Photographing senior girls gives me so much happiness. My favorite part of senior photography is the excitement that surrounds it. Most people don’t get their photos taken by a professional photographer very much in their lifetime. Maybe once for senior photos, then again at their wedding, and if they are lucky, the will have the opportunity to have their family photos captured one day. Many times when I meet a senior, I am their first experience with a professional photographer. This is such an awesome way for me to make their experience special! Here’s how I do it!
Questionnaire
I’m not here just to take pictures of people. That’s not what this profession should be. I want to KNOW my subjects well before they step in front of my lens. I want to know hopes and dreams, family history, what they hold close to them, and what makes them THEM. I’ve heard incredible stories of growth, loss, heartbreak, and happiness. Stories that made me literally cry on shoots, laugh big-belly laughs, and stories that have left me in awe. By sending out questionnaires before the shoot, it allows me to start this relationship on a personal basis, so that on the day of the shoot, the images are meaningful for both of us!
Communication
We live in a digital world. I am ALL about lots of communication. I encourage my seniors and families to shoot me ideas for outfits, locations, and special creative touches for their shoot. The more we can plan ahead of time, the more time we have on the shoot to maximize our time together. I love it when my seniors take pictures of their outfits and send them to me for advice. This part of the shoot can be tough! I love sharing my advice and even looking at the color tones of their choices and matching them with locations around town to compliment them and make their images pop!
Style Guide
One of my favorite parts of my senior’s experience with shooting with me is gifting them my KV Senior Style Guide. It’s a fun guide that is chalk-ful of great tips from head to toe, covering make up, spray tans, outfits, locations, light, and best tips to make my seniors feel comfortable during the shoot so that they can relax and actually ENJOY their time! My seniors have had such a great experience with my style guide, and I love to give them something to read months ahead of their shoot, then they can pull it back up when they get closer to their shoot to review my best tips to make their shoot successful.
Sneak Peeks
I love, love, love to gift my seniors a sneak peek the same day as their shoot. It is so rewarding for me to spoil my seniors with an image for them to be so excited about directly after their time with me. To be honest, my favorite part of the whole shoot is when I turn the back of the camera around so that I can show the senior her gorgeous portrait during her shoot. The sheer happiness (and sometimes shock) makes my heart so happy! I love showing each girl how they are NATURALLY beautiful. They will never forget that feeling of loving the way they look!
Delivery Day
Let’s be real: Delivery day feels like Christmas. Every. Single. Time. It’s safe to say, it’s slightly addicting as a photographer. (Maybe my love language is gift giving?!) That would make sense, because giving my senior their final edited gallery seriously makes my whole day brighter. I imagine them anxiously opening up their online gallery and smiling and sharing as they scroll! What a better way to wrap up their senior photography experience with me?!
Collaboration
This lovely shoot was with my lovely KV Spokesmodels and their besties! We were blessed enough to be styled by our awesome friend and business owner of Poppyseed Boutique, Mandy Hayes! She has spoiled us with styled shoots for years! My Spokesmodels always look forward to their styled shoots throughout the year, and we are so blessed to have such a great collaboration and my spokesmodels are so thankful for her generosity! Cheers to an amazing entrepreneur!
Hope this helps with understanding how I try and make each one of my sessions special for all of my clients. Come enjoy all the fun we had on this shoot!
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