Senior Photography?

[jpbimages]

In preperation for next year, I am wondering what makes a senior photo, a "senior photo". and what it takes to make it.... "senior photo...y". I am hoping that this will be a way for me to get my feet wet, especially since I am on the "inside" and hopefully, I will be able to do my class in a few years... (special school (not special ed)...just different) Any suggestions as far as equipment/techniques to work on?

[aebrown]

First, what do you have already? Experience? And it's going to take a lot more than knowing what makes a senior photo a senior photo in order to do this...

[gonzogolf]

work on portrait techniques in general. Senior photos are just portraits after all. Learn the basics, then look at the senior threads here and emulate the styles.

[jpbimages]

I am mostly a nature (flower, tree, river, *few* animals, rocks?(not sure if statuettes count as rocks)) photogrpher, but as soon as I get something in my hands to shoot with, first thing's first is people.
I am also the school yearbook's lead photographer, but have no camera, so that's not really a big part of my small 'port'.

[aebrown]

Let me first say, shooting people is a far cry from flowers, rivers and rocks. I speak from experience. You don't need to talk to a flower and get them to loosen up and smile in order to make a good picture. Flowers are generally pretty by nature (I'll stay away from the rocks for now).

As Gonzo said, look into how things are done. I know if I were ever to go into senior photography, I would look a lot into poses used and different ideas (areas to go around town etc). Speaking as someone who has had their senior portraits done, remember that they typically are meant to capture the end of ones secondary education. What I mean by this, is that when they look back they should not only be able to look back and see 'just a portrait' of themselves that looks good, but it should emulate who they are at that moment (what they did, what they liked, hobbies, school activities, who their friends may have been etc.). And lastly, as someone who is providing a service, remember that sometimes you're going to have to abide by what your client wants. Further, in providing a 'professional' service a lot of people may expect that you know exactly what you're doing--so make sure you do.

As for equipment, I would look into something like a 40/50d, or an xti xsi or t1i. They're good introductory cameras (sorry I didn't suggest Nikon, I am a little biased). Other than that a lot of it is going to depend on the style you develop. Do you want to do all natural lighting or do you want to have artificial? Are you going to do studio shots? Where are going to put a studio? When you get into everything it can become expensive, camera here, lens there, lighting equipment there, advertisement, time, travel, etc. But you need to get the logistics down first.

And what do you know about the functioning of a DSLR camera? Eg the correlation between f/stops, shutter speed, ISO?

Lastly, what year are you, if I may ask?

[jpbimages]

I know for a fact people are different from the yearbok experience, and trying to get shot there.
I have been looking into poses etc, and even some friends are interested in haveing their photo's taken!
As for equipment, to be honest... I don't *hate* my nikon (it is my first DSLR) but I am not much for it.....(hard to hate a first love I suppose). I L*O*V*E* natural lighting and even going so far as to NOT editing photos if I can help it! Buying my equipment, honestly I cannot spend a lot, and was looking into an auction on e-bay that goes of in 16 hours or so, but as I posted in another thread elsewhere, i don't have the money. As I stated there as well, money is not an easy thing for me to come by, I get some but it's not like $250 a month, nor is it $10 a month......
I know that f/stop and shutter speed have to do with.... well speed, and the ISO I think deals with it as well... I remember opening my shutter for longer=more light=night photos etc, and I know that the f/stop is the 'speed' but I am not sure of what.
I know I am a little slow on what most may call "basics" but I am not one for the fine details, I have been very happy in my ignorance, and as of late have realized that I should start learning this stuff

I am, in fact, a sophomore in Highschool, it's a long, boring story filled with depression/anxiety, rises and falls, and BAD homeschooling websites DX, but luckily I am back to school
(BTW photography did help me during the 'darker times' those two years I "fell behind")

[aebrown]

Oh, I thought you said you had no camera. If you have one already and are strapped for money, then I would suggest *grinds teeth* staying with n**.

Here's what I suggest at this point, hit up those friends who want to have their pictures taken. Go out and try and make your pictures look like what you deem as "senior portrait-y" and post them back up to let some of us critique and show you where to improve. That's the glory of this forum, being able to get feedback and comments on how to improve your photography.

And in all honesty, try and get down the concepts of f/stop, ISO, and shutter speed, and I forgot to mention Depth of field too--ok there's a lot that goes into a portrait so I should add angle and lighting too. Sounds like you have the general idea, but the more you know about why your camera is reacting the way it is, and how changing it will effect your pictures, your creativity is be limited. Try and stay away from auto mode, and learn how to shoot in partial manual (Av, or Tv mode). And if you're going to do all natural lighting, really focus on where your light source is (hint, shooting at high noon is not flattering most of the time). There's a book called "Understanding Exposure" that is really good supposedly. I've never read it since I learned everything from this forum basically, but you may prefer a book--it's up to you, just learn it! :)

Hope to some some photos from you soon!

