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Creating a Senior Portrait

Step #1. Choices – Preparing for Your Portrait
There’s literally no end to the possibilities for your portrait. Considering all the choices is part of the fun. You may prefer to be portrayed in the classic simplicity of a studio setting, relaxing at home, enjoying your favorite outdoor activity, or all of the above. Maybe you like the elegance of being formally dressed, or you might feel that jeans and a sweater would bring out the real you.

Guidelines: Make sure your hair is the way you like it. For guys, this usually means getting your hair cut about a week before your session. Girls, stay with the style you’re familiar with - don’t experiment with a new hairstyle on the day of your portrait session. For your clothing, simplicity is the key.

You may want to wear something that’s just you – for the fun of it. For that outfit, just pick and choose, from the following guidelines, the ones that make sense to you – or ignore them all! These guidelines are especially important for a classic portrait look: We want your face to be the focal point of the portrait, so solid colors are best. Avoid large or bold patterns and bright colors – they draw attention away from your face. Save patterns for accent items like neckties and jewelry. We recommend long sleeves for your more formal outfits; visually, short sleeves act like big distracting stripes. Coordinate your attire from head to toe since we may take some full-length poses. Darker clothing tends to minimize body size; light tones tend to emphasize body size. White or light clothing generally looks best against a white or light background. Clothing that is neither very dark nor very light (middle tones) usually works best. Light skirts or trousers, such as khaki slacks, can be the brightest thing in the photograph and draw attention away from your face. Keeping slacks or skirts darker than the tops is usually a good idea.

Most important of all, choose clothing you like! If you obey all the rules but wear something you dislike, you won’t like the portrait. To ensure a successful portrait, you are welcome to bring several clothing options from which to choose.

Step #2. The Sitting
It’s fun! All you need to do is relax and be yourself – that’s what your portrait is all about. Our job is to create the posing and lighting, to put you at your ease, and to make the exposure at the perfect moment. With most of our senior sittings, you are welcome to bring clothing changes and a pet or any special props (such as musical instruments or sports gear) that may be meaningful to you – call us for details. We will take enough pictures to offer you a great variety of poses and expressions.

Step #3. The Viewing
Your portrait choices may be ready to view in the studio as soon as an hour after your session (depending on our scheduling on the day of your appointment) or at a later time convenient to you. You will be able to see the range of expressions and poses we created. You can even see how your favorite poses look in different wall portrait sizes. These previews are still only rough drafts, though. Your finished portraits will be fully retouched and beautifully printed.

Step #4. Printing and Finishing
We retouch all of our portraits here in the studio. Custom supervision of the printing brings out the most natural and pleasing colors and tones in your portrait. With our professional retouching and finishing, all the little shadows and wrinkles around eyes and mouth and the special little blemishes that sometimes appear on picture day, will be smoothed and blended in a way that leaves your face looking natural and fresh.

Getting All Your Pictures on Disk: We create so many great choices in a portrait sitting that it’s often hard to choose! With our Pictures–On-Disk option, you don’t have to. You can take home ALL the portraits we show you. These don’t include all the retouching that goes into our finished portraits, but this is a great way to keep and enjoy all the variety of expressions and poses you love.

Step #5. Mounting on Canvas or Artboard
Mounting your portrait on canvas, coated with lacquer and stretched on a stretcher-frame like an oil painting, is a classic portrait presentation. We also offer mounting on artboard, for a smoother finish.

Step #6. Picking up Your Finished Portraits, and Framing
This is the nicest step of all. You will be delighted with your finished portraits. We guarantee it. For your wall portraits, we can also help you select the perfect frame for display in your home.

We welcome your inquiries and comments.
Call us at 425.454.7676 for further information or to schedule
an appointment.

Serving Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, and Tacoma from our offices in Bellevue, WA.