Pre-Session Consultation: What to Expect

Posted in Your Session

Earlier this week I had my first pre-session consultation of the year. My first one! I offer these complimentary consultations to ALL my senior clients. Perhaps you’ve never heard of them before. Or maybe you have heard of them, but you’re not exactly sure what the purpose of one is. Say no more. In the post, I’ll show you what the purpose of one is. I’ll also give you an idea of what it is we talk about during one.

A senior girl sits on a white chair in the middle of City Forest in Midland, Michigan | Senior Photographers in Michigan for their consultation

Where to Meet

After choosing a time to meet up, we then decide on a place. The consultation I had this past week took place at my house in my backyard. Many businesses are still closed or are limiting the number of people who can sit inside their restaurant. (Thanks, COVID19.) Since I’m going on vacation tomorrow and my client’s family deals with asthma, we decided to play it safe and meet out in my yard while still maintaining a six-foot distance. For future clients when the virus has calmed down a bit, my house would still work! Your house is also an option if you’d be more comfortable there. We could also meet at a coffee shop, a park, or my favorite: the cafe at Whiting Forest. I just love that place.

A teenage boy leans up against a building while crossing his arms in downtown Midland, Michigan | Senior photographer near me

Your Consultation

Although it isn’t mandatory for you to meet with me in person before your session, there are so many benefits. First of all, I love to get to know my clients and meet up with them before their session. This helps us establish our relationship and get to know one another. If my senior knows me and is comfortable with me, he/she will be comfortable in front of the camera for their session.

Before we even meet up, I make sure all of my senior clients fill out a questionnaire for me. I send it to them through a client link, and they can fill it out when they have time. This is so great for me to have before your consultation! Once we meet for the consult, I may have a few questions for you about the answers you gave me. I also feel like I get to know you through your answers. This helps me give you exactly the kind of session you want.

A senior girl sits on a walkway with her hands on her knee at Dow Gardens | Midland, Michigan senior photographer

We also make decisions at the consultation about your session like what locations you’d like your shoot to take place at, what outfits you’d like to wear, and what kind of look you’re going for. I love getting this information from you in person. It really helps me visualize your shoot beforehand.

Lastly, I’ll show you some examples of printed products you’ll be getting with the package you choose for your order. I LOVE this part. Being able to show off examples of the types of prints and products you’ll be receiving after your own session truly makes me happy. Since all of my clients walk away with both digital files and printed products, seeing you envision your own pictures in these high-quality items is simply the best.

A teenage girl leans against a tree while playing her ukulele | Midland, Michigan senior photographers

Have you booked your session with me yet? If so, I can’t wait to meet up with you at your consultation! My schedule is almost completely booked for the rest of the year, so if you haven’t scheduled your senior session yet, contact me, and I’ll get you on my calendar. We’ll be in touch!

Do I Need to Bring a Prop to My Session? The Cons

Posted in Your Session

Cons. What a not-so-fun word. Today though, I’ll be showing you how not bringing a prop to your senior session can actually be a good thing! Back in February, I wrote about the pros in bringing a prop to your session. There are certainly pros to bringing along an instrument or a jersey or a pair of running shoes. However, not everyone can or should bring along a prop! My last post in combination with this post will hopefully help my clients choose whether or not bringing a prop is a good idea for them.

So, let’s get started!

A senior girl sits in a field of wildflowers at Chippewa Nature Center in Michigan | Senior photographers in Midland, Michigan

Prop Cons #1

The biggest of the cons in my mind in bringing a prop is that it is just one more thing to carry around. When we go out for your session, I will have my hands full with my camera and bag and extra lenses and my reflector. And, if you’re much taller than I am, I’ll also have my stepping stool with me. 😉

The friend or parent you’ve brought with you will also have their arms full too! They might be holding your changes of clothing, your phone, their purse, different pairs of shoes and maybe even jewelry you’ll want to switch out. Hopefully we’ll be at a location where we can just leave most of those things in the car. But adding a prop or two onto your other things can get heavy and cumbersome.

A senior girl sits down in an alley way in downtown Midland, Michigan | Senior Photographers in Michigan

Cons #2

Another con I see in bringing props with you is that it’s one more thing to remember to do and bring. Many of you will have a makeup appointment. You might even be getting your hair done. We’ll have gone over your outfits together, and you’ll have jewelry and shoes to go with each outfit. Adding yet another thing on top of that can be a bit stressful, and I definitely don’t want my clients arriving at their sessions stressed out.

