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People usually only have three major photo opportunities in their adult lives: Senior Portraits, Wedding Portraits, and their first child “mommy & me” type photos. Of these three major milestones in your life, the Senior Portrait is the only one where you are the only one in the shot. Shouldn’t this photo be as special and unique as you? Don’t you deserve a photographer who will take the time to get to know you, learn what you like, and help capture this in your high-quality portraits?
I work with all my seniors to develop something that is different, exciting, and fun for you. You are the star of this show. If you have something in mind, we’ll make it happen. I will take your ideas and do whatever it takes to make it happen. If you have no idea but want to make something special, we can make it happen!
I have a fully equipped studio setup for formal photos, and we can also move outside for natural setting portraits that will easily make your iPhone jealous! Together, we will get you something that you will be proud of and you will cherish for years to come.
I’ve worked with young men and women for years. On Sundays, I serve as a youth Sunday School teacher in Mills River and I love celebrating the activities of our young people in this community. I am an active member of both the Professional Photographers of America & Professional Photographers of North Carolina and have years of experience in photography. It will be an honor to help you save your memories of this special time in your life!!
So, what is the process for senior portraits?
I am sure you have questions about what a senior session is like with me. I work hard to learn what you want and to prepare for a session that you will love, with prints and albums that you will cherish for years. As you can see below, we will meet at least three different times to capture your senior portraits.
1: Pre-consultation Meeting
The pre-consultation meeting is a very important part of the process. I want to get to know you and what you like: I want to learn about your hobbies. What do you enjoy doing most of all? What is your favorite thing about school? Let’s talk about are your plans after High School. Who are the heroes in your daily life? We’ll meet before your session with your parents and talk about what kind of photos you want to make. And where. The purpose of this brief time together is to get to know you better so when we do work together we can have fun creating something you like!
At this meeting, we’ll talk about wardrobe – both the one you want and the one your mom wants! And then we will decide where in these beautiful mountains to take the photos. Or we can do a studio session if that fits your needs better. We will answer any questions about the process you may have, and we’ll arrange a date and time for your unique session. To lock-in your date, please plan on paying a 50% deposit to hold the date on my calendar.
We will also discuss what type of photo products you want and need. We’ll go over your list of family members and talk about what kind of photos you need for those loved ones, and what you want to hang on your walls. I have samples of different products that you can see, and we’ll go over the prices of each. While I do offer digital options when you purchase prints, I am a print photographer and want to help you create physical artwork that you can see every time you walk into your living room.
So that we can decide what products will work best for you, I prefer to do this meeting in your home, though we can do it at my home studio or at a nearby coffee house if that works best for everyone.
2: Hair & Makeup
3: The Portrait Session
Together, we will plan a no-rushed session that will last about 2 hours (based on our pre-consultation discussions). You can bring as many outfits you want to change into (we’ll talk about tips on how to change your look quickly). We may need to visit a couple of locations to capture exactly what we want, so we’ll plan for your places to be close-by so we spend our time capturing images rather than driving!
We’ll work from a “session-list” that helps us make sure we get the views and images that we discussed in the pre-consultation meeting. If you are looking for large wall art then we will shoot photos with that in mind. If you are looking for a special themed album, then we’ll make sure we capture the right images that will fit that format.
My goal with the session is to help capture the unique person you are and record it in the camera. At the end of the session, you’ll wonder how time went by so fast and you’ll head home excited about the session and ready to see the final photographs!
4: Reveal & Ordering Session
This is the part I have the most fun with. About a week to ten days after our session, we’ll get together again and show you your photographs. You will laugh, cry, giggle, and smile. Working from our discussions of what type of photos you were looking for, we’ll work together to help you select your favorite images of our time together. From these favorite images, we’ll create products that showcase your images the best. I offer albums, wall portraits, social media images, and other prints products. You will want to share these with your friends, family, and even your own children one day!
So what about editing?
I will do a basic edit of the images I share with you. After you choose your favorite images and how you want to present them, I’ll further edit these chosen ones with all the latest tools to make sure you look as good as you remember it.
I believe that teenagers today are beautiful the way they are, and my editing philosophy is to help you look like you would on your best day ever! So, I will remove blemishes, correct lighting issues, and do general editing to make you look your best. I don’t want to change you, just help you look your very best!
More extensive edits do require more time and will involve an extra charge. I also offer extreme digital compositing services that go beyond normal “editing”.
Pricing
People sometimes think that a professional senior portrait session will cost you thousands of dollars. I believe that you deserve high-quality images at a price that fair. I offer a complete line of products, from gift-sized prints to large wall-sized acrylic art, with prices starting around $35. Yes, more complex products and images will cost more than simple prints. However, I make sure that all pricing is fair.
We will go over the pricing at our pre-consultation meeting so that you will know the pricing before we start working together. No surprises. I want this to be stress-free for you, and for you to know what you are getting before the photo session begins. Of course, you may have trouble limiting your choices based on the incredible images we will get together!
The session fee covers our time together with the camera and the work involved to show you the images at your reveal, where you can order your prints and print products.
North Carolina sales tax is applied to all prints and services as required by law.
Social Media & Digital Images
As a part of your session, I will provide you complimentary select social media images so you can share with your friends and family online. They will be watermarked, and I ask that you not print these images. I want to help you create art that you can enjoy without a cell phone. I deeply believe that teens and families should have edited prints of their sessions – these are works of art that deserve to be on your wall, not locked in a phone! Additional digital social prints can be purchased with corresponding print purchases.
While I promote wall art and printed images, I know that we live in a digital world. Some people want digital versions, so I do offer 8×12-sized digital images in higher resolution with only my corner signature mark in select packages. You are free to print or incorporate these images into your own projects as you need.
Even though I offer digital images, remember that I have deep relationships with professional labs. You will find that I can create the best prints and products at a competitive rate. The quality that I can provide to you is much higher than a general big-box store or print at home solution.
Albums
One of the most special things that I offer to my seniors is a custom created photo album, capturing many of the images we took together. During our reveal session we will identify your favorite images, then I will work with this to create a 10-15 page album of our session together. This is a great way to hold onto your images for years to come – imagine curling up with your children showing them what you looked like when you were a senior. The Album will tell your story.
Senior Montages
I also offer special offerings that may interest you. One of my favorite things is to create a montage/collage of you – showing your interests in a large print or canvas. Into sports? We can build photos from your games in with your sports-themed photos. Or perhaps you sing in the choir? Let’s build an image of you singing a solo combined with other concert photos along with some staged images to create something that is uniquely yours!
Let me know if you are interested in something like this and we’ll work with these in mind. These are an add-on, and you will love hanging these large prints on your wall as a reminder of how much fun you have doing what you love!
Cap & Gown Photography Session Included!
I have a highly personalized portrait service, and as a part of this service, I include a graduation mini-session each spring. In the weeks before graduation, I will offer an opportunity to capture high-quality cap & gown photos for Blue Ridge Expressions’ graduation announcements or as another item to hang on your wall with your other senior photographs.
A digital social media version of your favorite shot is included, delivered to you within 24 hours of your session. You will be able to select your favorite image immediately after the photography session and you can choose additional items to purchase if you like at regular prices. This free session is a gift to you for my clients, and is worth over $100!
Also, longer format graduation style photo sessions can also be arranged! So if you have that special place where you want to get your cap & gown photo made, we can make it happen for a small session fee.
Graduation Cards!
I provide graduation card services for all my graduating seniors. I have thousands of fun and current styles to choose from, with multiple paper options. These high-quality cards can include photos we’ve taken together in our formal sessions or at any of the many school activities I photograph throughout the year. You won’t be able to get this type of graduation card experience anywhere else!
Senior Survey
Are you interested in learning more? Let me know more about you by completing our survey below. Also, feel free to call me here in the Mills River, NC area at 828-513-0209. I photograph seniors in Asheville, Hendersonville, and the surrounding areas. You can follow me on Twitter (@BlueRidgePat), Instagram (@BlueRidgePat), and Facebook (@BlueRidgeExpressions).
I absolutely love taking senior portraits, and I look forward to learning more about you. Let’s get together and capture an image of you that you love! Reach out to me if you have any questions:
- Phone/Text: 828-513-0209
- Twitter: @BlueRidgePat
- Instagram: @BlueRidge.Pat
- Snapchat: @BlueRidgePat
- Facebook: @BlueRidgeExpressions
- Contact Form
