Senior portraits are evolving. A specialty that has been traditionally captive to its own stodginess has gone from stale, formulaic photography to an up-tempo imaging style that takes direction from fashion and glamour photography. For portrait shooters, here’s the potential for chasing your creative inclinations and, with imagination and good marketing, some inviting income prospects.

One standout among the current how-to literature offering advice for navigating this burgeoning field is Tim Schooler’s recently released Senior Style (Amherst media | 128 pp.).

Operating a successful portrait shop in Lafayette, Louisiana, Schooler thrives in this relatively small city by adding some edginess and sparkle to a very tame imaging tradition using uncommon creative and sales acumen.

With Senior Style, Schooler shares his skill set with readers, unpacking beautifully crafted images from every angle—posing, lighting, makeup, locations, wardrobe selection, etc. He includes refreshing personal takes on interfacing with clients and dealing with the sensitive issues that can surface in working with adolescents.

One issue common to teenage girls is, as Schooler writes, “they may want to look a little too sexy—especially for Mom’s taste.” Schooler says he has three elements—pose, wardrobe and expression—that are responsible for how a certain look gets conveyed, but if they are moving in “the wrong direction,” it’s time to regroup and give the session a different tone, one that also keeps the parents happy. Check out the excerpt below to learn more about this concept.

Commonsense professional insights like these are abundant in this little powerhouse of a book. See for yourself.

Price: $37.95
amherstmedia.com

Photos © Tim Schooler

BOOK EXCERPT — republished with permission from Amherst Media

CLOTHING SELECTION, Part 1

Advice, Not Rules

It’s part of the job of professional photographers to give our clients the benefit of our experience and help them make informed decisions when selecting the outfits they’ll bring to the sessions. That said, I don’t dictate “rules” to my clients; I just give them my advice.

First and foremost, I want them to look carefully at the clothing and think about how it will look in the portrait. Clients are spending a lot of money on their portraits and we don’t want any surprises. They should also make sure it’s something they will really like and, hopefully, enjoy for years to come. This makes classic styles a better choice than trendy ones.

General Guidelines

It’s best to avoid “wow” colors, as well as stripes, plaids, and other bold patterns. These types of clothing tend to pull the attention away from the face—and the face is the number one thing we want to see in a portrait. While these colors/patterns look fine in everyday life, they rarely look good in a static image. A better choice is clothing in solid, darker colors—but, again, we’ll work with whatever they bring.

Cropping bare arms can result in awkward looks, so I recommend that clients opt for styles with long sleeves. Given the current styles and the warm climate where I live, this is a suggestion that is often ignored—but it produces a nice look for clients who opt for covered arms.

It’s also nice for clients to bring clothes in a range of styles. This could include relaxed looks (what they wear to hang out with friends), casual styles (what they wear to school), and something a bit more fancy (what they’d wear to a concert or a night out). For senior portraits, what Mom wants to see her child wearing is also an important consideration.  Additionally, if they have one, I like to have them bring a performance outfit—whether it’s a band uniform, cheerleading outfit, or sports uniform. Basically, their portraits should say, “This is who I was at seventeen years old.”

CLOTHING SELECTION, part 2

Girls’ Clothes

If there’s a common issue we face when photographing teenage girls, it’s that they may want to look a little too sexy—especially for Mom’s taste. The things that communicate sexiness in a portrait are the clothes, the expression, and the pose. My rule is that no more than two of those three qualities can have a seductive look. If the subject opts for a sexier outfit, that will be toned down by choosing poses and/or expressions that are more G-rated.

Guys’ Clothes

Guys tend to bring fewer outfits to their sessions—but that’s changing as men become increasingly fashion-conscious. Every year, we see a bit more variety. That’s good news, because moms and girlfriends all like special portraits of their guys. Moms especially love nice images of their sons; when we have a great session with a senior guy, we almost always get a great order.

Hairstyles

We caution both men and women against getting a haircut the day before the session—especially if it’s a new style that they might not end up liking. For guys, facial hair is fine (as long as, for senior portraits, Mom is okay with it).

Related: Senior Portrait Savvy: Three Businesses on Clever Branding for the Millenial Generation

Paul Ernest Adds Depth to Senior Portraits