Written by Emma Musson

You have been waiting to be a senior for years. You might have even said that your junior year was the longest school year ever. I know I felt that way and couldn’t wait to be a senior! But then you reach that summer before your senior year and life begins to feel like you are in a time machine. Everything seems to start moving a million miles an hour and it can feel like everything you want to do, can’t be done in time. 

Well, we don’t want that to happen with booking your senior pictures or having the special photoshoot. A professional image in the year book is one of those special privileges and is something you look forward to. With all of this in mind, knowing when you should take your senior pictures is important! There are four good questions to ask yourself when deciding when you should schedule that photoshoot.

It’s likely that your school has a deadline for submitting your image to be included in the yearbook. But, the big question is when is that deadline? Some schools have much earlier deadlines than others due to things such as how many students there are and how long it will take to get the hundreds of yearbooks published. Knowing this deadline gives you an idea of when you will need to have your senior photoshoot completed by. As a good general rule, most senior pictures occur the summer before your senior year or into the early parts of fall. This will give you ample time to have your photoshoot, pick out your favorite picture and submit it to the yearbook committee. It would be heartbreaking if the deadline was before you were able to have that special shoot! 

Click here to find out Sarah Lindsay’s availability to ensure you pick a date that aligns with your deadlines! 

If you have looked at instagram or pinterest you might have an idea of what type of background you want for in your images. Are you thinking more urban? Do you want water pictures? Is a nature background what you are looking for? If you have an idea of the location you want for pictures, it will be important to consider what it will look like during specific times of the year. If you are looking for a very green, floral, lush background then you will want to pick a location that has fields of grass and flowers blooming in the spring time. On the other hand, if you are looking for more fall colors in your senior pictures you will want to hold off on senior pictures until those colors start to pop. 

Any of these locations are great and it all depends on the look you are going for for your shoot. If you are not sure what location you are looking for, that's okay! During your design and wardrobe consultation, Sarah Lindsay will show you options of where to go for your photoshoot. 
Either way, make sure you consider what you want your background to look like when scheduling your photoshoot. 

It’s likely that you have heard someone talk about the golden hour before, even if you aren’t quite sure what it is. Or you might have already experienced the golden hour glow before and seen how spectacular the lightning is. Golden hour is one to two hours before the sun sets. During golden hour the sun is at a lower angle meaning the sunlight will not be so direct on you. This helps create a softer, warmer feel for your images. You will definitely want to stay away from direct sunlight when taking your photos. Direct sunlight provides harsh shadows and that glow is not as present. Golden hour gives you beautiful shadows, contrast, and a more natural feel for your images. For your senior pictures, shooting during golden hour is the way to go! So, plan on having your photoshoot take place one to two hours before the sun sets.  ​

We want your senior pictures to be a reward. It is important to us that this photoshoot to be like a celebratory event for your senior year. You are able to enjoy your day before getting your hair and makeup professionally done, that you will have time to eat before pictures, and that you are not rushed to get to the location on time. We want this day to be filled with happiness! Because this is our goal, we want you to pick a day that is the most convenient for you. It might be that you need a weekend because you work during the week or that you need it on a Monday night because you have sports practice the other evenings. Whatever it is, let’s make sure we find a day that will fit within your deadlines, with your vision of location or clothing, and with your daily life. ​

In short, you can take your senior pictures whenever you want! But, these four questions can guide you to finding that perfect date for your rewarding senior photoshoot. While Sarah Lindsay Photography tries to accommodate each of you beautiful girls, our schedule does fill up quickly during the summers.
We suggest you reach out sooner rather than later to schedule your senior pictures today! ​

Written by Emma Musson

Have you ever wondered why there is an emphasis on seniors in your school’s yearbook? Or what the importance of senior pictures is? Or wondered why you should look to have professional photographs taken?

As an underclassman, my favorite part of the yearbook was flipping through the full-color photographs in the senior section, a huge improvement from the “cheesy" black and white photos taken through the school.  I would admire the individuality of each person and I especially loved looking at each senior’s cute outfit and all the different settings and poses. For me, I’d imagine what my senior photos would be like - what outfit I’d wear, how I would style my hair or where I would have my photos taken. I didn’t really give much thought as to the importance of senior pictures, though. I just thought they were fun to look at and it was just something you did as a senior. As I reflect back on my senior photo session, I am now fully aware that having professional senior pictures taken is much bigger than the outfits, the hair, the fun poses or the location.

​So, if you have ever ever wondered what the importance is, here is your answer!

