Senior Portraits: The Experience

I’m not sure how it was when you grew up, but when parents used to suggest family portrait time there was a big to-do about everything that went into it… it was a major outing and required a lot of coordination between parents, kids and attitudes.  As a kid, it was also boring.  Perhaps you’ve had this very experience as a child.

A large portion of every senior portrait adventure is in the preparation and session itself.  The pictures that come from the session are the results, but not necessarily the only reason you select your photographer.  “I’ve heard it is a great time!” and “It’s just so much fun.” are reasons you might consider one photographer over another.  Here’s some things you can expect from the typical senior experience:

A complete explanation of how the process works… a large percentage of new senior clients and their parents are inexperienced when it comes to senior portraits.  Becoming educated on the process is a big part of its success.  We call it “hand-holding” because that is essentially what we do from the start.  The phone call is the first step, and from there we take the lead.  You should always be kept apprised of what to expect, because it can be a daunting process.  Combined with automatic emails that are sent to you, we also invite everyone to a senior consultation, which serves to go over our entire program, give you a tour of the studio and our portrait park, and answer any outstanding questions you may have.

Follow-up… most of our seniors book in spring and summer, but usually for late summer and fall sessions. Many of them want the “tan” look, or have vacations, camps and other activities already planned for the summer.  That’s okay, because we keep in touch throughout the spring and summer to make sure they know we’re still ready for them. When a senior books with us, we contact them with plenty of information about what to expect, what to bring, and how the process works after the session.

Follow-on… The experience should never end when the order is placed. In fact, we try to make it a point to follow-on with our senior clients months down to the road with special offers and an opportunity to repeat their cap & gown photos with some in their own cap & gown, which may include any awards they may have earned.  This is an important part of building a relationship with our clients.

One thing we’ve always believed in is that a first-time client could just as easily be a repeat client, and we try to keep that in mind when working with people.  That’s why we like to give everyone a first-rate experience; fun, enjoyable, and with lots of opportunity to do some really cool stuff.  It’s so much more than taking pictures… it’s an adventure.

The main thing we provide is the experience to know how to adapt to many situations.  Our style is an eclectic blend of tried and true traditional, along with a big smacking gob of the contemporary stuff.  We want you to have a variety of poses and looks. You will.

Seniors: One week left to save 60%

Our 60% off senior portrait sale is almost over.  Sad, but true.

From now until May 31, we are taking 60% off our senior portrait session fees.

Since this is National Photography Month, we’re also giving away a free 11×14 with every portrait package purchase.  But we’re going to let you carry that offer forward to your portrait order session, even if it’s not in May.  BUT, you do need to book your senior portrait session before May 31 (it can be held any time in May or June).

So call… get 60% off your session fees… get a free 11×14… be happy.

Senior Portraits: Packages, Products & Performance

So, before making your final decision on which senior portrait photographer you want to capture those images this summer, there are just a few more things to consider:

Packages – What kind of packages & services do photographers offer?  There’s a myriad of options and opportunities.  For some, it’s an all in one type of deal.  Session fee, some prints (those are the 8x10s, 5x7s, etc.), and maybe a disk for one price.  There are also those who do the session fees up front to (more or less) guarantee a certain appointed time.  Some photographers can only do certain days and times, and others will be pretty much at your disposal.  In many cases, a package can be upgraded or added to, and in others, you get what you paid for originally.  Some seem like a bargain, others to good to be true.  And some seem outrageously expensive.  We like to think we fall somewhere in the middle.  Because we are a full-time professional photographic studio, we are always working on imagery – and focused on just that and not a side job or other distraction. That means that the images we take are based on current methods and techniques, years and years of experience, and the best of customer service.  You’re not just buying paper prints or a CD, your buying a lifetime of memories.

Products – Photo products come and go, and each year new types of items come our way from labs and photo service bureaus.  Each year, the most popular items we sell are wallet photos, image CDs and multi-image composites.  There are quite usually a significant number of prints sold, as well, but those usually end up as gifts for family members.  This year, we have added some great new products to our lineup, and can’t wait to show them off!  One thing you should remember about getting anything from a photographer is the finished quality.  Our images are ONLY processed by a professional print lab.  We do not use a local bulk-product store or drugstore to print our pictures.  They are printed on the most highly-rated professional print paper in the industry.  Our composites are hand-framed and mounted with care.  Our image CDs are high-resolution image files with exclusive print rights turned over to you via a permission letter.  When you get the CD from us, we also give you a 50% discount off any future orders from those images.

