Senior portraits are so important. It’s what you will have immortalized in your yearbook forever and often your families last professional portrait of you before your wedding. It’s very important to make sure you wear something that will show who you are while still leaving you as the focus of the photo. Your photographer will tell you to bring lots more clothing than you’ll need but when you look at you closet – no matter what rules the photographer gives you for clothes it can be overwhelming.

I’ve put together 5 different outfits for girls to wear to their senior portrait session. All the outfits are trendy enough without being over the top and can probably be replicated by pairing together items you own. This isn’t a shopping list it’s an idea list!

Outfit 1 – Classic look to cover flaws

This is a really soft feminine look. The v neck in the top isn’t so low that it’s revealing too much but it draws the attention right up to your face. The empire waist and the loose shirt will also help hide any flaws you may percieve in your weight by not hiding your body but not launting it at the same time.
The solid colors and contrast between the top and pants will stand out in any natural setting or location. A nice accent of a simple necklace or headband would complete this look. I am a fan of the blue pants look rather than jeans – this look feels more polished with pants which adds a hint of sophistication to the portrait.

Pink Top from Target | Blue Pants from Aeropostale | Sparkle Headband Set from Forever 21

Outfit 2 – For Leggings Lovers

For those of you ladies who like leggings this is a nice look. The yellow shirt has a lot of detail but not a lot of high contrast color. That means those closeup /head shots will be more interesting than with a solid tee shirt but will still allow all the attention to be on your face and eyes – were you want it!

The light denim skirt creates a nice transition between the yellow top and the dark leggings.

Yellow top from Macy’s | Light Denim cutoff Skirt from Forever 21| Black Cropped Leggings from Old Navy

Outfit 3 – Lacy Neckline Layers with Shorts

You don’t want to wear shorty-shorts for you senior portraits – even though you are getting them taken in the spring/summer/fall. Bermuda shorts are a perfect length for portraits. The cover enough up to make you look classy and sophisticated but give your look a fresh summer time feeling. Perfect with flip flops or low sneakers – but best barefoot!
Layering a cute lace cami a different color – but close in color range adds some nice detail to a simple outfit without pulling attention away from your face. This classic layered look can easily be tailored to any skin tone, hair color or eye color based on the shirt colors.

Old Navy Lace Cami| Solid Henley from Aeropostal| White Bermuda Shorts from Aeropostal

Outfit 4 – Urban Scarf Accents

Scaves have grown more an more popular in recent years – for your head, nect and belts. Incorporate a bold printed scarf with a very plain outfit to make a really great outfit for your portrait. A scarf around the next needs to be a good color that will compliment your skin tone and hair.

So just jazz up your every day simple look with a scarf.

Plain Grey Tee Shirt from Forever 21| Coordinating (but not oo bright) Scarf from Forever 21| American Rag Jeans from Macy’s

Outfit 5 – Plus Size Look

For plus size girls – or even just girls who are uncomfortable with how their arms look in pictures – it’s important to wear long sleeves. The skin on your arms draws attention away from your face – which isn’t what you want. Long or 3/4 sleeves fix that problem. Your photographer will know how to pose you to de emphasize everything but your face to make you look the way you feel in your pictures – happy and full of life.

Blue Cowl Neck Top| Cropped Skinny Jeans| Silver Bangle from Forever 21

Once you get a flash, speedlight or speedlite unit the first thing you are told is to get it off your camera. Sometimes a situation just doesn’t accommodate this – like shooting an event light a trade show, wedding or social event where it’s more important to catch the shot then get perfect lighting.

So when you can’t get your flash unit off your camera you have to do the next best thing: bounce. If you’re lucky the ceilings are low enough to accommodate bouncing, I find 8 – 12′ ceilings are best for this. Now that you know you are going to bounce your light off the ceiling do you know at what angle? The flash I demoed, the Nikon SB600, there’s 5 settings: 0° (straight at the subject, ie. not bounce), 45°, 60°, 70° and 90° (straight up). I grabbed my mannequin head (we’ll call her Sharla for obvious reasons) and did some test shots.

