18 to 12 months before graduation
Consider the best time to have your portraits. Are there deadlines for your yearbook? Busy seasons in your schedule (sports, activities)? A favorite time of year? Decide on the general time (late spring, early summer, mid-fall?) based on all these factors.
Make sure you have any important deadlines on your calendar. Do you need to have image files to your yearbook by October 15th? How about wanting to have graduation announcements in hand to send out by May 1st? Ask your school and your parent to help you find out and plan for these deadlines. You’ll want at least a month between your session and these deadlines (more depending on your photographer’s turn around time).
Find and book your senior photographer. Photographer’s schedules can get booked out far in advance, and you don’t want to be scrambling to find someone at the last minute. The absolute best time to begin researching senior photographers is right after the New Year of your Junior Year. You’ll most likely not have any problems getting your portraits done exactly when you want them!
12 to 6 months before your session
Consider hiring a professional to do your makeup and hair for your senior session. If you can only do one or the other, I highly recommend a makeup artist. A good PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST will give you a polished look without making you look overdone. We don’t want you to not look like yourself, we want you to look like the VERY best version of yourself! Get your appointment booked with plenty of time to get to your photo session.
Begin considering locations if you haven’t already determined this with your photographer. Start by asking your photographer for their recommended locations. They’ve already scouted these and will know which ones will look great for your session (time of day, time of year). If you’ve got your heart set on one that is special to you, be sure to discuss it with your photographer. They will want to visit it prior to your session.
Start collecting clothing ideas and pose ideas. Your professional photographer will most likely have you covered in the pose department, but it never hurts to do some of your own planning here. Let your photographer know if you’ve got some ideas, they’ll be happy to give them a try! You might set up a Pinterest board that you can share you with your photographer.
6 months to 1 month before you session
Prep your outfits. Whether you are hitting the shops or using what you’ve already got, get your outfits in order – complete with accessories and shoes. Make sure they fit how you want them to (and if they need any tailoring, get that done early!).
Glasses? If you have transition lenses or coated lenses, consider borrowing a pair of frames with no lenses. Or see if your optometrist will pop out the lenses for the day. Schedule this ahead of time! Or consider taking your senior photos without glasses. If none of these is an option, you’ll need to discuss retouching options with your photographer. Digital retouching can be expensive, though!
Make a hair appointment at least one week prior to your session (two or three is preferable). This goes for the guys as well! If you have it done just prior to your session there is a good chance that you won’t have mastered the styling. Plus, if it gets cut a little too short (guys) having it done in advance will give a little time to grow back out.
2 weeks before your session
Tanning Tips. While you might want a summer glow for your senior portraits, go easy. If you’re a tanner stay out of the tanning bed (or sun) for one week prior to your session. As much as the idea of a spray tan can sound like a good idea, I’d avoid it. Spray tans can have an orange cast that can’t easily be corrected – leaving you looking a little pumpkin-ish in pictures. If you want that tanned glow, I highly recommend a bronzer.
Begin paying extra attention to your skin-care routine. Don’t skip the nightly face-washing! Drink lots of water to keep your skin hydrated. Burt’s Bees Acne Spot Treatment can do wonders for a bad pimple! However, if you wake up tp a have a blemish on the morning of your senior session, don’t stress about it – we can work on minimizing it in editing.
1 week before your session
Most likely, your senior photographer will confirm all details some time this week. Do reach out to them if you are unsure about anything. Pay attention (and read) any info they share!
Stay out of the sun and away from the bugs for few days before your session. Yes, photoshop can minimize a lot of those things, but it won’t totally solve the problem. It is best to just stay away. And a bad sunburn is nearly impossible to correct, even in Photoshop!
Get a mani-pedi, if that is your thing. If not, make sure your nails are trimmed, clean, and looking neat.
1 day before your session
Have your outfits clean, wrinkle-free, and ready to go! Pull all the pieces and accessories you plan to wear and gather them in one spot. Hang anything that is prone to wrinkle. Accessories can be put in baggies by outfit, so you’re not hunting around in your purse trying to find that right pair of earrings to go with your outfit.
Get a good night sleep the night before. No one wants to see a tired senior! Those bags under the eyes aren’t doing anyone any favors.
Check those nails one last time. make sure your hands look nice! Trimmed nails, fresh polish (or freshly cleaned of polish), moisturized.
Plan what time to leave for your session. Map out the directions so you know exactly how long it will take to get there. Give yourself 15 extra minutes for last minute emergencies. You don’t want to be late as that will just mean less time with your photographer.
Day of your session
Make sure to eat prior to your session! A lot of times sessions start around dinner time (the light is great right before sunset). It is easy to think that you’ll just wait and eat afterwards, but by the end of the session attention fades and it is harder to focus on what we’re doing. If you eat before you’re ready to go and can stay “full and focused” the whole time.
BRUSH YOUR TEETH before you come to your session. Enough said!
Moisturize your skin (Men and Women). No ashy elbows!! Seriously, though, you’ll look and feel fantastic!
Use the restroom before you leave. Many of our locations do not have public bathrooms. Plus you don’t want to interrupt your session for a potty-break!
If this information is helpful - you might enjoy downloading my Senior Magazine (which includes this article and graphic and TONS of other helpful info)! Hit that button below!