[jpbimages]

Well I haven't been clear, forgive me, yes, I have a camera, the nikon, but it is broken, I would rather save up & buy a canon then fix the nikon, perhaps sell it out on e-bay and see what I can get for it...
I will post photos as soon as possible, but it looks like it will take time, I hate I have to pass up the deal on e-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200439628766&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_975
I really do love the looks of that kit (even though you suggested 40-50d, I like 10-30 just as much!)
thanks for all your help! I am learning as we speak!

[Muskydave22]

Well this is what I do as a normal side business during the summer. There are a few things you should know.

First off, if you are just starting out, I would shoot outdoor portraits or on location in their homes because a studio is expensive and you don't have the experience or a real need for a studio at this point.

Second, learn the aperture/SS/ISO triangle like the back of your hand. It is amazing what one little change to ISO/aperture/SS settings that can make or break a great portrait. Third, if you can't afford a speedlight to use off camera, get a reflector or make one to learn how to increase the lighting in your portraits. It is amazing what you can do with natural light and a single white reflector.

Gear is somewhat overrated if you don't know the basics of photography along with composition, and the technical aspects of light and how to control it. You can take great portraits with a 20D and a nifty fifty, you just have to know how to use them. Just look at the people forum and lighting forum to get advice, and try to replicate shots taken here.

Also, if you are thinking of getting paid at all, get a model release form as well as a general invoice form for what the people will be receiving, the products you provide, etc. Always have you paperwork in order because there are always people wanting to rip you off.

Dave

[jpbimages]

Thanks Dave, I printed off releases right before my camera, well, died, and so those I have, the invoice I need to look into! I am looking into exactly what you're saying, a camera, nifty fifty and bat grip (extra weight & vertical release is a plus for me!) I was going to do exactly as you suggested with outdoor/in-home shots, to reduce my expense (and maybe increase comfort? "model on their own turf"?) I understand what most people say about the accessories being "extra", I used the nikon with just the kit lens, and had excellent results!
Parker

[Muskydave22]

I would skip the battery grip and put it towards an OCF setup because that will give you a ton more possibilities. Maybe a vivitar 285, RF-602 trigger/receiver set, lightstand and shut thru umbrella, maybe around $150 or so. Look into that before a battery grip.

Dave

[jpbimages]

Forgive my ignorance.... OCF?

[themadman]

Forgive my ignorance.... OCF?

Off camera flash.

On a side note when do seniors look for photographers for senior portraits? (sorry, it has been a while since I was in high school but I am also looking to do this).

I am looking for a good time to start my ad campaign towards high school students.

[jpbimages]

Well I know people who are getting them done now.... I would say get the adds out now-or around christmas time (so they can start looking into you).... There's a good chance I am wrong though so, don't take my word for it!

[gonzogolf]

I know you said you like natural light, but the problem with that is you only get decent natural light for portraits for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and you arent doing senior pics at 6:30 in the morning. If you want to control the light you are going to have to learn how to use flashes (yes, more than one). Check out strobist.com and search ocf here.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=653964&page=259 is a good place to start.

[Muskydave22]

You can get good light anytime of the day, you just need to know where to find it. The north side of a building is always a great place to find open shade on a bright sunny day. But like gonzogolf said, go read the strobist blog and learn how to use OCF. It will open up a multitude of possibilities.

Dave

[LauraF]

Hi all - I've been a freelance photographer for a several years, and was looking into school portraits as well. So I've got the camera, lights, etc. My question is, is there other hardware or software that is used for taking these type of photos? How do you know who's who and who ordered what, when you have 200+ clients at one time? It seems that it would be too time consuming if you were to enter this information in manually.
Thanks for any feedback.

[aebrown]

I saw someone wondering about the timelines for Senior Portraits. Usually, it depends on the school yearbook. With my school, they set a deadline for when all the seniors needed to have their photos in, and it was usually around January. So a lot of people get them done the summer of their junior year, or the fall of their senior year.

[aebrown]

And while I'm thinking about it. I know my school had the photographer send the pictures in since the student didn't have the original.

In which case, it might be valuable to make sure you understand a little about printing, printer profiles etc. The last thing you want is to use the wrong color space and have the people come out yellow in their yearbook. But this all depends on what company the school uses for printing and whether the yearbook staff or the company make sure everything comes out properly.

But I might be getting ahead of myself..

[gonzogolf]

And while I'm thinking about it. I know my school had the photographer send the pictures in since the student didn't have the original.