All of these shots were taken under a 10′ ceiling with the subject only 4′ off the ground – camera and flash about 7′ away from the subject.

0° Bounce Flash (Straight on)

So starting with a straight on flash we shot Sharla to see the control, worst case scenario flash.
This flash is really harsh and adds a very heavy shadow below the chin, a hard shadow on the wall behind the subject and provides very little definition.

45° Bounce Flash

Now we’ve got some nice definition on the top of her head and no hard shadow on the back wall. Unfortunately with the flash bouncing on the ceiling almost directly above it leaves most of the face in shadows.

60° Bounce Flash

Getting the flash angled up a bit higher now casts the Sharla’s eye sockets into deep caverns of darkness while her cheeks begin to show some of the warmth and light we want the flash to cast.

75° Bounce Flash

Moving the flash up a bit more we see that shadow in the eye sockets get a bit smaller and the rest of her face behind to come into the light.

90° Bounce Flash (straight up)

This is about the best we were going to get with a bare flash. Sharla’s eyes are still in a bit of a shadow but angling a subjects face up and to the side a little would solve that.

Next time we’ll play with bouncing vs. different light modifiers.

I’ve have the opportunity to learn from Teya Rutherford on a few occasions. A lighting workshop, thought the Worcester Photography Center, a more intimate weekend long ‘Pick Teya’s Brain of Everything She Knows’ workshop, as well as one lovely morning shoot assisting her.

Teya has only been taking portraits for a few years but has a wealth of knowledge to bestow to anyone who will listen. That’s why I was so thrilled when she started publishing articles like Flattering Your Subject where she talks about more than just posing but also how lighting, lenses, posing, cropping and retouching make or break and also combine to create beautiful flattering portraits. The article walks through the process she mentally goes through to make all her portraits look their very best.

At my most recent workshop with Teya, she provided us with a set of actions that she uses to achieve the style of portraiture that she is known for. These actions are invaluable to anyone whose style is more portrait than fashion.

Here are some of my favorite shots that I’ve used Teya’s Premium Photoshop Actions on.

There are 3 sets of premium Photoshop Actions and actions/conversions for Photoshop Elements as well. The actions are very reasonably prices (each package is well under $10) and well worth the purchase. Even if you don’t use the actions all the time the way they’ll help you look at your work flow differently will amaze you.

You can follow Teya on twitter @teya1 or visit her website Teya Photo or Orange County CA portraits.

I did a quick proof of concept test with my gels and SB600 today – it was pretty cool.

The thought behind this is: If we use a orange gel over a flash or strobe to add orange to a light on the subject to balance out the orange sun light on the background what we are also doing is using orange on our subject to add blue (orange’s compliment) to the background.

If that is the case – flip your thinking around and don’t use a gel to match your subject’s white balance to the background – bring out a color in the background by casting it’s compliment onto your subject! I wanted to bring out the spring green in the trees by using a red (green’s compliment) color cast on my subject. Read on to see how it went. Here’s a hint – it worked ;)

To learn more about complimentary colors check out the wikipedia entry on complimentary colors.

So I grabbed a kid’s toy, for it’s bold colors and headed outside. These test shots were taken using a SB600 strobe, camera left about 2′ above and 1 ‘ in front of the subject.

Toy – Strobe Red Gel to Boost Green Outdoor Background Setup

Toy – Strobe Red Gel to Boost Green Outdoor Background Results

My results came out really well – I was super pleased with what I saw!

It needs some refinement but it’s almost there! I used the ‘red’ gel from my Nikon SJ-1 Color Filter Set equivalent to the Rosco Roscolux #26 Light Red available in the 1¢ Rosco Gel Sample Pack at B&H.

Green up the Background with a Red Gel

I had gotten this far I just needed to prove this on a portrait. In comes B my roommate / landlord / best friend. I agreed he could keep the white balance card in front of his face since I was just using him for his skin tone.

