Senior Portrait Tips, Tricks, and What to Expect

Hi! I’m Ashley Nichole, owner of Ash Nicole Photos, serving the Charlotte, North Carolina area. I specialize in senior pictures, portraits, yearbook pictures and professional headshots, as well as family photography and portraits. Here are some of my favorite tips and tricks for your best possible photos. 

It’s a good idea to plan the photoshoot ahead of time. Different locations provide different backgrounds, and can be chosen based upon the client’s preference. The best times of day to shoot photographs are sunrise and sunset. Locations can be chosen so the lighting and backgrounds are perfect for the best possible senior portraits and senior yearbook pictures.

I always shoot in manual mode.  In automatic mode, the camera makes the decisions about shutter speed, aperture, and the light-sensitivity setting. It then puts an edit on top of the image and creates the JPG compressed image most photographers are very familiar with.  The problem with automatic mode arises when the photographer is working under challenging conditions, or is trying to do something specific, like low light shooting. When shooting manually, you can expose the area you want highlighted, and leave the rest dark or bring it out later in editing. Manual mode retains creative control, allowing the photographer to decide how the scene should look. 

It is most important to make sure your subject’s face is illuminated in professional headshots, senior portraits and senior yearbook photos. How the subject is positioned in relation to the key light makes a huge impact. When only part of the subject’s face is lighted, harsh shadows immediately crop up on the opposite side. With a broad light source, light rays hit the subject from more directions, filling in shadows and giving more even illumination to the scene. The closer the light source, the softer the light. 

Camera angle refers to where you are holding the camera: at, above or below the subject’s eye level. Making good use of angles in senior portrait and senior yearbook photography allows me to capture the most flattering images of my subjects. Having the person I am photographing sit, climb onto something, crouch, or turn their faces makes for a variety of angles for the best possible results. 

I find that giving my subject pose prompts helps them relax, and affords me the opportunity to capture the most candid images. Prompting is the best way to get images filled with movement, genuine emotions, and help my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera. Inducing movement is a terrific icebreaker, particularly for family photography, where silly, energetic poses loosen everybody up, and make for truly unique candid photos. 

I love playing with backgrounds and using props. Props are excellent tools to unlock creativity, help add character and interest to a photo, add context to a scene, interest to the foreground, and to help my subjects relax. Playing with backgrounds allows me to tell a story, focus attention on a particular part of the image, and get completely unique, stunning shots. 

If you’re ready for some amazing senior portraits, yearbook pictures, family portraits or professional headshots in the Charlotte, NC area, I would love to help you achieve the best photos of your life!