Senior Portraits

I know you’re worried about not looking like yourself in your senior portraits. I know that you want to look like YOU. The best version of you! That’s why I want to give you a peek into my editing process for senior photos. One of the things I have SO MUCH pride in is how my editing is a natural process that won’t leave your skin looking like plastic, or change your skin tone, features or the things that make you YOU.

When I whiten teeth, I do it realistically. Your skin will still show that you have pores. Your eyes won’t look unnaturally bright (that looks straight up creepy). My aim is to enhance your natural beauty instead of changing how you look. Because you’re beautiful as you are!! But yes, a zit will NOT be making an appearance in your gorgeous portraits.

When you book your senior portraits with me, you’ll get a careful editing process that preserves your natural beauty while reducing temporary things like blemishes. You can be sure that your senior portraits will actually be a realistic representation of your personality and style – your authentic self!

HOW I PRESERVE YOUR NATURAL BEAUTY WHILE EDITING & RETOUCHING

The first thing to note is that getting the exposure and temperature RIGHT in-camera is the first thing that helps me achieve a natural and realistic look to your senior portraits. And that’s just PART of what my fourteen YEARS of experience adds to your portraits!

How I preserve your natural beauty with my editing process for senior photos:

Retouching skin: I’ll definitely remove blemishes and dry skin while reducing the appearance of scars (acne & otherwise), but I WON’T overly smooth your skin and remove your pores or freckles to make you look like plastic. This process is INSANELY detailed and takes me a lot of time, but I believe it’s truly important to preserve your skin texture while making it look like your BEST skin day, ever.

Real Colors: I edit to maintain the true colors of your skin tone, your clothing and the environment in which we’re shooting. A trendy thing with photography these days is to turn everything into a weird orange overtone and desaturate greenery. I don’t do that. Your photos are going to stand the test of time because they will be realistic representations of you AND the environment.

Keeping Your Features: Although I’ll add a little vibrance to your portraits, I won’t be adjusting your natural features like warping your lips or nose…or bringing your waist or arms in. Adjusting your appearance isn’t showcasing your true beauty. But please feel confident that I will guide you into flattering poses to look like the best version of yourself.

Booking YOUR Senior Portraits

If you are looking for a Reno senior photographer who will use a natural process for editing and retouching, I’d be honored to work with you in capturing this pivitol time in your life! Contact me through my contact form and get the ball rolling on booking with me. I’ll send you my Senior Magazine which shares ALL the info you’ll need to help you decide if I’m the right photographer for you.

One of the questions I get asked most often is “what should I wear for senior pictures?” As such, all of my senior clients get a very detailed Senior Style Guide AND my exclusive styling website where you can personally curate & purchase clothing/accessories for your shoot – but I thought I’d give EVERYONE just a taste of my best tips for selecting your senior portrait wardrobe as a professional high school senior photographer!

This informative blog post will serve as a starting point on choosing what to wear as you begin planning your Reno/Tahoe senior photoshoot!

My hope is that these TEN tips help you feel confident and inspired as you begin to put together your incredible looks for your once-in-a-lifetime senior shoot!

Tip 1: Choose your locations first for your senior portraits

Choosing your location(s) first before stepping into wardrobe choices allows you to get a starting point for thinking of colors, patterns and styles. If you LOVE the look of a downtown Reno senior portrait session, that will serve as the whole VIBE for your session. Choosing a frilly dress may not be the best choice if we’re going for that grungy downtown look. But a lush meadow? That’s the spot for a feminine dress.

Tip 2: Determine your color schemes

There are lots of different color schemes you can decide for your senior pictures. How do you feel about pastels? Vibrant colors? Dark tones?

You can find guides online about what colors look best with certain skin tones, but at the end of the day – every senior should wear colors they love.

Neutral colors are great to incorporate into your senior portrait outfits. Black, white, grey, ivory and shades of khaki or brown can be so powerful in your portraits.

Pastel or muted colors are great for spring/summer sessions and our meadow & lake locations in the Reno/Tahoe area.