This time I put a white shoot through umbrella in front of the gelled flash. and moved the umbrella directly over the camera about 2′ away from the subject and 1.5′ above the camera. I chose a flat light setup to make sure I was evenly distributing the red color cast.

Outdoor Portrait using a Red Gel on Subject Setup

Outdoor Portrait using a Red Gel on Subject Results

Heck yea – the umbrella spread the red nicely as we can see in the middle shot and really bumped up the green int he background while filling in some shadows the first shot that didn’t have flash missed out on.

Proof of concept – proven.. Special thanks to B for playing along!

I’ve grown accustom to using the manual mode on my camera when shooting for the past year now. It gives me a heightened control and when my subject is in no rush that works just fine.

I’ve got a few important shoots coming up and I want to make sure to catch the moment without worrying about exposures. So I re-read my manual and discovered there was more to the program mode than I had earlier thought.

Yes, I re-read my manual, this would be time #5 for those of you counting and those of you who won’t read their manuals even though we tell you to – time and time again.

I had always thought the ‘p’ or program mode on my camera only let me change items like ISO, exposure compensation, white balance. And that was what differentiated it from the auto mode. I’d read this in a number of places and just assumed it was true.
To be honest, when I was reading the manual all those times I admit I skimmed over things I thought I already knew. ;)

Not on my camera! For my camera, and many others out there the ‘p’ mode acts as a simultaneous shutter priority and aperture priority mode.

How does the program mode adjust aperture and shutter speeds?

In program mode you can adjust your aperture and shutter speeds while you camera calculates the require value for the other.

Program mode will start by giving you it’s estimated values – much like what auto would choose.  Then you have the ability to make your modifications.  I find my program mode over compensates and often under exposes my shots, so i just set the exposure compensation +1.3 to counter act my camera’s adjustments.

Do you use the program mode?

How does that work out for you? What has your experience been using it?

It’s funny how as I work with more models – some with no experience and some with more experience I’m noticing that some of my models just stand there and look pretty.

Don’t get me wrong 99% of the time that works and makes some great shots. But when a model performs and gets way into the mood of the shoot or concept you don’t end up with great shots, you end up with amazing shots!

For instance here’s the Flickr Superstar Briana shooing with Don Giannatti. They put together this video including all photos, not just the good ones so that we can see the whole process and how much versatility she got with just one single look.

No, really – watch the whole thing. Briana glides almost seamlessly between poses. Why? Because she has lots of practice.

Thought us girls know that she’s merely just doing what we all do in front of the mirror in a dressing room – let that silly side of you come out with your photographer.

You have to slow down the dance into separate poses but it’s about creating seamless transitions. Take a starting pose and change one thing, arms, expression, shoulders, hips etc. Then change one other thing for the next shot and so on.

Your photographer will be thankful they have such a creative model to work with and will probably want to work with you again or refer you to their other photographer contacts. As a rule – all the photos never look perfect so just roll with the punches and give it your all!

It’s hard being a photographer – you always strive for perfection in ever shot, even your snap shots. Sometimes you just want to tidy up a photo quickly – especially those imperfect snap shots. Usually my snap shots right out of camera tend to be really dull, lifeless and lacking in contrast. I’ve always wanted a way to quickly and easily fix them up – now I’ve created just the action to do so!

Reading up over at DPS.com I came across this article that was the answer to my contrast-less prayers: A Quick and Effective Way to Enhance Contrast in Photoshop. From this killer lesson I created a quick and easy, non destructive Photoshop action; I call it my Advanced Auto Levels action. It seems to work best for landscapes or still life. Portraits tend to need a softer touch but you can always play – that’s what my non destructive actions are for!

See this Action in Action

Came across this great article from Terry White today When I don’t have a photographic assistant via the Imaging Insider.

