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Bring the pieces of your life that make your senior year extra special! Here are a few things you can bring with you to make your session unique to you:
Senior life details: Bring all the amazing things important to you at this incredible time in your life! At AKP, we LOVE it when you bring things that showcase who you are at this time in your life! Music instruments, your car, sports uniform & gear, your fave books, ballet shoes, or your skateboard – we want to see what makes you YOU! This is a great pictorial showcase of hobbies and bringing them to your
the session can make it so incredibly unique!
Best fur friends: If there were ever a time to photograph your pet, this is it! We encourage you to bring your trained dog, cat, mouse, bird… armadillo! Whatever you have! We LOVE animals & know how special they are to our seniors! You’re about to leave home and not see them for a while, so why not have the sweetest portrait of you and your BFF in a frame on your dorm desk?
College gear: Why not include your next chapter in a few pics from your senior session? Bring your college tees, sweatshirts, banners, flags, etc., to tell the world where you’ll spend your next big adventure! These are great images to include in your grad announcements too!
We are starting to book Class of 2024 seniors! If you’re ready to book, DM us, and we’ll start your booking process by sending you our client magazine and available dates!
Spring is the season for all the fun & flirty trends! 2023 trends for spring are more romantic textures like draped fabrics, sheers, ruffles, and lace in muted tones of white, beige, and very light pastels. 3D floral embellishments are also making their way into fashion to set the mood for this season.
As far as casual looks go, opt for lighter-washed denim in relaxed cuts with a pop of a spring pastel on top in a form-fitting bodice. This will offset the mass of your jeans and not swallow your body whole.
We’re also going to see a lot of white this spring and summer as trends are leaning more toward simple styles like white shift dresses, wide-legged trousers, and oversized white linen blazers.
Want more fashion tips for your senior session, no matter the season? Click on our link in the bio and select freebies to download our FREE guide!
When it comes to your senior session, educating yourself and being prepared will save you a lot of undue stress. We are here to help you with a round of Do this, not that: Senior Session Prep edition!
Here are 5 things to remember when getting ready for your senior session:
DO: hang each outfit on a single hanger and steam your wardrobe the day before your session
DON’T: stuff your outfits in a duffle bag
DO: get a trim & color refresh with your hair stylist a week before your session.
DON’T: opt for a big chop or new color right before your session.
DO: exfoliate and moisturize your lips nightly the week leading up to your session.
DON’T: neglect your chapped lips and expect your photographer to edit them.
DO: get a mani/pedi with a soft neutral polish a few days before your session.
DON’T: arrive at your session with crazy nail colors and/or chipped polish.
DO: bring some inspirational images to show your session makeup artist & hairstylist.
DON’T: expect your makeup artist & hairstylist to know what you want without visuals.
Did you know that we give our AKP clients a welcome packet and client hub full of downloadable guides to help them prepare for their stress-free session day?! We do! Our clients LOVE that we don’t throw them to the wolves when it comes to getting session day ready. If you’d like that kind of attention to detail, we are currently booking for March and April and the Fall Class of 2024 sessions, and those spots are selling out fast! DM and let us know you’d like to book a session with us, and we’ll start your booking process!
- Snacks & Water: The best way to stay fresh throughout your senior session is to stay hydrated and fed! Believe it or not, these sessions can take it out of you, and being prepared with some good calories and H2O is never a wrong decision! Bring snacks that you can easily pop into your mouth without having to bite them, and bring a straw to drink your water – these tips will SAVE your lipstick!
- Bug Spray: Depending on where your session is, we recommend bringing bug spray with you to keep all the mosquitos and other flying terrors at bay. Make sure it doesn’t dry to a powder, which can accidentally turn your clothes white where you spray it.
- An Extra Outfit: Here’s the deal… things happen. One moment you’re changing for your next outfit, and you suddenly hear a big rip at the back of your dress. OH NO. Sometimes things like this happen, and it’s always good to have a backup outfit to replace it.
- Lotion: Want that beautiful sheen to your skin that you see in magazines? That fashion secret is all about the lotion! Moisturized skin photographs are much better than dry skin and can make you look fresh and dewy from the inside out!
Looking for a photographer to help you not stress out before your session? Find one with many detailed resources to help you prepare for your session. For example, guides that can help you with what colors to wear, how to prep your face and nails, etc.
Looking for a senior portrait experience where you have to wake up and show up? Find a photographer who offers makeup and hair services on the day of your session. That way, you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself. Looking for a natural editing process? Find a photog who showcases images where their clients have skin texture and pores. Also, pay attention to tones and colors to ensure they’re realistic.
Looking for more than a digital image gallery when it’s all said and done? Look for a portrait photographer who offers a variety of products like canvases, albums, storyboards, images, boxes, and more.
Looking for a photographer who offers ALL of the above?!? Look no further! At AKP, we pride ourselves on a client experience unlike any other! We not only help our clients have a stress-free session by helping them prepare with pre-session guides as well as makeup and hair styling the day of, but we also strive for an organic editing process that will leave you with skin texture and pores and complete the experience by offering a wide variety of heirloom products!