In which case, it might be valuable to make sure you understand a little about printing, printer profiles etc. The last thing you want is to use the wrong color space and have the people come out yellow in their yearbook. But this all depends on what company the school uses for printing and whether the yearbook staff or the company make sure everything comes out properly.

But I might be getting ahead of myself..

Keep in mind that a lot of schools require the student to go to a designated photographer for the yearbook photos (for consistency and quality), which is then forwarded to the school. They often go to the photographer of their choice for the "senior photos" that they purchase to send to friends and family.

[aebrown]

Keep in mind that a lot of schools require the student to go to a designated photographer for the yearbook photos (for consistency and quality), which is then forwarded to the school. They often go to the photographer of their choice for the "senior photos" that they purchase to send to friends and family.

This is true as well. It varies from school to school, district to district. They gave us the liberty to choose where we went at my school, but all the photographers knew in advance the dates, formats, and size of photo they needed to send in. As well, how to pose a picture, which for my school was to have no props, no hair covering the face, and no touching of the face (e.g. resting the head on the hand, or anything like that). As well, it for the most part had to be a portrait, not a full body shot--this is why variety is important. You need to think of what your client wants, and what the school requires.

Make sure to check with your yearbook teacher to see how it all works. If the school already has a designated photographer it might be harder to make money off of this since most people don't want to pay for two of the 'same' thing.

[Karl Johnston]

Here's my workflow just so you can get an idea of how to do some of the footwork of organizing yourself for a portrait shoot...of any kind, really. There's a lot of specifics left out, such as how to operate a camera (you should know, and have one before hand :lol: otherwise...forget it; learn how to do that).

This is more biased towards running it as a business but it's valuable info if you haven't got much of an idea yet. I think from reading through this you need to learn how to operate a camera, work with natural and artificial light, market yourself to your clients (senior portraits). A good POTN photographer to read more into is Phamster (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=147123)who specializes in this stuff.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35
this is another forum you should haunt.
this may or may not be useful for you, starting out, a friend gave it to me recently for starting up portraiture artists
http://www.ilovephotography.com

One more thing; people are going to suggest you buy a ton of luxury gear. Bags, accessories, L this G that, prime, zoom, elinchrom, speedotron...blah blah blah blah blah...Screw 'em. Working with the client is much more important...so if you make them feel comfortable and have a good time, you'll get great images.

All you need is a camera, a lens, a bit of knowledge on how to manipulate the light (OCF lighting is a good idea to learn to use but I'm sure you can get by with a handful of reflectors and some decent light). You probably will need image editing software too...try www.gimp.org or download the LR3 beta. Or photoshop. Just don't rip it off, that's not good. Buy the student version if you're broke, like most of us.

I bet you could get all the gear you'd ever need in less than $800 if you shop around on the used market. Save the rest for marketing, insurance, setting up the biz and the float.

Organizing a Session

1.
Consult with client (person paying you) what they'd like, what the senior would like, hobbies, let them read your contract, show them the options they can select, a few samples of your work, a few samples of products you can deliver. I like to make things personal and have a sit down and a coffee with the client but it can also be done in e-mail fairly fluidly all the same.

2.
What you need to know is what their needs and then work within what you know (not more) to deliver it. Then, before you move, you need your retainer fee ($50-100-300-or whatever prior to the shoot). Invoice, get paid, receipt, session is booked for a week in advance (or 2, to be more reasonable). Go over in advance how long things will take, if it takes 2-4 weeks to prepare and receive a shipment on time then don't say 2-4 weeks. Give yourself room and say 4-6 if necessary.

3.
Handle the photography...if you don't know how to operate a camera then forget it all and practice on family and friends until you learn how to do it adequately enough to start operating a business at it. Try out http://www.smugmug.com or http://www.exposuremanager.com for e-commerce photo solutions.

4.
Consult again with the client, go over some of the images, show them an online slideshow or take over of those cool little epson p-4000s and sit down with the client, go over options again, take down orders, invoice again and wait till the payment comes in before printing.

5.
Backup stuff, save to a DVD or memory stick, file away.

[CanonGolfer]

^^^^^^
+1 to what Karl said. You want to make Senior Portraits as personable as possible. It should speak about what kind of person they are, instead of the cookie cutter this is a backdrop, place hand under chin and repeat.
I know here in Tucson Jon Wolf photography has a monopoly on at least 90% of all the high schools for yearbook pictures only but he banks I believe at least 2mil a year because most people will just knock everything out in one shot. Yearbook picture as well as senior pictures. There is no set law or rule saying you have to go through X photographer to do your senior pics, usually just for the one appearing in a yearbook.