Portrait Photography: High School Seniors

Create portraits that will make your clients smile. Learn how to capture, edit, and share professional photographs of high school seniors.

Introduction

• Learn how to photograph high school seniors
• Understanding the art and business of portraiture

1. The Basic Guidelines and Business of Portraiture

• Understanding the general guidelines for senior portraits
• Explore the light in various shoot locations
• Understanding the business of senior portraits
• Pricing for portrait shoots
• Set up a portable studio

2. Studio Space and Posing Options

• Understanding the minimum space requirements for a studio shoot
• Work with portable stands and backdrops
• Pose and photograph female subjects
• Discussing the interior shoot expectations with a student
• Pose and photograph a male subject
• Work with continuous lights vs. strobes

3. Working with Family Members and Shooting Outside

• Review the gear for the outdoor portrait shoot
• Review additional accessories for the outdoor portrait shoot
• Work with family members during a portrait shoot
• Discuss the expectations for the yearbook portrait
• Shoot a portrait, starting with natural light
• Take advantage of the golden hour for outdoor portraits

4. Using Mirrorless and Smartphones for Portraits

• Are mirrorless and smartphones good enough?
• Mirrorless lenses for the portrait photographers
• Built-in camera effects for portraiture
• Using smartphone portrait modes
• RAW vs. JPG for mobile devices

5. Sort and Organize the Photo Shoot

• Using the two-pass rating system with Lightroom
• Create a Lightroom collection for your selects
• Sort images with Capture One Pro
• Create a Capture One project for your selects
• Using keywords and filters for sorting in Photos
• Create a Photos album for your selects
• Inspect your images for sharpness

6. Edit and Enhance Your Selects

• Basic enhancements using Lightroom
• Using Lightroom for touch-ups
• Copy and paste adjustments in Lightroom
• Basic enhancements using Capture One Pro
• Using the Color Editor in Capture One for skin
• Remove blemishes with spot, heal, and clone
• Improve bags under the eyes in Capture One
• Advanced portrait techniques with Capture One
• Basic image enhancements using Photos
• Using Luminar and Photos together for portraits

7. Deliver the Images

• Export images out of Lightroom
• Export images out of Capture One Pro
• Export images out of Photos for macOS
• Deliver images to clients online
• Should I watermark my proofs?

Conclusion

• Next steps