First, let’s clear something up. When I say senior, I don’t mean our 70+-year-old elders, I’m talking about high school juniors or 3rd-year students, who will later become high school seniors or 4th-year students this upcoming September.
Senior portrait sessions have been popular in the US for over a century! Formal portraits of high school seniors in formal tuxedoes and elegant gowns in hopes of making their debut into adulthood. Fast forward to the 21st century, there are still high schools that maintain a more streamlined “formal” look for senior portraits provided by a 3rd party high-volume photography studio. However, more and more high school seniors are taking their statement to the world into their own hands…and in more creative ways!
What is a Senior Portrait Session?
A senior portrait session is a session that focuses on the amazing milestones of your senior coming of age and completing their primary and secondary education. These sessions can be taken anywhere, outside, indoors, or at specific locations that can highlight a rising senior’s interests, skills achievements, or hobbies. I love these sessions because we can really let the creative juices flow in creating a unique approach to how that student wishes to represent themselves.
Why in the Summer before the final year?
There are many reasons why shooting from June to August (despite this being the most brutal time of the year weather-wise) is an ideal time for a senior portrait session. First, most students are out of school for summer vacation, making their schedules flexible. This will be very difficult to do once their senior year begins, and they will be juggling exams and university applications throughout the year. Also, most schools have yearbooks, and having a portrait ready before the deadline for yearbook pictures will keep them ahead of the curve.
Shy People
We all can be a bit insecure about the way we look in photos and in general. Putting a session together will help seniors build their confidence in themselves and make them feel ready to go out and challenge the world in front of them. This year is the final push into adulthood and really making this their time to shine in a space that is safe, secure and creative for the senior. This is an opportunity to really put themselves first. This is their moment to showcase their favorite hobbies, sports, and lifestyle.
Do they love playing tennis? Maybe soccer? Putting together a session where they are on a tennis court or soccer field in their element! Someone who sings rides horses, plays chess, or does anything that gives them joy- we want to capture that for them!
Who are these really for?
This is something that I try to get our more shy seniors to consider when they are a bit resistant to being photographed. These images aren’t just for them. These senior portrait sessions offer them, their current family, their future family, or anyone who will later become important to them. To have that legacy that their parents will be proud of and that they can perhaps pass on to their children. This personal statement is an opportunity to create an image of how rising seniors would like to see themselves and their legacy.
We hope that we can work with your senior this year or before their schedule picks up towards the end of the school year. End the end, we want to offer an experience that they not only will be excited about putting together but that their family will love and cherish.
Send us an email at info@toptia.com if you have any questions for us about senior portraits, We have 3 openings for August!