaghetti straps make your arms look much larger than they really are which draws attention from your face.
5. We’d love to take some full length, classic portraits of you, so bring along a pair of dress shoes that complement the rest of your outfit.
6. Wear simple jewelry. Pearls are great for that classic look. Large jewelry detracts from your portrait. Large earrings won’t look proportional to your facial features in classic portraits. Gold or silver is your choice. Certain skin tones look better with one over the other. Flat jewelry (like herringbone necklaces) reflect light and can ruin a great portrait. If you’re not wearing pearls, chain type necklaces of a smaller size work best.

Casual Portrait Tips - Girls

1. We want to capture your “crazy” side. We don’t tell you what you and can’t wear for your casual portraits. Sports and/or choir uniforms, swimsuits, prom dresses, shorts, jeans--if you like being in them, bring them along! The golden rule--anything that’s OK with Mom is OK with us!
2. Depending on how much of a “quick change artist” you are, we can typically fit three or four clothing changes into your portrait session, so plan accordingly. Bring a variety of outfits in a variety of colors. Bring something dressy, something casual and something off the wall and we’ll capture them all!
3. The same tips as far as the type of tops to wear based on your face from the classic portraits apply to your casual portraits. Remember that sleeveless and spaghetti strap tops may tend to make your arms look bigger than they are. Dark colors slim--bold colors stand out.
4. Sky blue, khaki, pale green, pink, watermelon and dark peach colors photograph great indoors and out. Pick colors that complement your skin tones. Bring some black clothing if you have it--they’ll make for great black and white photos.
5. The rule about solid colors versus patterns is out now--wear the outfits you love and we’ll create great portraits of you in them. Just keep in mind that larger patterns can become larger than life in portraits and we don’t want them to detract from you.
6. Use jackets, scarves and hats to enhance your outfits.
7. Select outfits that are flattering to your figure. Pick foundation garments that match your skin tone. Remember that thin fabrics show everything.
Bring shoes that go with each outfit. For some outfits, bare feet look best. We’ll let you know if that is the case.
8. Don’t forget your earrings and jewelry for each outfit. Stay away from herringbone necklaces as they reflect the light.

Preparation Tips - Girls

1. Avoid a new hair style or cutting your hair right before your portrait session. Let your hair be natural. Quick, easy hair style changes are fine during your portrait shoot as long as they are five minutes or less. Remember, they take away from our camera time in the studio, and we want to make the most of our time in the studio with you.
2. Bring your hair care tools and products with you. It is OK to show up early in curlers if you need to. Bring someone along who knows what you want your hair to look like to help you get ready for your portrait session. Remember, your hair style is your responsibility.
3. Don’t cut your hair or change your hair style until after you have previewed your portrait proofs. That way, if we have to retake some of your portraits for one reason or another, your hair will be the way you intended it to be for your portraits.
4. Make sure you treat yourself to a manicure and a pedicure before your portrait session. It is very hard to retouch chipped finger or toenails in your final images.
5. Makeup should be only slightly heavier than normal. Think about how you’d wear your makeup in the evening and that usually works fine.
6. Mascara is great for defining your eyes. It should be clean and contain no clumps. If your mascara is old and clumpy, replace it before your portrait session.
7. Make sure to blend your face make up into your neck so that when you look in the mirror your neck is not a different shade than your face. Glitter make-up may look cool in real life, but it looks terrible in portraits, as it fills your face with white specks that can’t be retouched.
8. Check to see if you have tan lines that will show with the different outfits you are going to wear. We can usually retouch the skin tone difference for a nominal fee, but there's no sense in spending the money when you can avoid it by planning ahead.
9. Bring a parent or a friend along. That way, you have someone to give you a third opinion (we’ll always give you ours) and make sure that nothing is showing that shouldn’t be showing. We want you to look your best!

Portrait Tips forAwesome Senior Portraits