Performance – Dollar for dollar, we have the best deal for the best in variety of senior portraits.  We do not adhere to one particular style of shooting, or post-processing. We use a variety of style input to create a unique presentation of images from your session(s) that equal not only what you expect from us, but go beyond what you want.  This includes techniques and methods of which you may not yet be aware.  The school photographer cannot offer that kind of versatility.  It is something we offer for every session; not just seniors, but all portraits.  Seniors portraits have only been a major trend for about 20 years or so.  But they have become big business for a lot of photographers, and especially for young startups.  But even if you find one who will give you a disk of totally edited photos for $50, what kind of variety, experience and relationship will you end up with?  We do not believe in “one and done.”  We believe in creating a long-term relationship with our clients… and it starts when they first meet us.

One last note on this topic.  As of this writing, we have engaged a considerable number of new portrait sessions and are booking well into the year 2013.  We do offer specials and promotions throughout the year, and encourage you to keep up with us, not just on our blog, but also on our main page and our Facebook page.

You can go directly to our senior portraits page by clicking HERE.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Next Up: Senior Portraits: The Experience

Senior Portraits: Choices

In years past, your choices for senior portraits were limited to the school, or one of a very few local photographers who would do some nice portraits for you.  Each had their own traditional style, but for the most part it was a pose against a brown, gray or blue background.  I may be exaggerating a bit, but that was certainly a method by which senior portraits were viewed.

In more recent years, there has been a virtual explosion of not only where your senior portraits can be taken, but also in what kinds of backgrounds and scenes are available.  Most notably, it seems as though if a photographer offers studio only as an option, then they are missing the point of the individuality that seniors may wish to express.  In fact, a variety is more important to seniors these days than even the finished image selection.  We often produce a multitude of images for our seniors to view, but end up having 3-4 ordered, for example.

I could go into a long diatribe about the variety of styles, but I really don’t have that kind of room in this post.  Instead, I’ll just say that there are as many styles as there are photographers.  From traditional to ultra-unconventional, there’s something for everyone out there.  And to be honest, a lot depends upon what you’ve seen and what you like.  What one person may see as “Wow, that’s amazing!” another person may see as “Not what I am looking for.”  And that’s fine… there IS something you’re looking for.

My career truly began in the tradition of studio-only photography for seniors, but then gradually moved toward outdoor locations and now includes a considerably dizzying array of studio, outdoor portrait park, on-location and specialized photography.  In our studio, we provide multiple sets, hundreds of backgrounds and props, and a conventional approach to studio imagery.  Our portrait park has 20 fixed sets, which we’re updating every year, and provides over 100 views (and counting).  Finally, on-location portraiture has endless possibilities.  We have taken thousands of images that are nowhere near our studio, and while they provide their own challenges, we always consider it worth it to hear “I love it” during the preview slideshow.

Again, it will be a “to each their own” type of proposition.  You certainly are not limited to what is offered by the school.  I think many school photographers might have you believe that their services are the only offering.  And that’s just not so.  You can go anywhere you like… but wherever you go, be sure of the following:

• The photographer can give you what you want, AND offer choices above and beyond your specific ideas.
• Has the experience and creative knowledge to show off their work for your review and give you the opportunity to say “yes, I like it” or “no, not that one” without getting offended by your rejections.  YOU are the client – and they are YOUR portraits.
• Will give you an experience beyond just taking pictures.  What’s the point of doing senior portraits outside the school if the photographer is not fun, right?

All of this leads me to a final point for this installment.  The whole point of senior portraits is to show off your style.  It can be anything from a fashion shoot to driving a 4-wheeler through the mud at high speeds.  There’s really no limit to who YOU are, so you should certainly consider that when you’re thinking about the photographer you want to capture your once-in-a-lifetime senior memories.

NEXT UP: Packages, Products & Performance

Introducing Senior Model: Desiree

Yes, we have two models with the name Desiree.  The first one attends Martinsburg High.  This one attends Jefferson High.  Recommended by her mother, I had no idea what to expect until I saw the resulting images.  This first one does almost no justice to the entire set of images from her two sessions… Diana and I were both stunned at her beauty and poise.

For more information on senior portraits, click here.  Be sure to check out our one-day sale on April 27.

Introducing Senior Model: Travis

Travis is a senior next year at Jefferson High School.  And ya know, it’s a shame that we’re only including one picture of each model in these blog posts, because Travis has way too many great shots to put just one. He’s a powerhouse of personality, and we are really glad to know him.

For more information on senior portraits, click here.  Our one-day 75% off sale is April 27!

Introducing Senior Model: Kyle

Kyle’s mom contacted us not long ago and told us her son was interested in our senior model program.  And when we met him, we found him to be personable and very committed.  He’s quite the athlete, and was very polite throughout his sessions.

For more information about senior portraits, go here.  You can save 75% on April 27!