This shoot is from September 2016. Madison is the sister of one my best friends, Spencer. I have known Spencer since college and she has been dating my brother for a few years too. When she told me that her sister wanted me to take her senior photos, I was so excited. We made a whole afternoon of the shoot and my parents had their family over for dinner.
Madison is very outdoorsy and not your typical high school senior. One of her requests was that she had to get a photo with her fishing pole. How cute. I took a mixture of traditional senior photos and more artsy, fashion-type photos for Madison.
I am in love with Instagram and having the "look away" photos is a must. However, when you're having a professional photographer take photos of you, how do you tell them what you are looking for? What do you wear?
1. Create a Pinterest board - Sometimes it's hard to communicate what you want with words, so why not use pictures? Create a Pinterest board of poses or photos you love. This is a great way to get you and your photographer on the same page.
2. Partner with your photographer - Before your choose which photographer to work with, ask them how they take their photos. Some senior portrait photographers schedule five people at once and take the same generic picture over and over again. If you want your photos to be unique, you need to partner with the photographer to create the images you want. Share ideas and see if they are willing to do them.
3. Research your location - Do you want outdoor looking photos? Then don't go to a studio. You might need to take one formal studio picture for the year book, but other than that, get outside. Natural lighting is my favorite and I think it makes a world of difference. Find a cool place with lots of locations with in it.
4. Don't wear plaid - Please don't. If you want outdoor photos and you want them to be "rustic" or "boho", please don't wear plaid. Don't get me wrong, I live in my plaid shirts, but they don't photograph well. Stick with natural, solid colors. Oh but you want to wear yellow? That's fine too! Just stick with solid yellow and more of a classic cut. Try to stay away from aqua because it does not photograph well either. The focus should be on you, not what you're wearing.
5. Simple Accessories - Keep it simple. Don't over do it. Again, find inspiration from Pinterest. Notice what you like and dislike about certain looks.
