The Kick-Off to my Senior Sessions is right around the corner! And as your date approaches, I wanted to give you some helpful tips when preparing for your senior session! I know when I was getting ready for my senior pictures I was at a loss at how to prepare, and I had so many questions such as:

How do I even choose my outfits?
How many outfits should I bring?
Do I need props?
Who can I bring with me, or do I have to go alone?
How awkward am I going to be?
Where can I even take my senior pictures?
Do I have to pose myself?

I had so many questions running through my over-thinking brain that I actually felt a little sick and overwhelmed the morning of my session, and all I was doing was getting my picture taken!

So now, as a photographer myself, I remember how I was as a senior, and I want to be able to give you some tips to hopefully help calm your nerves and answer some questions for you regarding how to prepare for your senior session with Jordan Elizabeth Photography!

minnesota-senior-photographer-portrait-photography-10.JPG

Let’s start with talking outfits:

Here are some basic tips when picking your outfits (I’ll go into more detail in next week’s blog post!)

When picking your outfits for your senior session you want to pick things that make you feel comfortable and confident! If you do not typically wear turtle necks for example, and you feel like they strangle you, do not wear them to your senior session!
To help with variety in your images, start with picking one casual outfit and one formal outfit.
When picking additional outfits, just keep in mind what you like to wear or what you are involved in, or things you like to do!
- For Example, you could wear:
  - Sports Uniform
  - Future College T-Shirt
  - Club Shirt (like a band or student council shirt)
  - your favorite graphic T (I wore a Mac and Cheese shirt in my senior pictures)
Just a few other random tips for preparing your outfits!
- Always try your outfits on before your session! Make sure everything fits the way you want it to!
- Wear the proper undergarments, you probably do not want bra straps showing or your underwear showing through!
- If your first outfit involves bold colors or patterns, make your second outfit more neutral just to give some more variety and different looks to your images!
- You can also always send me your outfit ideas and I can give you some feedback on them!
To go along with outfits, you can also bring some props to help tell your story. Thing like:
- Baseball Equipment
- Instrument
- Signs
- Books
- Pets
- Etc.

Will work perfectly during your session and will help tell your story!

Now let’s talk locations

Deciding on a location for your senior pictures can seem a little overwhelming, but don’t worry I can also help you pick a perfect location that suits what you want your images to look like! My first question always is, “Is there somewhere special to you that you would like to take your senior pictures at?” As a Minnesota Photographer, I am willing to travel almost anywhere in the state (or out of state ;] ) to take your senior images! If you can’t think of a place I like to break it down into three basic categories: Nature or Urban or Both. I have done location scouting around the Minneapolis area and I have some great options for you to pick from if you absolutely cannot decide where to take your senior pictures. Some of my favorite locations around the area are:

Stone Arch Bridge
Taylor’s Falls State Park
Minnehaha Falls
Water Street, Excelsior MN
Or wandering around the North Loop area of Minneapolis!

Typically, however, my absolute favorite locations are the special ones picked out by you! Personalized locations can help you feel comfortable and make your images more personal! I have an eye for making ugly walls seem beautiful in your images so if you want to take your images around your hometown, at grandma’s farm, or the old cabin you grew up at, we can definitely make any location gorgeous and help you have a personalized senior session!

Let’s talk about the Experience now

Senior pictures are one of my most favorite seasons of life to capture. Getting these pictures done is one of the best ways to celebrate graduation and a fun way to kick-off your senior year! These photos are amazing for your yearbook photo, creating grad invites, bomb Instagram photos, or beautiful new profile photos! The Jordan Elizabeth Photography Senior Experience is so unique because each session is so personalized to you! I want to tell the story of YOU! Not your mom, not your best friend, and not every other senior session whose images all look the same! I want to create memorable and accurate images of you and your story! I am open to all ideas regarding your senior pictures. If you are a book lover and want to incorporate your favorite series, I’m here for that. If football is your life, let’s bring all the gear and make some dope photos for you! I will find a way to incorporate all the things you love into your session! Bringing personality to your images is what I live for!

I know you are probably nervous about being awkward in front of the camera, and it’s okay I was too! It is my goal during every session that you will walk away feeling comfortable in front of the camera! If I can’t get you to laugh once then I am not doing my job right! I will guide you through your session with various poses and prompts. You will not need to worry about a thing or knowing how to pose yourself because I will do all of that for you! During your session, I allow for you to bring 1 person with you to your session. This person can be anyone you want, your mom, dad, uncle, cousin, or best friend whoever you want it to be, and whoever is going to make you the most comfortable! You want to bring someone who is going to hype you up, make you feel awesome, make you laugh, and bring out that genuine smile! The best pictures, are when you are being completely yourself and not worried about the camera in front of you!

After your session is complete I will have your preview online gallery to you in only 2 weeks! Once you receive your gallery you can pick your images and I will then finish all my retouching and final edits before sending you the high-resolution images! Once you receive your final gallery you will also get a download pin to save your images! It is at this time that you can start ordering your prints through me and my professional lab or any other products that I offer! I make sure to store all images for a year so if anything happens I have all of your photos backed up until a year after your delivery date, this also means you have a year to order any prints from me! So you do not need to worry about ordering right away if you do not want to!