The LastoLite TriGrip comes in a number of different flavors. There’s are the 18″, 30″, 48″ and the jumbo 58″ sizes. My personal opinion is don’t waste your time or money with an 18″ reflector. I’m going to focus on the 30″ variety because I find 30″ to be the best value. It is my Goldilocks: not too big, not too little and not too expensive for the immense amount of use it sees!

Lastolite TriGrip 30″ Reflectors and Diffusers

8-in-1 TriGrip / TriFlip Kit – $119.95

Tri Flips are ” bottle tops” for Tri Grip reflectors are sold as a set of two reversible covers that include; silver, gold, white, black, sunfire and the Designed for Digital colors of sunlite and soft silver. The best part about the TriFlip covers is that they won’t fall off and don’t need any zipping up; the TriGrip’s unique triangular shape you can slip the TriGrip into a TriFlip sleeve and pop open the TriGrip to have a very portable full spectrum reflector kit!

Buy the TriGrip/TriFlip 8-in-1 Reflector Kit at Adorama (Highly Recommended)

TriFlip Fabric Reflector Cover Set – $48.95

You can now purchase the TriFlip sleeves for your 30″ TriGrip from B&H now – this is exciting for those of us who have only had a diffuser in the past. This is a great upgrade from any 30″ TriGrip diffuser kit or a great way to keep spares of your most commonly used reflective surfaces – cause they sure wear down with excessive use – and now you don’t have to buy a whole new reflector – just the TriFlip covers!

Buy the TriGrip 30″ Fabric Reflector Cover Set at B&H

White Bounce / 2 Stop Diffuser – $69.95

A 2 stop diffuser is perfect to block harsh sun, studio light, or act as subtractor of unwanted reflected color casts from highly reflective colors and objects. It can also be used as a white fill bounce when you need to lighten up harsh shadows.

Buy the Collapsible TriGrip 1 Stop Diffuser at B&H

Sunlite/Soft Silver $58.50

The sunlite/soft silver model is a mixture of silver and gold on one side, and soft, clear light for optimum clarity on the other.
Sunlite combines 2 parts silver for each 1 part gold in it’s reflective quality. It provides a warm reflection without making your subject too glow gold. Soft silver is a 1:1 mix of white and silver to produce bright reflection that is softer than a solid silver.

Buy the Sunlite/Soft Silver TriGrip 2 Sided Collapsible Reflector at B&H

Sunfire/Silver – $69.95

The sunfire/silver model is a subtle mixture of silver and gold on one side, and crisp, clear light for optimum clarity on the other.
Sunfire provides a 1:11 mixture of silver and gold providing a very warmed reflection on one side while the solid silver site provides a very crisp, though sometimes harsh, neutral reflection on the other side.

Buy the Sunfire/Silver TriGrip 2 Sided Collapsible Reflector at B&H

Silver/White – $69.95

The silver reflective surface provides clear light for optimum clarity of light whereas the white reflective side provides a soft, pure light. These tones are perfect for portraiture and ideal for weddings to provide soft and crisp lighting options.

Buy the Silver/White TriGrip 2 Sided Collapsible Reflector at B&H

1 Stop Diffuser – $69.95

A 1 stop diffuser is perfect to lightly soften harsh sun, studio light, or act as subtle subtractor of unwanted reflected color casts from highly reflective colors and objects.

Buy the Collapsible TriGrip 1 Stop Diffuser at B&H

Gold/White – $69.95

The gold side of this reflector adds warmth and glow to your subject while the white reflective side provides a soft, pure light. These tones are perfect for portraiture and ideal for weddings to provide soft and crisp lighting options. Be aware that gold is not the most popular reflective color as it often over warms your subject often baking/tanning pale skin tones.

