Candy Shoppe Senior by Adrienne Zwart PhotographyIt occurred to me just a few days ago that my daughter belongs to the Class of 2015.  The same class that I am now booking for senior portrait sessions this summer.  Oh. my. goodness! And as impossible as that really seems to me (I still picture her in my head as a 4-year-old with long blond ringlets), we need to start thinking about what we want to do for her senior pictures.

I encourage all my senior clients to plan out their outfits and even send me photos of what they’d like to wear for their senior pictures.  It gives me an idea of their personality, and the colors help me decide which backgrounds or locations (if they haven’t already chosen one) would work best.  Sometimes, though, they need a little extra inspiration.  They may only have one or two items that they know they really want to wear.  So I make these wardrobe suggestion palettes and pin them to my Pinterest board to help them get an idea of  how to layer and accessorize.

In my daughter’s case, she loves candy shop colors like aqua, lavender and pink.  She loves a little touch of sparkle, but her style is mainly casual.  So I put together some outfits that remind me of her.  She already has a jean jacket, a white cami, a cute pair of capris with bling-y pockets and khaki shorts, so those are the foundation pieces.  (Oh, and Sperrys.  Can’t forget the Sperrys.)  Then, I just went “shopping” online to find the sandals, dress and other clothing items.  (She just now popped her head into my office and I asked her how I did capturing her style and she loved it!)

Now, you might be wondering “Do I need to have my wardrobe this planned out?  And my answer to that is “It depends on what you are planning to do with the photos.”  If you simply want to have several different portraits done in outfits you just happen to already have and love and then choose the best pose to hang on the wall, it doesn’t really matter if all the outfits coordinate together.

But…

If you are planning to order one of our popular album products or you want to hang several photos together in a collage, then it really does help to make a cohesive story if all the outfits somehow go together.

As always, if you need help planning what to wear for your senior portraits, I am happy to answer your questions and provide suggestions.  I’ve got a style board over on Pinterest where I’ve pinned my own wardrobe suggestions as well as those which some of my friends have made.  If you want to create you own style board, you can do that, too, on Polyvore.com.  (Beware, it’s addicting.)

P.s.

I’ve still got a few spots left for those coveted summer outdoor sessions.  Call and book your senior portrait session today!