Yay- you’ve booked your senior pictures…or maybe you’re waiting because you don’t know where to begin. What should I wear? How do I decide on a location? What should my makeup look like? After designing and photographing senior portraits for so many years, it comes natural to me, but I understand how overwhelming it can be for you, so I’ve put together a little checklist on how to plan for senior photos to have that dream shoot- or gather inspiration if you have no idea what you want. Take it piece by piece and the vision will start to come together.
There are 3 basic elements to creating a styled senior shoot. I’ve included action steps to take after each one to help you along.
Determine Your Style
The best place to start is by taking our Style Quiz. This will help narrow down the overall feel you want for your session which will make it easier to start choosing outfits.
The best part about this quiz is that there are curated Pinterest boards for each style type that you can use to pin inspiration outfits. Highly recommend using Pinterest as your vision board when designing your session. It makes it so easy to see everything together and it’s great for the makeup artist and I to see exactly what you want. Pin outfit ideas, photos you love, and makeup looks.
ACTION STEPS-
Take the Style Quiz
Create a Pinterest Board
Once you have your style nailed down, it’s time to think clothing. Check out these posts that are very helpful when it comes to pulling together outfits-
7 Do’s and Don’ts for Choosing Outfits
ACTION STEPS-
Pin outfits ideas using curated style boards and others you like
Decide on a Makeup Look
After you’ve determined your style, the next piece of the puzzle is makeup. Colors are just one part- you’ll want to choose how natural or bold you want to go.
You may decide you want a really cool cat eye, or maybe go lighter on the eyes with a bold red lip. It’s YOUR session. The makeup artist will also help guide you based on the outfits you bring, skin tone, and your unique features. I have an awesome blog post that illustrates the different looks- Designing Your Makeup Look
ACTION STEP-
Pin makeup looks to your Pinterest board
Choose a Location Type
After you’ve started brainstorming your wardrobe and makeup ideas, you’ll begin to see your individual session style emerging and figuring out a location type is easy. Are most of your photos of girls in sunny fields? Or are a majority of them in front of cute shops and on sidewalks? Maybe you don’t want to go all in one one specific look, but want a more flexible location. The background pulls everything together and creates a cohesive look to your photos so imagine seeing the outfits you chose in each location type. You don’t have to choose a specific location, Ashley will help you with that.
ACTION STEPS-
Pin photos of portraits you are drawn to
Look at your inspiration board and determine a location type
When you book a session with Urban Trend Studios, I’ll send you a Welcome Packet full of info to help you as well. It even has tips on making sure your skin looks amazing and ready for its close-up!
I’ve even created an app to make it even easier to get organized and ready for your experience! Try it out here (best viewed on a mobile phone)
So that’s it! All you really need to create the perfect senior photo session that reflects YOU. I am always here to guide you as well and answer any questions. You can text me outfit ideas or get my opinion on how burgundy lips photograph (hint: the answer is AMAZINGLY well) Then, it’s up to me to give you the model experience and photos that will make you look at yourself in a whole new light. Together, we’ll make some magic. I’d love to be YOUR senior photographer!
Ready to make your plans a reality?
