Senior Portraits

Senior portrait season kicks off in mid-April. Packages can definitely be pricey (think $350 and up!), but if you have a knack for photography and some solid pro-am equipment, you can offer a less-expensive alternative to all of your classmates. Here’s some information on how to manage a pop-up senior portrait business.

1. Make a portfolio.
Your first (and most important) task is creating a portfolio that showcases the best of your work! Recruit some friends to come over for an afternoon of modeling. You want to get prime examples of all the packages that you’re thinking about offering: senior portraits, prom portraits, graduation day candids, etc. Make sure that all of your models have top-notch hair, make-up, and wardrobe. (Recruit a friend to help if styling isn’t your strongest suit.) Make sure that you edit the portraits in Photoshop afterwards, so that your friends are looking their best.

2. Get some testimonials.
Ask any friends that participated in your portfolio shoot to give testimonials — a quick sentence or two about how fun you are to work with! Even better, email copies of the photos to your friends' parents and ask them for a testimonial! (Parents usually trust other parents!) A good example of a testimonial would be:

Thank you so much for the senior portraits! I hate having my photo taken and was really nervous about what the afternoon would be like — but you made the whole thing stress-free. You really captured my personality and made me feel super-comfortable. I’ll definitely be referring all of my friends!
- Abigail (North Forest High School)

I cannot tell you how much we love the photos that you took of Kevin. You were so laid-back, and he ended up having so much fun during the session. We really appreciate how many completely different looks you were able to get (including those sports photos that he really wanted!). Can’t wait for our at-home session next month for our youngest child!
- Louise and Paul (Mill High School Parents)

3. Advertise to juniors and seniors.
Juniors are looking to take their first set of photos; seniors, meanwhile, might be looking to retake photos that didn’t turn out so well the first time. Pass out flyers to all of the junior and senior homerooms in your school. Make sure to feature the best of your portfolio shots on the flyers and, if you can, get them printed in full-color. (You can actually get full-color promotional postcards online for free via Club Flyers. Yes, they have an advertisement on the back of the postcard. But you can’t beat FREE!) Make sure that your prices are listed clearly on the postcards, along with your website. You can start a free website on Wix, so that interested customers can see your entire portfolio and book appointments via email or inquiry form.

Price your packages low, so that parents know they’re getting an extremely reasonable alternative to professional photography studios. We’d recommend checking out what packages in your area are going for and then price competitively. For instance, if the local studio offers a three-look package for $350, offer the same deal for $50-100 depending on your skill level. (If one of your friends is willing to donate hair/make-up services, then you can charge even more!)

4. Not just senior portraits.
Remember: you don’t have to limit yourself to senior portraits. After a Saturday afternoon rehearsal, meet up with any student actors who want their headshots taken in the local park and offer $10-20 packages. Offer prom portrait packages where you meet up with couples before the prom and take posed and candid shots. Talk to your high school’s sports teams and see if they want to get in on the action with team and individual photos. (You can even make team posters with names and numbers/positions for their walls!) You can also distribute flyers to the local elementary schools and offer at-home child photography packages.