How to Make Senior Photos Stand Out
Lesson 2 from: Editorial Portrait Photography for High School SeniorsDan Brouillette
How to Make Senior Photos Stand Out
Lesson 2 from: Editorial Portrait Photography for High School SeniorsDan Brouillette
Lessons
Class Introduction
15:18 2How to Make Senior Photos Stand Out
05:48 3What is Lighting in Layers?
16:49 4Build a Lighting Foundation
18:28 5Layer One: Main Light
06:17 6Layer Two: Fill Light
08:29 7Layer Three: Accent Light
04:29 8Layer Four: Additional Light
11:46Outdoor Lighting Examples
15:56 10Outdoor Lighting Equipment
03:34 11Outdoor Lighting Camera Settings
09:31 12Outdoor Camera Settings Examples
14:32 13Outdoor Lighting Q&A
12:44 14Live Shoot: In-Studio Lighting
20:52 15Live Shoot: Metering
04:17 16Live Shoot: Large Soft Light Setups
12:13 17Live Shoot: On Camera Flash
14:07 18Live Shoot: 2 Light Set-up
16:29 19Live Shoot: Accent Light
05:06 20Live Shoot: Hard Light
11:30 21Live Shoot: Create White Backdrop
08:32 22Introduction to Direction
28:42 23Live Shoot: Photo Booth Direction
11:13 24Live Shoot: Basics of Direction
19:34 25Live Shoot: Beauty Dish Close Up
08:22 26Live Shoot: Subtle Cues through Direction
19:33 27Location Shoot: Senior Introduction to Shoot
11:33 28Location Shoot: Use Location to Your Advantage
29:43 29Location Shoot: Create Scenarios
19:50 30Location Shoot: The Walk Plus Variations
10:50 31Location Shoot: Outdoor Lighting
15:18 32Pre-Session Consultation
12:35 33Prep Clients for Purchase
06:47 34Get to Know the Client before Session
08:04 35Decide Clothing Options Prior to Session
13:14 36Client Interaction
09:14 37Pre Session Consult Q&A
12:35 38Image Workflow Overview
15:41 39RAW Editing Workflow
27:29 40Basic Photoshop Editing
13:58 41AlienSkin Exposure Color Toning
26:27 42Marketing to Seniors Overview
05:18 43Marketing to Seniors
16:24 44Alternative Income in Any Market
03:57 45High School Posters as Marketing
10:38 46Seeing Moments Differently
17:27Lesson Info
How to Make Senior Photos Stand Out
All right, so one of the things that I would like to stress when talking about senior photos is doing things differently. The idea that senior portraits need to be traditional or a certain way... Again, that didn't appeal to me and it still doesn't. I had senior photos takes way back in... I guess it would have been 2001, my junior year, I remember... I don't really remember a whole lot about it, because as a senior guy, I wasn't that pumped to get my senior photos taken. It was almost probably the day before where my mom told me, "Oh, you have senior pictures tomorrow, we better go to the mall and get you some clothes," and I thought... And haircut, that fresh haircut look, that's always great. And I really couldn't care less about it when I did it. I remember the photographer had a medium format film camera so that puts a date to is. And, you know, I remember seeing the studio being that traditional look of the large framed wall portraits, head and shoulders type shots and all that t...
