Why You Should Get Professional Makeup for Your Senior Session

March 20, 2019

Should you get professional makeup done for your senior session? What a great question! If you want the short answer, it’s that I highly recommend it. Here is the long answer:

I think that women are naturally beautiful. I don’t think we need makeup ever. In fact, sometimes I wish makeup was never invented. Haha. It would sure save me money every year. 😉 However, I do think we as women see ourselves as being more beautiful with makeup on. I know I do. I feel prettier. And I certainly feel more confident. When my husband and I go on a special date, I do my makeup a special way to help me feel more romantic. So, if makeup can make me feel all these things, I’m sure it makes other women feel the same. Am I right?

Now, let’s say you just booked your senior session with me. Hooray! You may be wondering what you can do to prepare for your session and what you need to bring. As soon as you book with me I send out a client welcome guide. It has all the information you need to know. One of the things I talk about in there is getting professional makeup done for your shoot. I recommend you do this for a few reasons.

Reason #1

The first reason is because of the way you’ll FEEL. If I’m wearing my best outfit and my hair is super cute and my makeup is done, I FEEL confident. I don’t shy away from the camera. Therefore, the same goes for you! You’ve just booked your senior session, and I want you to feel amazing. If you get professional makeup done, your confidence will come across in your senior pictures.

Senior girl standing outside with a barn in the background | Midland, Michigan photographer for seniors and high school teenagers

Reason #2

The second reason is because sometimes our faces tend to be shiny in pictures without makeup on. Mine gets that way, and I don’t super love it. As your senior photographer, I want you to LOVE your pictures. In fact, that’s my job! To take pictures that you love! However, I can’t magically (or photoshop-ly) take that shine away. But professional makeup can.

Senior girl lying down in a pile of leaves while laughing and holding a stuffed toy | Saginaw Michigan Photographer

Reason #3

The last reason is an important one. Let’s talk about acne and under-eye circles. You probably have the first, and maybe not so much the second. I can take both away in Photoshop. But! It takes more time to go through every single picture and zit and remove them all. I want you to get your senior pictures back ASAP! It will take longer if there is more editing to do. Plain and simple.

Freelensed portrait of a senior girl in a formal dress | Bay City Photographer

Take a look at the gorgeous Saige. I had a photo shoot with her last September, and it was AMAZING. She got professional makeup done here in Midland by Cathy. Cathy does beautiful work, focusing on covering up blemishes as well as making those eyes pop. What I love about her work is that she keeps it natural and doesn’t do anything outrageous. Saige is beautiful without makeup. Saige is beautiful and FEELS beautiful and confident WITH makeup. She also got her pictures back quickly since I had very little to edit. Bonus!

Professional Makeup before and after of a high school girl | Senior Photographer in Midland, Michigan

In conclusion, yes, I recommend you get you makeup done by a professional. I don’t think my seniors could ever regret it.

Why Am I a Senior Photographer?

March 13, 2019

Since going into business, people have asked me why I chose to become solely a senior photographer. Of all the things I could have chosen, why did I choose that one? I’ll tell you.

When I first got my “big girl” camera at the end of 2010, I thought I was a rock star. I began taking pictures for everyone and for everything! In 2013, I started charging people money. Do you want to know how much I charged for a photography session? $25. $25!!! Haha! Even though I didn’t make much money, I learned more than I could have imagined in a small time. I learned more about light. And oh, how I came to love looking for light everywhere I shot. I also learned how to pace myself and pose people easily. It also began to feel more natural to me.

My First Senior Sessions – Did I Like Being a Senior Photographer?

And then came my first senior session. It was a change of pace for me, and I wasn’t used to it at all. I found it hard to pose one person instead of a bunch in a family. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. So, I determined to not do seniors again. Maybe I would do families. Here are a few pictures from a few of my first senior sessions ever.