Vibrant colors can also be excellent in the summertime, but also especially look gorgeous in the fall and winter. But be careful! Neon colors produce color-cast on skin and don’t photograph well. If you pick a vibrant color, I suggest choosing a darker VS brighter tones (ie: mustard yellow instead of neon yellow, cranberry red instead of cherry red).

Patterns can be used beautifully, but you have to be careful with them! Busy or small patterns don’t photograph well, and larger patterns can be pretty distracting as well. It’s always a good idea to run a pattern by your photographer to see what their opinion on it is.

Did you know? Fifth and Chestnut Seniors get my free Senior Style Guide which has even more detail on what SPECIFIC colors/patterns to avoid for senior portraits? Email me if you want to see what being a Fifth and Chestnut Senior is all about!

Tip 3: Decide fashion styles

Should I wear a dress? How about a romper? How about a two-piece top and skirt? What I always suggest is to pick at least one dress, one outfit with jeans (or shorts) and one other outfit (rompers are so cute). This is one of the easier decisions to make once you have your colors decided! You know what looks best on your body. If you want an outfit to elongate your body, consider long pants or a long maxi dress. Want to show off your legs? A mini dress is super cute!

Another thing to think about is your overall vibe (remember when we decided locations?) – you’ll be able to select styles based on that. Some examples are:

Downtown grunge = leather jacket and jeans.
Green meadow = pastel ruffled dress.
Lake = Crop top and shorts.
Desert = elegant solid-colored dress.

Tip 4: Consider your accessories

Hats, scarves, jewelry and sunglasses can all be used to change up your senior photos and provide lots of visual interest. Sunglasses especially have that fun “instagram influencer” look that can be exciting to try!

It’s definitely important to choose accessories that go seamlessly with all of your outfit choices.

Tip 5: Don’t forget to choose the right shoes for your senior portraits!

Shoes are a really fun way to be unique with your senior photos. Make sure that your shoe choice fits the season we’re shooting in. Examples are boots in winter, flip flops in summer! And also consider your comfort because we do have to walk around a bit!

I love when seniors choose shoes for their photoshoots that really add to their outfit but don’t distract from it. As with outfits, your senior photographer can help you if you run your ideas by them!

Tip 6: Go shopping for your senior picture outfits!

If you shop online like most seniors do, you’ll want to purchase items in different sizes & shades so that you can pick the best options out of the bunch.

It’s better to order too much and have to return some things than have to wait for an additional item because you weren’t sure you LOVED the first round of clothes.

Some places my seniors love to shop: Free People, Nordstrom Rack, Amazon Fashion, Nomad Boutique, Breath of Youth Clothing.

Tip 7: Final try-ons & layout outfits

Get a bird’s eye view of your outfits all together. Do these all look like they mesh well with your locations? Do they all work TOGETHER well? Think how pictures of you in all of these outfits will look in a photo album. Do you really love these looks? You should LOVE seeing these outfits layed out together. If you don’t – make some changes!

Tip 8: Get your hair & makeup inspiration ready

With your locations in mind and your outfits decided, search Pinterest for hair and makeup inspiration to provide your professional hair and makeup artist(s) so they can give you the exact look you’re going for.

Tip 9: Plan for your nails

Not everyone loves getting their nails done, but I highly recommend at least giving yourself a mani/pedi with a neutral nail color that will go nicely with ALL of your outfits. This is an important step because your nails will be visible in your senior pictures!

Tip 10: Enjoy your senior portrait session!

Now that you’ve taken all this info and carefully selected your clothing and accessories, it’s simply time to enjoy your time in those beautiful senior portrait outfits!

Don’t forget that your senior photographer should be helping you through EVERY part of the senior photography experience, including getting ready for your senior photoshoot! Want MY help? Make sure to email me ASAP and get on my calendar with plenty of time to spare so you have ample time to plan and shop!

I was just reminiscing about my prom experience after seeing so many prom pics on Instagram and Tik Tok recently. It hit me that I actually include hair and makeup for my senior clients BECAUSE of my prom experience. So I’ll tell you all about it to answer the burning question of “should I get my hair and makeup done for senior pictures?”

