Each year, the national chain sends out a glossy brochure with some amazing senior portraits and probably an appointment for every senior at the school to have their picture taken. MAYBE the yearbook HAS to use that photo, maybe not (I won't get into the whole kickback system). Even if they do have to use the big company's photo, you can just get the yearbook photo (tux or drape) and get better portraits somewhere else. I'll be honest, those cookie-cutter portraits aren't hard. The senior comes in, puts on the outfit, sits down, and they take a couple pictures in a pre-set studio where the lights are measured out to be in the right spot at the right angle and the "photographers" aren't allowed to change the camera settings even if they know how. It's designed to make sure that everyone's photo is consistent. That's ok. But that's not a senior portrait, it's a fancy K-11 picture LOL! Oh, and those great portraits in the brochure? Those are the best they have from all over the country. They may even be professional models who weren't even photographed by one of the company's photographers. As the yearbook advisor, I see all the photos the company takes of the students where I teach and they NEVER compare to what's presented in the marketing materials. Never. Some are absolutely terrible! Not to mention that their prices aren't the same as they are for your 8th grader. Research their print prices before you sign up :)
There are better options. I try to capture the senior's personality. Do they love the beach? Horses? Agriculture? Figure skating? Sports? Dancing? Music? What is it that makes them unique? The senior portraits of today are about WHO the senior is as much as what they look like. Boring senior portraits are a thing of the past...or they SHOULD be anyway! Below are some examples of my work over the past year. Of local students, taken at local places or outside the immediate area upon request. I'll travel anywhere, I've done senior portraits in D.C., Longwood Gardens, and state parks in northern Delaware. Of course, the beach, local school athletic fields, historic areas, urban settings, natural fields, and my studio are great locations too.
By the way, I can do the tuxedo and drape portraits as well as the cap and gown portraits too, and I'll do them better than the national studio with their fake rose.
