Please know that these are just my recommendations and by no means do you have to bring everything (or anything for that matter) I’m recommending. I want to capture who YOU are, not who you think you should be.  So first and foremost, bring what makes YOU YOU, and makes YOU comfortable.

Girls

Clothing – 1 formal (think prom dress) outfit, several casual outfits (skirts, summer dresses, pants, shorts) 1-2 “going out” outfits (think what you would wear to a dance club).  Try to avoid patterns, plaids, large words (except school attire), horizontal strips. Bright solid colors are great.  Multiple shoes to match all outfits. Make sure to bring scarves, purses, jewelry, hats, etc to accessories your outfits.  If you want any black and white portraits, make sure to bring a dark colored outfit.  If you bring light colored outfits, make sure to bring/wear light colored under garments.  Black bra’s show up through white shirts.  Also applies to the bottoms.  If you bring a spaghetti strap shirt or strapless top, make sure you have a bra to go with it.  If you want to bring something sexy make sure Mom/Dad ok’s it beforehand.  If you bring a short skirt or dress, bring a pair of spandex or cheer shorts to wear underneath.  This will help minimize any awkward/uncomfortable moments.  Bring more outfits than you think you’ll need.  Iron your outfits the night before and avoid folding them as the wrinkles will show.

Grooming

Hair - Avoid getting a new haircut the day before.  If you want to try a new haircut, do it 1 week beforehand so you can figure out if you like it and how to fix it.  Bring any items that will quickly allow you to change your hair style.
Nails – avoid getting your nails done right before the session, typically you should do this the day before.  Nails and fingers will show so make sure you think about them while getting ready.  Clean properly groomed nails will make a big difference in your portraits.  All this applies to toenails as well.
Makeup – Apply a “little”(don’t overdo it) more makeup than normal…kind of like you were going to a formal event.  Make sure mascara is clean and free of clumps.  Extra mascara will make your eyes stand out more.  Don’t worry about the random pimple or small break out as these are easy to fix in post-production. Try to bring some translucent powder.
Avoid Tanning for at least a week before your session.  Burned or peeling skin is not flattering.  Avoid having tan lines that will show with your outfits.
Glasses – Buy or borrow a pair of non-glare glasses or frames without the glass.
Things to keep in mind…light colors, tight fitting, and horizontal lines make you appear heavier than you are.  If you don’t like your arms, don’t bring sleeveless/tank top shirts.  Darker colors, looser fitting, and vertical lines are slimming in portraits.
Bring your own props.  Class rings, musical equipment, books, flowers, balloons, sports equipment/apparel, iPod, glasses, shoes…items that make you….you.
Bring a friend.  Friends bring a level of comfort and relaxation to you and that’s what we’re going for during your session.  That person will also know if you are looking and acting like yourself, which is important.
If your session is in the Spring, bring more Spring colored outfits.  If it’s in the Fall, bring more Fall colored outfits.
Get all your outfits and accessories picked out and packed the night before to avoid any stress the morning of.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!  Be wild and free.  No one will see your images until you OK them.

Guys

Clothing – bring at least 1 nice button up shirt, 2-3 collared shirts, 2-3 casual shirts (T-shirt), comfortable fitting pants and shorts.  2 pair of shoes. Iron any outfit that needs ironing.  Bring a belt that matches your outfits.  Try to avoid patterns, plaids, words, and horizontal strips.  Bright solid colors are great.  If you want any black and white portraits, make sure to bring a dark colored outfit.  Bring hats if you typically wear them.
Grooming – Depending on how fast you get the 5:00 shadow…Shave the night before.  If you quickly get stubble shave about 3 hours before the session to avoid red irritated skin.
Make sure to clean and groom your finger nails
Avoid getting a haircut the morning of your session.  Haircuts should be gotten the day before your session and new hair styles should be gotten at least 1 week before your session to allow enough time to figure out how to style it.
Avoid Tanning for at least a week before your session.  Burned or peeling skin is not flattering.
Glasses – Buy or borrow a pair of non-glare glasses or frames without the glass.
Things to keep in mind…light colors, tight fitting, and horizontal lines make you appear heavier than you are.  If you don’t like your arms, don’t bring sleeveless/tank top shirts. Darker colors, looser fitting, and vertical lines are slimming in portraits.
Fashions come and go so avoid bringing too many “fashion trendy” outfits as you probably won’t like them in 1-2 years.
Bring your own props.  Class rings, musical equipment, books, flowers, balloons, sports equipment/apparel, iPod, glasses, shoes…items that make you….you.
Bring a friend.  Friends bring a level of comfort and relaxation to you and that’s what we’re going for during your session.  That person will also know if you are looking and acting like yourself, which is important.
If your session is in the Spring, bring more Spring colored outfits. If it’s in the Fall, bring more Fall colored outfits.
Get all your outfits and accessories picked out and packed the night before to avoid any stress the morning of.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN!! Be wild and free. No one will see your images until you OK them.

