Do you have children in high school? As you navigate their last couple years there will be a lot of milestones. Homecoming, prom, senior trips, college tours and then of course there are senior photos. What you might not know about senior photos is that you need to get started selecting your photographer and book early.
The Washington weather and the schedule of the yearbook deadlines, often before Halloween, mean that those all-important senior photos need to be done in the summer around here. According to local senior portrait photographer Amanda Howse, “many people start researching senior photographers early in their junior year so they can book their appointments by early spring for the summer between their junior and senior year of high school.” Wait too long and you might be out of luck as the spots fill up fast.
The timing of senior photos isn’t the only thing that has changed. With the advent and popularity of social media has come a more complex senior photo scenario. It is no longer a head shot taken by a photographer in the school gym, or even a one-hour studio session with a professional photographer. Senior photos are now an experience and an adventure that explores the personality of the subject and produces hundreds of digital photos during a session.
One of the more multifaceted senior packages is an all-day affair that includes a two-hour hair and makeup session and then an all-day shoot in various locations around the Puget Sound. “We really like to make the day of the photo shoot a real event, with Mom or your best friend attending your session,” said Howse. Adding, “For most girls they really aren’t photographed and pampered like this again until their wedding.”
Prior to the shoot, there is a fashion consultation on what to wear for the day of photos that includes a stop at a “closet” where items that are sometimes out of the financial reach of a student can be borrowed for the photos. “For many, this will be a glimpse of what it is like to be featured in a modeling shoot,” Howse said.
For more information about senior photography, you can visit Tacoma Senior Photographer | Amanda Howse Photography (amandahowseseniors.com)