A high school teenager poses in front of a green wall and some rocks at Leaman's green apple barn in Freeland, Michigan | Midland, Michigan Senior Photographers

#3

The last of the cons on my list is simple. Your session is about YOU. And while props can sometimes help to incorporate your hobbies and likes into the picture, they can also take away from where the subject should be – you. Getting your lovely face into the camera with a beautiful, blurred background and connecting those who see it to your amazing personality is what I’m here for. Sometimes an extra prop takes away from the simplicity of a perfect portrait.

A beautiful senior girl smiles for her senior portraits while Eve Tuft lists cons in bringing props to a photo shoot | Michigan Senior Photographer

What do you think? Are you leaning more towards bringing a prop or two? Or do you want to leave them behind? As I said before, each client is unique and special and different in their own way. Your session will be as well. And only you can decide what’s best for you. Whatever you decide, you’re going to love the pictures I capture for you.

As always, let me know if you have an questions! We’ll be in touch!

Do I Need to Bring a Prop to My Senior Session? The Pros

Posted in Your Session

“Do I need to bring a prop to my senior session?” You may have been wondering about this for your own session. And it’s a valid question since many seniors love to bring things to their photo shoots that represent their hobbies and interests. In this post, we’ll take a look at the pros to bringing props with you for your session.

A Senior girl holds onto sheet music beneath her eyes as her prop for her session | Senior Photographers in Midland, MI

Prop Pros #1

One pro of bringing props to your senior session is that it gives your hands something to do. When a person has something for their hands to do or hold, it helps them feel more comfortable and less tense. This helps them look at ease in their pictures. They’re bound to love them more if they look comfortable.

A girl holds her pair of running shoes in her hands as her props as she looks over her shoulder | Michigan Senior Photographer

#2

Another pro is that the senior will get professional quality pictures with things that mattered to them. A beloved instrument, a pair of running shoes, a soccer ball. Time stops still, and the focus is on the senior’s passions and interests. I love how Nicole brought her running shoes to her session. Just throwing them over her shoulder like this tells the viewer she’s into running. And how fun will it be in 20 years from now when these shoes look dated??

A senior guy plays his harp out in a golden field in Midland, Michigan | Photographer

#3

And I can’t pass up posting one of my favorites ever with a senior and his prop. We went to Dow Gardens for the first half of his session. We ended up at the Chippewa Nature Center where he wanted pictures with his harp. As soon as I had him start playing it, it was like he was somewhere else and had left us behind. A pro here then, is that props can feel like such a part of who you’ve become. It’s like having a dear friend with you in your picture. I played the flute from 6th grade through college. I remember one year in college I dropped it off to be cleaned, and I couldn’t believe how much I missed it! It was awful waiting those two weeks until I had it again.

A teenage guy holds his trombone across his shoulders in front of football stands | Senior Photographers in Midland, Michigan

#4

For the last pro on this blog post, bringing props to your session can help add to the atmosphere depending on the location we’re at. Grant wanted pictures with his trombone at his high school. We took so many here near the football field and on the stands, and I really think having him pose with his trombone helped pull the scene together. Below, Nicole looks so stunning in the fields of flowers. Adding in her viola makes the scene even more picturesque.

A teenage girl holds her viola as a prop in a field of flowers for her photo shoot | Senior Photographer in Midland, MI

While there are many pros to bringing a prop, there are also cons. Next time I blog, I’ll share some of those with you. We’ll be in touch!

 

Why I Love My Job

Posted in Personal, Your Session

Last week, I introduced myself a bit here on my blog. I told you the next time I post, I would tell you why I love my job so much.

Ever since 2012, I knew that eventually I would like to try my hand out in a photography business, but it would likely be a family photographer. Most of the shoots I did for friends and for practice were of families, and as a family photographer, you actually get repeat clients year after year! The problem is, I didn’t love those shoots. I didn’t feel like they weren’t my best work. And after every family session, I came home exhausted.

On the other hand, I did not always think I was cut out for being a photographer to high school seniors. My first few attempts were a little rough, and posing was a bit of a nightmare for me. But here’s the thing: I LOVE being around teens. In fact, in my church while we were living in Iowa, I was in the youth organization. I loved working with the teens in my congregation! And what do ya know, a couple years after living here in Michigan, I was called to be with the 12-18 year-old girls in my congregation here.

My husband tells me often that I have a way with the teens. I think it’s because sometimes I still feel like one! Ha! I mean, I’m more responsible and more mature and hopefully a bit wiser, but I feel youthful. I feel a connection with them. And I love them so much.

Senior girl leaning against a wooden staircase outside at City Forest | Why I Love My Job of being a senior photographer in Midland, Michigan

It had been a couple years since I had last done a senior session when I was in Iowa, when someone from my church asked me to take her senior pictures here in Midland. I couldn’t say ‘no’ to her! After that, I did a few more. And then I fell in love. Posing doesn’t challenge me like it did before. In fact, I would say it’s my strong-suit. Being able to only have one person to pose who actually wants to be there is amazing!