They’re not bad, right? 😉 But I’ve grown a lot over the past few years, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve also purchased a nicer camera. I’ll be the first to tell you that I’ve taught it everything it knows. 😉

2017 Seniors

A year and a half ago I was asked by a few members of my congregation at church to take their senior pictures. I was scared! I didn’t consider myself a senior photographer. I didn’t love the other ones I did. But I decided to do it anyway and see how it went. And you want to know what? I LOVED it. I loved being a senior photographer. In the other sessions I did that fall, I felt rushed. My best work was so much harder to do with families. But I felt like I could take my time with my seniors. And I found that posing them came so much easier to me than it did before. In fact, I feel like posing seniors has become a strength of mine. Imagine that! Here are a few pictures from the senior pictures I did back in 2017.

It looks like I still have a thing for brick walls.

2018 Seniors

In early 2018 I felt like I should start a photography business. It took me by surprise since I wasn’t planning on doing so for at least a few more years. And guess what I wanted to be? You got it! A senior photographer. Those sessions the previous fall had fixed me for good. I knew I never wanted to do anything else. Here is some of my work from last year.

Do you want to know what I love about being a senior photographer? Everything. Haha. But, to make a list for you, I think teens are awesome. I love getting to spend the evening with them for their shoot! They are talented, gifted, unique, determined, and blossoming into the person they’ll be for the rest of their lives. What’s more, they’re easy to pose! They want their pictures taken! And they’ve been looking forward to their senior pictures for years. I love their excitement and willingness to try new things. I can’t believe I ever had a hard time posing them.

My Strengths As a Senior Photographer

Some of my strengths as a senior photographer are that I am great at telling people what to do. Just ask my kids. Haha. As soon as you show up at your session, I take the lead. I tell you how to pose, where to stand, what to do, and you don’t have to worry about a thing! I am also friendly and encouraging. You might feel nervous for your session. That’s totally normal! But I’ll be there to help you feel comfortable. And I’ll engage with you the whole time we’re shooting. I’m fun, I take charge, and I get you to relax and be you. I’m also very efficient and organized, so the business side of your session is also easy and timely.

I’m so excited to see where my journey as a senior photographer will take me. I’m excited to meet my clients this year. Come and join me! I look forward to your session.

Instagram Giveaway

March 7, 2019

Did you all hear I’m doing an Instagram giveaway?? Because I am, and you definitely don’t want to miss it. What are you giving away? I thought you’d never ask! 😉 I’m giving away a complimentary photo shoot to one lucky winner. And that’s not all. It will also be with her best friend! Eek! I’m seriously so excited to find out who the winner and friend will be. But wait, there’s more! (I feel like I’m a T.V. salesperson here…) I’m teaming up with my favorite make-up artist, Cathy, and she’s going to be doing the girl’s hair and make-up for their shoot. Amazing, right??? What’s not to love?

I first had the idea to do an Instagram giveaway a week or so ago. I really want to get my name out there, and I want to be able to “meet” the local teens and get to know them better. From the teenagers I’ve already been able to photograph, I’d have to say that this community in which we live is super blessed. The teens here are amazing. They inspire me, and I think they’re so full of life and direction. They know what they want! And I love that about them. As I’ve done this giveaway, I’ve been blown out of the water by their love of their friends.

For example, on one of the days of the challenge I had them tag their friends and tell them what gifts and talents they saw in them. I had so many people genuinely compliment each other. As I read through them, I could tell that so many people’s days were brightened because of it. However, tomorrow they will need to find something good about themselves. That will be harder, I think.

Join the challenge! If you do, your name will be put in the running to win this amazing deal. I’ll see you on over at Instagram!

My CRM of Choice – Dubsado

February 27, 2019

CRM stands for Client Relationship Management. Last year when I went into business, I set out to find one that I could use to help my clients feel like their communication with me was seamless. Well, I found it. Enter Dubsado.