Are we the perfect match?!? DM us your email address, and we’ll send you our detailed client magazine that shares our session prices, client timeline, FAQs, and more!
Session day to gallery delivery: This includes culling through your session and editing your images; depending on which collection you choose, we will have an ordering appointment or digital delivery. You’ll have digitals between 2 – 3 weeks after your senior session at the most basic image delivery. If you want grad cards, albums, and other products, you’ll need to add a few more weeks to your end goal timeline.
Grad card design to card delivery: from the moment you place your order with AKP, we work hard to get your grad cards designed, proofed, confirmed, printed and delivered to your doorstep within 2-3 weeks. Remember to send out graduation and party invitations at least four weeks in advance if you want to give people enough time to plan to come.
Senior products design to delivery: if you’d like to have an album, signing portrait, gift prints, and canvases displayed at your grad party, you’ll want to order those products at least three weeks before your grad festivities.
So, if you plan on sending out graduation and party invitations, you’ll want to book your session four weeks in advance to ensure you have plenty of time to invite your family, friends, and loved ones. For this time, you’ll need to book your session for early March. If you’re planning on only sending out grad announcements, you’ll want to book your session at least four weeks before your festivities. This means that you’ll want to book your session, at the very latest, in early-April
Are you panicking yet?!?! Don’t worry! We still have a few March and early April sessions left! DM us your email address, and we’ll send you our AKP client magazine, complete with our session pricing, timeline, testimonials, faqs, and more!
I know, I know, you want to be a beautiful bronzed goddess for your senior session, but running out and getting spray-tanned the day before your session could end in a blotchy, streaky nightmare. If you are determined to be faux-tanned for your session, here are a few details that could save your skin (literally):
- Don’t get a spray tan within 3 days of your session. Your color needs time to develop & settle. Lightly exfoliate your skin 48 hours after your spray session, and then rub in plenty of moisturizers to help it set.
- Exfoliate and scrub your wrists, ankles, knees, and knuckles religiously if you get a spray tan. These body parts can collect extra tanner and make you look dirty. After scrubbing, hydrate these areas with a heavy moisturizer.
- Consider using a slow-build self-tanner the month before your session. These daily moisturizers with gradual tanning solution build a bronze glow over time that won’t look blotchy or streaky like spray tans can. First, the secret to using these options is to layer them over a base lotion.
Ready to show off that bronzed skin during your spring senior session? DM me your email address, and I’ll start your booking process by sending you our famous AKP client experience magazine!
Just a few weeks ago, Lindsay came to the studio for her Senior Portrait Experience. We ventured off to Tyson’s Corner in Lampasas here in Central Texas.
I love Lindsay’s sense of style, Country Chic with a touch of Glam. She truly is a country girl at heart. She loves listening to music, going to concerts, and country dancing. Lindsay LOVES fashion, hair and make-up. Of course, she is seriously in-the-know when it comes to the latest trends. This traveller at heart believes in First Class all the way!
When asked to give me one sentence or phrase that best describes her, Lindsay offered in true Texas fashion, “The bigger the hair, the closer to Jesus.” She is a Jesus girl and her faith is very important to her!
Lindsay rounded out her time in high school with Cheerleading and working. Lindsay is looking forward to attending TCU in 2015 and majoring in Nursing. After getting to know Lindsay, I see her compassion and empathy. Without a doubt, her future is very bright and she will make an excellent nurse one day.
When I asked her what she thought about her images she said they were “The pictures are absolutely AMAZING!”
Individual sense of style, a fresh look and a bit of bohemian fashion made for a spectacular Fall Senior Portrait session.
I had the pleasure of capturing beautiful images of Caitlyn during her senior portrait experience, here in Central Texas. I love how she has her own sense of style. Caitlyn is such a natural beauty inside and out with a natural fresh face look. Her style tends to be natural with a touch of bohemian.
The location we choose for her session helped showcase her free spirit and her love of music as well as her style shine through in her images. For Caitlyn, comfort is key when choosing clothing and nothing tops a great find at vintage shops.
She spends her free time singing, playing guitar, watching movies, hang out with friends, and sleeping. Through high school, she has been singing, playing the guitar/ukulele/piano, drawing and painting. All of that while balancing swimming, student council, french club, National Honors Society, and modeling!
Caitlyn is looking forward to attending college at John Cabot University and studying Art and Architecture. I’m so excited about all the great things she is sure to accomplish!!!
We all have a unique story to tell. We all go through different things in our lives so great and some not so great. But it is those things that make us who we are. They are woven into the life that we live.
Hunter, too, has his own story. When he was a Freshman he suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury where he had to have a trach. When we were talking about his senior session and his story he wanted to tell, he told me that he wanted to keep his scare in all of his pictures. I applauded him for that, for being true to his authentic self.
What do you want to say in your senior session story? Contact me today so we can start planning your Senior Session Experience.