A high school girl poses outside in the fall leaves under a tree at the Chippewa Nature Center | Senior Photographer in Midland, Michigan

Why I Love My Job

Connecting with the teens here in Midland has been such a highlight for me in my job. I love getting to know their hobbies, strengths, and dreams. That’s really why I love my job – the pictures I get to capture for these incredibly passionate, fun and determined teens is simply the best.

A Senior guy smiles at the camera outside for a head shot for his senior pictures | Photographer in Michigan

Spending time with them before their shoot, during and after all adds to developing this personal relationship with them and their parents. And being able to give them their beautiful products as a trusted friend afterwards is a reward in and of itself.

The reason why I love my job is because it’s so much more than that to me. It’s building trusting relationships with people I value time and time again. What could be better for a job than that?

Senior girl looking over her shoulder for her session with Eve Tuft Photography | Photographer in Tri-Cities area

Get to Know Me

Posted in Personal

I think it’s about time you had the chance to get to know me. So, I’ll start by introducing myself. Hi! My name is Eve. Yes, I love my name even though I have heard many, MANY Adam and Eve jokes throughout my life. Today I’ll focus more on some fun things about me. Next time I blog, I’ll get into the senior photographer business side.

Senior Photographer Eve Tuft looks off to side in a pocket of light | Midland, Michigan

To keep your attention, I’ll get past the boring stuff fast. I was born and raised in southern Utah, just a couple hours north east of Vegas. I am the youngest of eight. My husband and I met in northern Utah, and we got married four and a half months after our very first date. A year later, we moved to Iowa, and we loved our time there so much. We spent five happy years in the land of corn while my husband got his PhD and I made a few babies. After he graduated, we moved to Michigan at the end of the summer in 2014 and love it here as well. We have five kids, but only four of them are with us. Our first was stillborn while we were still living in Utah.

OK, now on to the fun and random stuff! To make things interesting, I asked the people who know me best how they would describe me in five words. Not such a bad way to get to know me, right?

Get to know me…

Through others

From my mom: Sensitive, determined, loving, fun and artistic

My dad: Sweet, spiritual, sassy, powerful and focused

The husband: Warm, silly, sincere, loyal and selfless

From one of my best friends for the past 23 years: Endurance, compassion, spiritually in-tune, prioritized and humble

As a side note, I opted to not ask any of siblings. They have WAY too much dirt on me. 😉

Through myself

I would describe myself as loving and compassionate, goofy and silly, organized and detailed, sincere and warm. I am determined, sensitive and kind. Don’t worry, I definitely have my faults, but I don’t like to focus on those. Especially not on a public blog. 😉

Get to know me through pictures

Since I am a photographer, I thought it would be fun to share things about me through pictures.

I spend most of my time with my husband and kids. We go on frequent walks, bike rides, and visits to the lake. We paint the fence together, read scriptures daily together, and soak up our time developing our relationships in our little family unit.

Get to know me, Eve Tuft, through pictures of me and my kids at Sanford Lake in the summer in Michigan

A family of six dress up in astronaut suits together at the Midland Center for the Arts in Midland

Perhaps my favorite thing to do with my children is read to them. We read on most days, usually for over a half hour. It’s often my favorite part of the day at home with my littlest kids.

A mother reads books to her two young children on a couch | Midland, Michigan senior photographer

Though I am a professional senior portrait photographer, I am a stay-at-home mother first. I am grateful my husband has been so supportive of my choice to be at home with these sweet children.

A mother cuddles with her four children on her bed | Senior Photographer in Midland, Michigan

Speaking of my husband, he is amazing. If I could describe him in five words, they would be loyal, diligent, kind, brilliant and self-sacrificing. My heart still skips a beat every time I see him after he comes home from work. He has been my biggest supporter on my photography journey, and I am grateful for his unending love.

A woman and her husband pose in the living room wearing nice clothes | Senior Photographer in Midland, MI

The last thing that I’d like to share about myself is that I LOVE nature and this beautiful world God has made for us to enjoy. If you follow my Instagram account, you’ll see me post some of my nature shots there. Senior photography is an amazing forte for me and my personality, but nature and macro photography also have a big portion of my heart.

A collage of flowers from Eve Tuft's Instagram account | Senior Photographer in Michigan

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me better! Next time I blog, I’ll share more about me when it comes to this business I’ve created, and I’ll talk about why I love what I do so much. See you then!

 

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LET'S MAKE MAGIC

Eve Tuft is a Senior Portrait Photographer based in Midland, Michigan and surrounding areas. 

Questions? Send me an email, or go ahead and book your session!