Tips on shooting senior portraits?

[MissTuck]

Anyone know of some tutorials?
I know the basics.
Just trying to improve and get some really good images.

What looks good on a wallet?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

What type of tips are you looking for? Lighting, posing, exposure?

Typically, when shooting teens, it's good to include something that interests them...their hobbies etc. That will get them engaged...otherwise they might be disinterested in having their photo taken.

 

[JerryPH]

First, the basics of photography should be pretty much mastered. No strong foundation, no good pictures, no matter what.

Once you get that down, you have a god base for getting good pictures. After that, it is a simple (lol) matter of learning how to get to know your subject within a VERY short time (usually a few minutes), and leveraging this information to get the kinds of pictures that bring out their personality.

I'll be doing my first set of seniors later this year and already am working on things like specific questions to ask (don't say "tell me about yourself..." thats the fast question to nowhere... lol). Practice helps, don't go in cold. Grab a couple friends who's kids are seniors and want to get a few pics done and practice, pactice, practice!

Finally, for inspiration, visit flickr and do a search for senior pics. There are tens of thousands of available ideas there ready to be used and abused!

 

[Mike30D]

Check out this month's issue of Rangefinder, it's the High School Senior Issue. It's also the studio marketing issue, good stuff.

 

[snowalker]

Mike30D I like your quotations... there are some good answers. good light!