Buy the Gold/White TriGrip 2 Sided Collapsible Reflector at B&H

Scott Kelby TriGrip Kit – $449.95

The Lastolite Scott Kelby Location Kit is designed for the location portrait photographer who works indoors or outdoors with shoe-mount flashes. Two of the Bogen/Manfrotto clamps in this kit have swivel receptors for your shoe-mount flashes. Two other clamps are designed to hold the included Lastolite TriGrip Collapsible Diffusers on two of the light stands.
This kit includes 2 TriGrips amongst stands, clamps and circular reflectors to fit your on location reflection/diffusion needs.

Buy the Scott Kelby TriGrip Kit at B&H

Finding seamless muslin to use for photography backdrops or to dye for photography backgrounds is a bit tricky depending on your location in the world.Here is my resource collection of online retailers to help you find places anyone can order seamless muslin or canvas at least 10′ wide.

I’ve dyed canvas before and it sure was a learning experience but in the end I ordered canvas backgrounds from B&H Photo Video instead of making any more.  Many people are far more creatively inclined or have specific needs – this resource is for you.

Leave a comment if I’m missing any killer resources or online muslin or canvas retailers.

DIY Seamless Muslin Resources

Muslin is typically cheaper than canvas – muslin is a lighter fabric and can be crinkled for effect – making it easier to store than canvas which must be rolled.

Raw 10′ Seamless Natural Cotton Muslin – $5.95/yard

You can get raw 10 ft wide Seamless Natural Muslin, 100% Cotton for $5.95/yard from Background Artistry – the makers of the amazing Zachary and Babycakes photo backdrops.

Black 10′ Seamless Black Muslin – $26/yard

You can get black 10 ft wide Seamless Muslin for $26/yard from Background Artistry – the makers of the amazing Zachary and Babycakes photo backdrops.

Natural 10′ Muslin (125″) Seamless Fabric – $5.50/yard

You can order 125″ Seamless Muslin fabric from OnlineFabricStore.net for $5.50/yard

Variety of Muslin Styles – $5 to $15/yard

Chicago Canvas Supply has a number of different Muslin options including flame retardant muslin, natural, bleached photo gray, light blue, heavy, light or medium weight.  All at very reasonable per yard prices ranging from $5 – $14/yd for 10′ wide seamless.

DIY Wide Seamless Canvas Online Resources

Canvas is much heavier than muslin.  Muslin often has a transparent quality about it if you get it too light weight. Canvas typically needs to be stored in rolls to keep from wrinkling.

Raw 10′ Seamless Natural Canvas – $17.50/yard

You can get raw 10 ft wide Seamless Natural Canvas, 100% Cotton, 12oz weight for $17.50/yard from Background Artistry – the makers of the amazing Zachary and Babycakes photo backdrops.

Black 10′ Seamless Ultra Black Light Absorbing Canvas – $26/yard

You can get ultra black 10 ft wide Seamless Theater Light Absorbing Canvas for $26/yard from Background Artistry – the makers of the amazing Zachary and Babycakes photo backdrops.

Variety of Muslin tyles – $18 to $22/yard

Chicago Canvas Supply has natural canvas rolls 10′ in light weight (11.5 oz) and mid weight (14.75 oz).  Prices ranging from $18 – $22/yd for 10′ wide seamless rolls.

More Options (at Higher Price Points)

Since it’s always nice to have options and to put into perspective how reasonable the above prices are.

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It’s easy to remove distractions like gaffers tape and paper tears from a background of your photograph using Adobe Photoshop. In this video I use Photoshop’s patch tool to remove distracting gaffers tape from a seamless background to enhance the photograph in less than 5 minutes. I’ll walk you through all the steps and help you see how quick an easy it is to enhance your shots!

See below the video for the before & after shots!

Removing Gaffer Tape from a Seamless Background Photo Video

Removed Background Distractions using Photoshop’s Patch Tool

The Before & After Shots

Equipment Used

Like this seamless roll? You can order this Thunder grey seamless roll (107″ x 12 yards) for under $50 from B&H.

Looking for a wide variety of gaffer tape? Check out B&H’s huge variety of gaffer tape is all sizes, colors, finished and all at great prices!