A Prom Experience and Why It Makes a point about getting hair and makeup done for senior pictures

In the weeks leading up to senior prom, I had spent HOURS picking out my baby blue prom dress. I had never worn such a delicate or beautiful item in my LIFE.

At the time, I was a complete tom boy. In my mind, I was trying to look like Avril Lavigne. In reality, I looked like a sack of potatoes with my oversized shirts, baggy pants and skater shoes. My eyeliner was lined thickly only on my bottom eyelid. I did not use mascara. Wet n’ wild lip gloss on fleek.

I had no idea what I was doing as a teenager, okay? It was the early 2000’s and things were a little crazy fashion-wise. I also PURELY wore my hair in a high ponytail – kind of like I do today. Except back then, I had a middle part and wispy bangs. My goodness.

Luckily, for our prom, my best friend scheduled hair appointments at a local salon. She also got us scheduled with makeup artists at a fancy department store in my home town. If she hadn’t done this, I honestly don’t know what kind of disaster my wannabe “skater boi” face & hair would have been with my elegant dress.

Hair & Makeup Experience Before Prom

As I sat in that makeup artist’s chair and chatted with her about my plans, my fears about how I’m going to look in my dress started to fade away as she showed me my eyeshadow. I started envisioning myself in the dress I had so lovingly chosen.

When I saw my face at the end of my makeup session, I was actually stunned. I had never felt so beautiful. And my hair wasn’t even done yet! My blemishes were invisible. I looked like I had clear skin for the first time in years. My cheeks were rosy – and I had previously NEVER used blush. It was also the first time I had ever worn real lipstick.

When my hair was completed, all curled in an updo, I felt like a million dollars. I couldn’t wait to put on my dress and get into the luxury van my Dad had rented to take my bestie and our boyfriends to prom in San Francisco. My parents took pictures of us and we felt on top of the world.

Why you should get hair and makeup done for senior portraits

When I think about those moments leading up to prom – I see a girl who was going out of her comfort zone and was a little fearful. I see a girl who was stressed because she was so unsure of HOW to do her makeup and hair. She really loved the idea of this baby blue dress, but felt like an imposter standing in it. And AFTER getting all dolled up? Well, then I see a girl who was happy, relaxed and confident BECAUSE professionals took care of the things that she did not know how to do. The stress washed away with all of the fears and doubts.

And this is why I include hair and makeup services in my senior portrait sessions.

I believe that EVERY senior deserves to feel that on-top-of-the-world confidence as I capture their authentic self on camera so that they have senior portraits they look back on one day with complete joy.

You should reminisce happily about your senior year and remember the experience of getting pampered with hair & makeup services before your photoshoot. I want you to feel CONFIDENT with blemishes covered and your hair done exactly how you envision it. I want you to LOVE your senior portraits…and I want your parents to love them, too.

I hope your senior year is filled with joy and wonder as you begin to embark on the next part of your life. And I’d love for the senior portrait experience I provide to be part of it!

What if I’m not a fan of makeup or want a natural look?

I find that most teens aren’t necessarily opposed to makeup – it’s usually that they just don’t know HOW to do it. However, there are teens out there that are truly not fans of makeup. And I understand that perspective, so let’s talk about that more!

Your senior portraits are just that – yours. They are literally ALL about YOU. So if you want a natural look because you never wear makeup and are worried about your photos not representing your authentic self, I am here to take those worries away.

You have ALL the control with your makeup artist. The professional makeup artist I book for you will know how to ENHANCE your natural beauty and give you a “no-makeup” look if that’s what you desire. We can skip the GLAM and go all natural if that’s your jam. You’re in the driver’s seat at all times, don’t worry!

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Fifth and Chestnut Photo Co. is Reno senior photographer in Reno/Tahoe who believes that every senior deserves an incredible portrait experience that adds to the overall joy of their senior year and provides authentic portraits that they and their parents are absolutely in love with. Learn more about becoming a Fifth and Chestnut senior here!