What is “senior photography”? A lot of people confuse this type of photography with photographing people in their golden years. It is anything but that. One of the largest photography markets in the United States is photographing high school students in the senior year of their high school career. This has been a long standing American tradition since as far back as the late 1880s.
Up until the past 20 years, however, senior photography was very standard. A large company would often set up an assembly line process where each student would have their official short series of photos taken against an artificial background on the stage of the high school’s auditorium. The entire session would take no more than 10 minutes per student.
Once photojournalism became the popular method of capturing events in the 1990s, the high school senior photography industry also evolved into a next level market where each student would hire an independent professional photography studio to conduct a lengthy photo session of the student. The session became more like a personalized fashion shoot that included multiple clothing changes and all sorts of personalized props by which the students identified themselves. For example, a basketball player may include a basketball as a prop in his or her photo session. A band student may include his or her musical instrument.
Senior Photography in Paradise
Imagine now, this same sort of personalized photo session being conducted in the Beautiful By Nature Turks and Caicos Islands paradise! This is what has become very popular among many of our clients. Parents hire Paradise Photography to do the high school senior photo session of their child in the gardens and on the beach of a villa, a resort or even in a secluded or remote location. And we are more than delighted to get creative, get them comfortable, and show off their personalities using all sorts of props you’d like to include.
We can also take seniors along with a parent to some of the most iconic locations of our island on our very popular 3-hour Photo Discovery Tour and explore several different spots. This can be a fun way to see the island and build confidence for the senior if they’re feeling a little nervous. They’ll be able to relax and enjoy exploring and stopping for candid and guided poses.
Families often want to incorporate vacation photos into the senior photography session too, and we can certainly do this, however, it’s important to dedicate separate time and attention on the senior. Therefore, we recommend either two separate sessions in different locations, such the senior session during the day time with the bright colors, exploring and having fun with pictures in different locations, and then in the late afternoon, as the sun goes down, a family portrait on the beach at your resort or villa. Each photo session is tailored to each individual or family and we can help you make the most out of getting a mix of senior photographs and some family vacation pictures too!