Dubsado has so many features, so it’s hard for me to only mention my favorites. I think what I love best about them is how easy it will be for my clients to be guided through the process of having me take their senior pictures. From initial inquiry to scheduling to viewing my client welcome guide to ordering their package of choice, and everything in between, Dubsado does it. This CRM is seriously a game-changer.

Another thing I love about this CRM system is how easy it is customize everything to look like my brand. So, when my client logs on to view their questionnaire or do virtually anything else, it looks like my branding. It looks like an extension of my site. They won’t see it as another interface they have to use to do one task. They’ll see it as a part of me. And their experience will be easy and effortless for them. How cool is that?

I hear so many photographers who use multiple platforms to do different tasks. But I really feel like Dubsado does most everything I need for my business. I don’t need three or four different CRM sites.

Seniors! Parents of seniors! As you book your photography session with me, I guarantee that you’ll love the process from beginning to end. And we have Dubsado to thank for that.

Before and After: My Edits

February 20, 2019

Before and after pictures by other photographers have always intrigued me. Photoshop and Lightroom can really do some amazing things, and I never cease to be amazed by the creativity of artists. So today, I thought I’d show you a few of mine from my senior shoots and explain a little about how I edit.

After I take your senior pictures, I copy them from my memory card onto my desktop. I then go through the couple hundred of them I took and lower it down to my favorites. This is called culling. I will normally have about 70 left over from my first run. I’ll admit, lowering them down is one of my weaknesses! Then I pull them all into Adobe Camera Raw (known as ACR). I do make basic edits in there like adding in contrast, getting the white balance just right, and reducing any noise. I’ll usually cut some more out during this process so I’m much closer to my final number of pictures. Then, I take them into Photoshop for the final touches.

Photoshop

I love Photoshop. Love it! I’ve never worked with Lightroom, though I do know many photographers who adore them. But I can’t see myself ever switching from Photoshop. Although I’ve worked in Photoshop for many years and am very comfortable editing my pictures with that software, I know I’ve barely even scratched the surface. It really is amazing.

In Photoshop, I first remove any acne, and then I will work on the face. Common touches I will make include lightening up under-eye circles, whitening teeth (just a touch!), and accentuating the eyes. In all my edits, I only desire to make you shine through. I will NEVER over-process you or make you look like you have plastic skin or freaky eyes. I keep my edits simple to add that extra touch. I’ll often deepen colors and contrast in Photoshop as well, and sometimes add in a little bit of light in the background. Then I sharpen it and voila! That’s it! Sometimes I’ll need to remove objects from the background, but this is my usual editing process.

On average, I spend about 5 minutes on each picture. If there is more acne, then it will take longer. This is why it’s always been so important for me to get the picture right as best I can in camera! It cuts down on the time I spend editing. I wish I had some RAW files to show you so you could see the complete before and after pictures. I rarely ever save them though once the pictures have been fully edited. So here are a few before and after pictures where the before is edited I ACR, and the after is the final image. Enjoy!

Before and After of Emma

Emma’s edit is subtle. I took our blemishes and brightened up her eyes. I also added contrast and some light in at the top of the frame. Here is the before:

And here is the after: Her eyes are now the focus!

Before and After of Anna

Here Anna has some red in one of her eyes, and the white balance for the background is very cool. I take care of those things and also remove her leg from the scene.

Here is the after: The transformations are subtle but very powerful.

Before and After of Grant

Grant’s eyes are a little dark here, and there is some acne I need to remove. He also has some red in his cheeks. I definitely don’t want to take that all the way away, but I do tone it down a little. Here is the before:

And here is the after. His acne is gone, his eyes are nice and bright, and his cheeks aren’t so red.

Before and After of Abby

There isn’t a lot I need to do with this. General acne removal, brightening of the eyes, and getting rid of some of the chipped away parts of the door frame. Here’s the before:

And here is the after:

Before and After of Grace

The trickiest part of editing this senior is her freckles. I want to keep her freckles but get rid of her acne. Oh, and I always love to make eyes shine in pictures! Here is the before: