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Senior Portraits

Frequently Asked Questions

What are "senior" portraits?

By “senior” we mean high school senior, or college senior.  These are often portraits done for the parents and senior to mark this time of their life and can include their interests, hobbies, pets, etc.   College seniors often choose to include their cap and gown and make these their graduation portraits as well!

When should I schedule my senior portraits?

Many seniors schedule their sessions for the Spring of their Junior year or the Fall of their Senior year. Some seniors do choose to wait until just before graduation to do their session so they can include their cap and gown, while others want really recent images to go in their graduation announcements. Basically, whenever you want!

Where will the senior portrait session take place?

Senior portraits can be anywhere in Tallahassee! Downtown, Railroad Square, your school campus, our studio, FSU, Dorothy Oven Park, Maclay Gardens, etc. We do travel to the beach for senior portraits– there is a modest travel fee, but the fee is waived if there is a group of at least four seniors doing their sessions together.

What time of day should we schedule for the session?

Timing of your portrait session is critical to getting the best images possible. Location sessions in Tallahassee are best early and later in the day, while studio sessions can be scheduled any time. The exact location can also play a part in this decision, so consult the studio about the best possible time for any location you have in mind.

How far in advance should we schedule our session?

If you are looking for portraits on a specific date or time, it is best to contact the studio as soon as possible to ensure you can reserve that time before anyone else does. If you have a more flexible schedule, we can generally get you on the calendar within two weeks of contacting the studio. In busier times of year such as Spring or Christmas, it is best to plan your session 4-5 weeks in advance.

Can I use one of my images in the yearbook?

If your school allows you to submit your own image for the yearbook, we are happy to help! We simply need to know the size and format your school needs and we will take care of it– at no additional charge!

Can I bring my mom, sister, friend, etc to the session?

Sure! Your portrait session needs to be relaxed and fun! If you feel comfortable posing in front of your family or friends, you are welcome to bring them!

How should I dress for the portrait session?

Clothing choice is a very personal decision, but we do have some general guidelines that can help.

Solid colors photograph much better than patterns, but if you are looking to have a pattern, try to find a very simple design, or keep the busier pattern away from the face, or in small quantity.

Choose clothes that are well fitting, shirts with sleeves and nothing that needs a lot of attention or fussing to lay properly, so we can focus on having fun and getting great portraits, rather than fighting with an outfit. Definitely try all clothing on before the session to ensure a good fit!

Consider clothing that is important to this time in your life- team uniforms, caps and gowns, hobbies, prom dress, etc.

What should I bring to the portrait session?

Most seniors want to include a few different looks in their sessions, so you will need wardrobe changes (including shoes), any cosmetic necessities to touch up your appearance, and anything you would like included in your images– a dog, favorite hat, guitar, football helmet, etc.

What if I have a blemish?

Small blemishes, bruises and scratches should not be cause for worry. We retouch all of your images before you ever see them and these minor imperfections are not a problem. With more significant issues such as large scratches, black eyes, etc. you should contact the studio immediately to consult about rescheduling the portrait session.

What if I get sick?

Sick subjects are not fun, they are not happy and they do not make for good photographs. They also expose us and our other clients to illness, so we ask that you reschedule your session if you are not well. Please be courteous to both us and our other clients and notify us as soon as you start feeling ill, so that we may reschedule your session and offer the original time to another client.

How much is a senior portrait session?

Standard Portrait Session- $500
45 minute portrait session for up to eight people in studio or on location. Includes five retouched digital images (printable up to 8×10).
Saturday availability: $50 in addition to session fee.

​Upgraded Portrait Session- $1000
One hour portrait session for up to 12 people in studio or on location. Includes ten retouched digital images (printable up to 8×10).
Saturday availability: $50 in addition to session fee.

​Premium Portrait Session- $1500

Two hour portrait session for up to 15 people in studio or on location. Includes 30 retouched digital images (printable up to 8×10).
Saturday availability: $50 in addition to session fee.

We have you come back to the studio (or meet on Zoom) the week following your portrait session to review the images and help make your selections.  If you like, additional digital images are available for $50 each, or you can choose to invest in wall portraits, albums, etc.

 

When do we see the images and order?

About a week after your portrait session, we have you come into the studio for your order session. At this session we show you all the final images and show you a variety of products including designed pieces, wall portraits, frames, canvases, storyboards, etc. It is best that anyone involved in making the purchase is present at this session, as many of the products are only available at this time and this session gives you the best pricing for all of our products. Orders are sent for retouching immediately after the order session and most orders are ready for pickup in three to four weeks.

Want More?

The gallery above shows some favorite images from countless portrait sessions over the years!  The blog posts below show our recent work with kids in our Tallahassee studio or on location! You can also use the search bar below to find specific things on the blog!

 

Jack

Jack

Congratulations to Jack!  As a new Florida State Grad, we headed over to Westcott Fountain at Ruby Diamond for his graduation portraits!  I love that we did these AFTER the actual graduation, so we avoided the biggest crowds, but there was still lots of confetti and...

Tiernan

Tiernan

I have posted many times in the past about crowds at Westcott fountain and the Unconquered statue as graduation approaches.  For Tiernan's session, we did the evening of Easter Sunday with the hopes that we could avoid the crowds. Even with the holiday, we waited over...

James Grad Session

James Grad Session

A few years ago I changed studio policy that we don't do graduation or cap and gown sessions on campus the two weeks before graduation.  The lines for images at Westcott Fountain, Ruby Diamond or the Unconquered statue at Langford Green will take an hour or more to...

Arienne’s Senior Portraits

Arienne’s Senior Portraits

I have photographed Arienne's family since she was in elementary school so I was thrilled to be asked to capture her senior portraits.  Since her extracurricular at school is Garden Club, I knew we had to do the session at Dorothy B Oven Park to include all the...

Jeremy

Jeremy

I have been photographing graduation portraits at FSU for more than ten years and in that time it has changed DRAMATICALLY.  When I started a few people did portrait sessions at Westcott or Unconquered, but it wasn't hard even close to graduation to get the images I...

Jessica

Jessica

Graduation portraits at FSU are RAPIDLY growing in popularity!  I used to get a few inquiries per year, but now I get multiple inquiries EVERY WEEK!  We photographed Jessica's cap and gown graduation session more than a MONTH before graduation, but when we arrived at...

Location

702 W Tharpe St

Tallahassee, FL 32303

E-mail

Linda@LongsPhotography.com

Phone

(call or text)

850.339.5799

All images and content copyright Long's Photography