Tips for Choosing a Senior Photographer - Style is Important

Does your photographer match the style you want in your senior photos?

I’m just going to jump right into this one. You’ve done so much work and narrowed down your list to a few local senior photographers that offer the products and variety of locations that match your list of priorities.  Now it’s time to take a closer look at their images.  

If you missed my last post and still need to narrow down your list of potential photographers you can go back and read those tips here.

This is a big one. Beyond locations, backgrounds, and products, you also need to find a photographer who has a style that matches your aesthetic.  If you plan to decorate your home with wall art from your session you will want your images to blend with the rest of your home seamlessly.  If you haven’t shopped around for professional photography much, this can also be a step that is easily overlooked. 

A photographer’s style should be consistent in the images you are seeing on their website.  This helps you know you will be getting a product (your finished images) that you expect to get.  Think of it this way - say you frequent one of your local health food restaurants and have come to know you can count on them having a variety of healthy options that you enjoy.  What if one week they replaced their healthy options with burgers, fries, and shakes.  The next week you visit they have a new menu filled with pastas covered in cheese.  You no longer know what to expect when you visit that restaurant.  If you are in the mood for a healthy salad you no longer know if you will get a salad or a lasagne when you visit.

So how do you do this with photography?  Look for a photographer whose editing style resonates with you. If you like photos that have a lot of warmth and beautiful light coming from behind the subject, make sure you hire someone with a lot of images like that in their portfolio. If you prefer images with muted tones, don’t hire someone whose portfolio is full of clean, bright colors.

You also want to make sure that your photographer doesn’t over-edit their images so that you will still look like yourself. With all of the editing technology available today you can drastically change the look of the subject in the photo. Since these senior portraits are marking a major milestone in your life, making sure your family recognizes you in the final image is important. Making sure that portraits look natural after they’ve been edited is something that seniors have been telling me is important to them. My focus is on capturing your real beauty and unique personality in your images so you have photos that tell a story about who are at this point in your life.

If you’d like to see some of my favorite senior portraits check out the senior gallery on my website or follow me on Instagram. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for my upcoming posts with additional tips to help you select the right senior photographer for your high school senior pictures.  Know someone who is looking for a senior photographer, please feel free to pass these tips on to any friends who might find it helpful.  If you’re interested in learning more about my pricing and product offerings, I’d be happy to chat with you and send you information.