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The answer is different for every senior! Several variables will need to be considered when determining the best time to book your senior session.

Availability

To ensure you find a time that works for you, start by looking at your availability. You may not realize just how little time you have until you try and work a photoshoot into your busy senior year. Then suddenly, it’s a month before you graduate, and you haven’t scheduled a date for your session yet.

For example, many extra-curricular activities such as fall sports and performances take place in the fall, leaving very little time for a senior photo session. If you are more involved in spring sports and activities, spring is a difficult season to plan around. Very few seniors want to shoot in the cold of Winter!

You don’t want to be stressed before or on the day of your senior session – it will show in your photos. Your senior session should be a fun experience! On the day of your shoot, you want to be relaxed and enjoy every second.

If you need to shoot on a Saturday, you must plan early! Most photographers won’t have many Saturdays on short notice.

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The Theme

Most likely you already have some idea of the types of photos you want to take to commemorate your senior year. Outfits play an integral role in the overall style of your shoot. If you want to wear a beautiful boho outfit for your senior session, shooting in winter isn’t quite going to work.

You may want to include your cap and gown in your outfits. This makes for limited dates to shoot in the spring of your senior year and these are the most sought after dates for most photographers.

Get a clear idea of the style you would prefer before you choose a date for your photo session.

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The Location

Your location will also fit in with the theme of your shoot. However, not all locations and settings look good at certain times of the year. Want an urban shoot? This works at almost any time of the year. Prefer to take photos at a local park? Spring and fall create the best backdrops.

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There really is no right or wrong time to schedule your shoot, you just need to plan for it. The minute you have an idea of what your senior schedule will look like, start selecting a few dates – you won’t regret it!

Encourage Sharing

Prior to a senior session, get your child to open up about their passions, hopes, and dreams. This information will help guide the shoot and ensure the most authentic photos. Knowing what your senior wants these photos to represent will also guide their outfit and location choices.

Don’t forget to include your senior in the search for a photographer – a photographer’s style needs to fit in with the images you hope to create. Read my blog post: "Parents’ Guide to Senior Pictures"

Click HERE to receive my Kaptured Senior Experience Guide!