You always deserve to be celebrated and see that you are a beautiful, strong, unique girl; but, this milestone deserves its own form of celebration. For twelve school years you have worked hard toward this milestone- in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, through the hard times and the good times, etc. Every experience you had through these years has led you to this moment and senior pictures are an opportunity to celebrate how far you have come. After all, your high school experience is uniquely yours and your hard work to graduate is a big deal and needs to be celebrated! ​

Senior pictures should be a fun, exciting experience. As a senior, you have grown into an amazing young woman through the years of school. You deserve a reward to capture that moment in time. You deserve to have your makeup done, your hair done, and a professional photographer capture your uniqueness. For some, it may feel very intimidating to be in front of the camera. Whereas others may feel very natural. Either way, Sarah Lindsay Photography will ease those worries, working to create a fun environment to reward all that you have accomplished. 

​As parents, it’s a reward for you, too! You have played an instrumental role in your daughter’s life that has helped them reach this milestone. From the car rides to after school activities, helping with homework and always providing the support your daughter needed is a huge part of their success and your hard work also deserves to be rewarded! Senior pictures capture the role you played in your daughter's life in a unique way. As a parent you are always proud of your child, but seeing your child achieve this huge milestone marks a big transition in your life as well.  A beautiful photograph captures this time and reminds you to celebrate and be proud of yourself, too!

As a parent, you probably remember your child’s preschool or kindergarten portrait. You can so clearly see their personality through the single image. That little girl you would be looking at may have had a more tilted head, messy hair, a sassy little smile. Those pictures likely captured your daughter how you would have seen them at home. Then as she  progressed through school, the school portraits became more and more of the same. The images had the standard pose, the same strange colored backgrounds and the uniqueness of your daughter got lost. It became harder to see that amazing, vibrant personality of your little girl anymore. 

A senior portrait session is meant to capture your daughter’s personality in this milestone year. There is so much you want to remember and one picture often doesn’t do the trick. You will want multiple pictures that capture all dimensions of her. Those dimensions are showcased through wardrobe, expressions, movement, or location in her senior photos. By doing a senior portrait session, we are able to capture your daughter as a whole person. To showcase her personality, her likes, her accomplishments, we want to make sure we capture the most authentic version of herself. 

As the senior, you might feel intimidated by being in front of the camera. You likely want your photos to be “perfect”. The good news is, your photos will always be perfect if they capture you, the authentic YOU, that you are in this moment. Remember, you are you and that is ALWAYS enough, even when you are behind the camera.  

Now, once you have all of those stunning pictures, you might be asking what should I do with them? Not only is the experience of having senior pictures taken important, but creating mementos is just as important. Creating wall art, a custom album, and receiving the prints to remember this time is equally as important. Senior pictures can provide unique gifts for family members. Likely, your extended family is as impressed by this accomplishment and would love to remember you in this moment as well. Small albums, prints, and announcements can be a fun way to share this experience with your family. 

By doing senior pictures you will have a large selection of beautiful photos to choose from and you will be able to pick one that captures who you are and how you want to be remembered for your yearbook. A professional senior portrait session will ensure that you have a high quality picture to submit that will be showcased in the yearbook for all to see and admire.

The idea of professional senior photographs may seem unnecessary, frivolous and maybe even overwhelming. Senior year is a transition year where your child is caught between adulthood and still being “your baby”. It is important to celebrate this time, reward their hard work, capture an important milestone in life (for both the senior and the parent!) and have something to look back on when they’ve left the house for college to help you remember such a special time.  Senior pictures can freeze this moment in time and create lasting memories of how far you/your child have come, and where you/your child is headed. 

Trust me, I no longer question the importance of professional senior photographs! I see my photos proudly displayed in my parent’s home and I am reminded of my uniqueness, beauty, and how much they love me. 

We know this may seem silly but we just got our new custom gift bags from Tyndell and we are SO excited! For years, we have been hand wrapping our clients' artwork before delivering them. We would wrap them in eco-friendly brown paper, tie it with a bow, and add a little extra dried rose and dried cotton seed pod to top it off. We loved this look, but it had come time for an update... something a little more chic, a little more modern, and something that would make our Denver Senior Portrait clients feel like they just got back from shopping at a high-end boutique. Que, Tyndell's foil pressed custom bags!

As one of Denver's Top Senior Photography Studio's, being a green Denver Senior Photo studio is very important to Sarah, so we were drawn to these sturdy bags because they are made of thick, heavy-weight art paper and have durable cotton twill ribbon handles which makes them easily compostable or recyclable.

These bags will be going out to our first Senior VIP Experience client of the year. We can't wait to deliver them!

Do you consider yourself un-photogenic? Or maybe you just want to look better in photos? Many people struggle with how to look good on camera, and I'll be honest, there is some finesse involved. That's why I've created a simple list of easy things you can do TODAY to become photogenic and slay your next photo sesh.