ype of thing, and that is what you see still to this day when you walk in a lot of senior studios around the country. So that just didn't appeal to me. So seniors look at the same things we do. They look at magazines. Even more so, they look at social media constantly, and they want what they see, but so many photographers don't give them that because of this traditional approach to senior photography. And again, that's where... I'm inspired by the things that they look at because that's what I like, too and those are the images I want to create. So the things that make up that and bring it to a different light that normal with senior photography is the lighting. You know, using different lighting, not just the traditional. The direction, so not so much of the still and stagnant posing and making sure every angle is perfect and all that. I use direction, almost giving people cues and having them pretend that they're in a scenario where they're not so much focused on the fact that the camera is pointed right at them, because again, most of these seniors, 99% of them aren't models. They're not used to having... Well, they might be a little bit used to having a cellphone camera pointed at them, but they're not used to being in front of a guy with a camera, so I want to let them forget that so I can capture authentic looks that are genuine and actually show their personality, and we'll get into how I direct them and bring all that stuff out later. And the last part is shooting style. I shoot a lot because when you're having people do a lot of actions and movement and all that sort of stuff, I see a lot of photographers who don't take a lot of photos and I remember back when I did get my photos taken, you know, when you're shooting with 220 medium format film, it's like oh, you get a couple of roles and every photo has to be perfect. Well, we're in the age of 128 gigabyte memory cards and digital and fast computers and everything else, so there's no reason not to do that, and that's kind of where I go with the way I shoot. On a senior shoot now, most of my sessions are about two to two and a half hours, and it is not rare for me to take between 800 and 1,000 images per a session, and some people cringe at that thought, but the reality is I can call through those images and capture one and I'm looking for one specific look that looks like you caught a moment. And it doesn't take long, especially the more you practice and try it, you can see it. Because you see a real look on someone's face. When everything comes together, it's flattering, it caught a real moment and the composition and technical parts of the photo all come together, you know it, so... And then again, this results in the look not typically found in senior photography and that's what brings you more clients who want that. And we're going to get into when we talk about marketing how to start and bring that look to you, especially if you're new, or you're just trying to restart or do something... Refresh, I guess, would be the word and do something that you haven't done before. And again, like I said, don't be afraid to push the shutter. So... Some people look through the session and they think, "Oh my gosh, you've shot 200 images of that one thing and if it's walking and someone spinning around and doing all the stuff, yeah, sometimes you've got to do things a few times to catch that one moment, but when you get it, you know it and it's worth it. Here's a few samples of some of the senior stuff I shoot. Some of these are from other workshops, a lot of them are client work. Just the point is to show that these are more editorial looks with the lighting, the posing, the direction and everything else that is more inspired by what I see in magazines and less inspired by what I would see in a traditional senior portrait studio. And a lot of times, I like to tell that story within one image, so you make people... I want people to look at an image and wonder kind of what's the story behind this? What's going on? It evokes either emotion from the viewer or from the person within the photo, and there's just a little more to it than a pretty picture. And that goes with my editorial work, too, so it's kind of bringing it full circle. Here's a few more images of different seniors and clients. You can see, there's a lot of times not a lot of eye contact because I'm putting people in these scenarios where they're doing things and thinking about other things, and I'm just kind of like a fly on the wall, capturing their emotion and their actions to get something that's natural. And we'll definitely get into the psychology and approach of getting that. And again, here's some more... some more of those images. Like the bottom left one being a little more lighting and compositional heavy, whereas some of the other ones are catching a moment with using different lenses and things like that, too and we'll talk about all that.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
pete hopkins
awesome teacher and awesome technique. after soooo many webinars, it's really great to see someone break it down to the bare bones of lighting with exceptional quality results. i can listen to Dan all day. no pretense, no over the top emotional pleas, no drama! did i say awesome!!!! Plus, I'm a huge fan of the B! and B2 systems. Freedom is key. Now I can shoot anywhere, anytime. Thanks Dan.
user-2f7caa
This is by far the best class on senior photography I have found on creativelive. Dan explains the technical aspects in an easy to understand format. He does a great job going through studio shots, outdoor shots, editing and marketing. He's given me some great ideas and inspired me to be more creative. I am going to rewatch the lighting set up for the "hero shot". It's super cool!
Tristanne Endrina
Dan was great. His class was very comprehensive but easy to follow. The slides he used weren't flashy. Instead, they were simple and he went at a good pace. I left feeling like I could really pull off the lighting techniques he taught. I'm excited to put what I learned into my photography. :) Thanks, Dan.
Student Work
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