It's important when starting the processes of having your senior portraits made that you pick the right photographer.  In fact, picking the right photographer is the difference between  awesome senior portraits you want to show your friends and family and ones you just want to hide away and forget they were ever taken. Below I've listed a few things you should consider when picking your photographer.

     1.  Quality of work:  Take a look at the quality of work offered.  Check out sample images and slideshows and look for the quality of light in the images.  Is the lighting dramatic?  Does it add to the images? Or is the images kind of washed out and lifeless?  Be sure to see large studio samples, 20x24 etc. to make sure the image quality translate into large prints. With the advent of digital camera many people simply buy a cheap camera and start shooting, the images my look good on the web but make a hi-resolution print and the quality quickly becomes poor.

     2.  Style:  Every photographer has his or her own style.  Take a look at their images and make sure its what your looking for.

     3. Indoor and Outdoor options:   For yearbook images this is a must as most school have very strict guidelines for yearbook images and they almost always require indoor studio images.  But, for your personal images you may want outdoor locations too.  If this is the case, make sure the photographer has the ability, both technically and equipment wise, to offer both fine art indoor studio images and gallery quality outdoor pictures.  This way you don't have to be stuck with whoever your school contracts out with for the yearbook images.

     4. Price matters:  Have you ever heard the phase "You get what you pay for"?  This is very true in professional quality portraits.  Many people pick up a digital camera and assume they can start doing weddings and portraits, but be careful.  I've had many years of experience and have honed my craft.  I've have a degree in photography and continue my education with workshops and professional associations. I love photography and have decided to make it my life,  I've been trained in posing, lighting, color etc.  I'm a professional, many amateurs grab their digital camera and try to sucker you into choosing them for your senior portraits. Their prices may be flea-market, but so is their work. I mean,  I've watched "ER" a few times, but I'm guessing you wouldn't want me to perform surgery on you or a loved one.

     5. What products are offered:  Make sure the photographer you choose offer the products you and your parents are looking for.  Do your parents want a 20x24 portrait for their home?  It won't do any good if the photographer only offers 8x10's.  How about folios or cool brag books and albums.  Edward Mendes Photography is a full service portrait studio.  If we don't offer something, just ask.  Their almost nothing we can't do.  Custom graduation announcement and Thank you cards?  We do that to.

To setup a consultation give me a call at 541.1815

www.edwardmendes.com

Your senior portrait session is a big event in you life.  It represents a time when you are transiting from a child to an adult and is meant to capture your personality and the fun of this transition.  At Edward Mendes Photography we specialize in large wall portraits that you'll love to see and remember the memories of your Senior year as you move on in life. The creative consultation is the first and very important step in making that happen. 

During your consultation we'll discuss the types of sessions I offer and print packages but we'll mostly talk about the good stuff, cool locations for outdoor portion of your session (the beach maybe), clothing, hair, make-up etc.  We'll also discuss what types of things you may want to bring to your session, letterman jacket, sports equipment, instruments, uniforms, collections, even your pet.  

The most important part of the creative consultation however, is us meeting and getting to know each other. It will help us both feel more comfortable and give me a chance to see your personality and what you're all about so I can start designing your session.  I also require that your parents be there for the consultation, it's an important time in their lives too and they want to be a part of it and have a wonderful professional portrait of you hanging in their home. 

Basically, the creative consultation is the way we can customize your session to fit your personality and interests and is the first step to awesome and unique senior portraits.

To setup a consultation give me a call at 541.1815