On the final session with my Senior Rep Paige (from Kickapoo here in Springfield, Mo), I wanted to do something a little different.  I’ve always drove by a tire shop and thought the old decrepit tires out in the back of the building were pretty interested.  So when I need new tires, I ran by there to get a quote and asked if they would mind me using their tire graveyard as a setting for some Senior Portraits.  They were more than happy to let me shoot there.  When leaving, I noticed a couple other areas that caught my eye…so we shot at those locations as well.

Tiffany and I met up at Fassnight Park for her 2nd Senior Rep Portrait session.  There’s an old fire station near the park, and that’s where we started.  Eventually we made out way over to the park.  I looked like a storm was getting ready to roll in so we did what we could before it got too dark.  Hope you enjoy.

For Paige’s 2nd session, we met up at my studio and then drove to a nearby field for the first part.  The sun was still pretty high in the sky but we were still able to get several great portraits.  After the field, we headed down the road to Chesterfield Village for some portraits using some of the buildings as my backdrop.

I met up with Makena at Wilson’s Creek Battlefield for her second session.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day to shoot and Makena did an awesome job.

I met Tiffany while photographing the Parkview Homecoming Dance this past year.  I was looking for Senior Reps and she was just what I was looking for.  She’s very pretty and has a great personality to go with it.  I’ve done a couple sessions with Tiffany so far and we always manage to get some really great images from each session.

I was given Paige’s name by a previous senior’s mom.  I had asked if they knew any juniors this year that would be a good rep for the 2012 seniors.  The mom went on about how beautiful Paige was and how nice and polite she was.  So I contacted Paige and asked if she would be interested.  Thankfully she said yes cause as you can see, the mom wasn’t lying.  Paige is a beautiful young lady that has a passion for working with kids.  My wife and I met up with Paige and her mother Shelly down around Commercial Street in North Springfield, Mo.  We found our way down an alley just off Commercial Street and stopped when something caught our eye.  The images we got turned out great and I can’t wait for our next session. 

I met Makena when her friend Tiffany brought her on a photo session on probably the coldest day of the winter.  It was miserably cold with a little bet of wetness in the air that day, but Makena was a trooper.  Not once did she let on how cold and miserable she must have been.  Needless to say, I found Makena very pretty and I liked her personality so I asked her if she would be up to being my Senior rep for Republic High.  She agreed.  Our first session was earlier this Spring in one of the parking garages in downtown Springfield, Mo.  It was a pretty dreary overcast day and I didn’t want to chance being out in the open and have it start raining us.  We worked ourselves from the ground up and the last location was in the stairwell…where we got a pretty potent whiff of someone smoking the wacky weed.  Kind of a funny experience…being on location with a client and her mother and walking up on two guys smoking and not trying to hide it.  Other than that it was a pretty good session and I’m looking forward to our next one at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.





Byron’s mom called me wanting a quick Senior Portrait Session before the end of the school year.  We decided to do a mini-studio session.  This is a fast moving session where I have all my backdrops already setup and we just moved Byron from one set to another, occasionally having him change clothes.  Byron mentioned he was into old vintage stuff so I took that into consideration when editing his pics.  I wanted to give him something cool and different that would look as if it could have been shot 30 years ago.  Hope you enjoy.