Senior Pics in May, advice please

[StellerCrys]

A woman I work with asked me to take some Graduation pictures of her son, and his girlfriend in may. They will be in their formal attire, hair/makeup, the works. It'll be in an outdoor setting at one of the local parks (river, trees, grass, the usual)
There will be individual shots of the son and then some with them together, I think I might take some individual shots of the girl as well, and offer her the option of purchasing those seperate from the mothers order.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone have any advice or pics of formal couples in a 'senior' style. Any posing advice, 'must have' shots, or anything else you can think of.

Then I suppose I will need to schedule an appointment for viewing and ordering after that.

Thanks for any input.

[waldograce]

Find some "open shade" (Robert_Lay did an excellent job of describing this not too long ago, but I can’t find it now so you may want to check: http://www.dpcorner.com/howto/shade1.shtml ) and bring along a reflector or two.
As far as ideas for posing you might do a quick Google search for "Senior Portrait" and find some poses you like. Try to emulate those with your clients.
Try and get them relaxed and enjoy the shoot.
Good Luck!

[dshootist]

i've been doing senior portraits for a few years and the most important thing i've found is to make sure the subject(s) are as comfortable as can be. if your subject is uncomfortable, it will show up in the photos no matter how scenic their background or position. keep the parents in the loop and have them help out with the shoot. this protects not only their interests, but yours as well. ask questions and have the kids try to come up with ideas before the shoot and talk over their suggestions.

[llaamaboy]

A woman I work with asked me to take some Graduation pictures of her son, and his girlfriend in may. They will be in their formal attire, hair/makeup, the works. It'll be in an outdoor setting at one of the local parks (river, trees, grass, the usual)
There will be individual shots of the son and then some with them together, I think I might take some individual shots of the girl as well, and offer her the option of purchasing those seperate from the mothers order.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone have any advice or pics of formal couples in a 'senior' style. Any posing advice, 'must have' shots, or anything else you can think of.

Then I suppose I will need to schedule an appointment for viewing and ordering after that.

Thanks for any input.

Here are some ideas that will make the session a success (unless you really blow it).
1. Start photography one hour before sunset. The light at that time is magical.
2. Look for backlit backgrounds with blue sky behind you as you look at the background.
3. Include at least 2 "lonely person soaking up nature" - make the subject only 15% of the total image area with subject placed in one of the tic tac toe intersections of the photo plane. They will not buy them, but it will impress the client who will then buy more.
4. Get the student to talk about themselves and really listen to the responses. They will tell you what they do not like about themselves so you know what to photograph away form.

Hope that helps ... :D