Senior Portraits: Best Times & Location

Senior season is here! Chances are you’ve started to think about senior photos but don’t know where to begin when it comes to booking your session. This article will provide you with tips for senior portraits from our photographers at IN-FOCUS to ensure that you have the best senior portrait experience!

At IN-FOCUS it is our mission to provide personalized senior portrait sessions that represent who you are, your hobbies, interests, and talents! We like to pair your personality to a location that best represents you, complements your features, and where you feel comfortable. We have plenty of sessions to choose from, and we love to collaborate with our clients’ ideas to make it an unforgettable senior portrait experience.

As you think about your ideal senior portrait location, it’s important to keep in mind the time of day your session should occur. Most people think a bright and sunny day is perfect for an outdoor photoshoot but that is not the case! When the sun is so high in the sky and there is no cloud coverage, a bright sun causes deep shadows under noses, chins, and eye sockets. The high sun also causes you to squint your eyes, not making it ideal to have great expressions. Continue reading to find out the best times to schedule your ideal senior portrait session!

Beach Session

Our beach sessions take place along the shores of Lake Michigan with the city skyline on the horizon. The ideal time to schedule a beach session is 6 pm or later. As the sunsets, it produces even lighting with the beautiful color hues on the horizon. Scheduling a session later in the evening allows photographers to capture their subject in the most ideal lighting scenario.

Cityscapes Session

The cityscapes session is one of our most popular senior sessions! We take our seniors into the city where we photograph them on the streets of Milwaukee, against cream city brick buildings, and in the alleyways of urban architecture. We recommend scheduling your cityscapes session at 3 pm or later. At this time, the sun is lower in the sky but still strong enough that we can head in between buildings and back out into open lighting without hiding from the sun!

Waterfall Session

We love waterfall sessions and so do our seniors! For this session, we take our seniors to a local waterfall. We begin the session by photographing our senior in nature’s foliage surrounding the waterfall, then we actually have our seniors get in the waterfall. Some seniors are brave enough to be photographed under the waterfall! It makes for an awesome backdrop and a super unique portrait experience. For this session, we recommend scheduling at 4:30 pm or later. When the sun is lower in the sky it casts a nice even light perfect for the waterfall!

Outdoor Session

If you are just a fan of being outdoors but don’t have a specific place in mind, we recommend scheduling your session at 6 pm or later. The sun is lower in the sky but still bright enough to provide enough light for photographing in various locations.

Studio Sessions

The best thing about studio sessions at IN-FOCUS is that you can schedule them anytime! We have professional lighting ideal for photographing portraits in the studio. Our studio also features beautiful hardwood flooring, a range of backdrops, and your welcome to bring your own props to personalize your session. You can schedule your session as early as 10:30 am or as late as 6 pm.

Discovered the session perfect for you?

Let’s get in touch! We would love to hear about your perfect senior session. This summer, IN-FOCUS is honoring our seniors by offering complimentary sessions. Your session fee turns into credit for your portrait order. We stand with our seniors!

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