Senior Portait Guide

Senior year is a big deal, and your photos should be, too! Let’s make something amazing together!

What To Expect

Your senior portraits should be a true reflection of you. Our goal is to capture your personality in a way that feels natural, authentic, and true to who you are. You’re welcome to bring along meaningful things that highlight your hobbies, interests, or any part of your story you’d like to showcase.

Once we’ve confirmed a date that works for your family, a booking link will be emailed. This contract and session fee must be completed by a parent or guardian at booking. Once submitted, your senior is officially on the books.

A reminder email will be sent a few days before your session. We also have each senior complete a brief questionnaire so we can get to know their personality, interests, and vision for their photos. This helps us tailor the session to them and plan what to incorporate.

On the day of your session, please arrive in your first outfit and fully ready to begin – accessories and shoes included. We recommend 2–3 outfits. We always have time for two, and if the schedule allows, we can often fit in a third. During your session, we’ll explore different spots across our location, pairing each area with your outfit choices.

After your session, we’ll share a sneak peek within a couple of days, and your full gallery will be delivered within 3 weeks.

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What To Wear & What To Bring

One of the most common questions we receive is, “What should we wear?” Your clothing should reflect your personality, so almost anything is possible. We do recommend avoiding loud colors, bold graphics, or large logos, as they tend to draw attention away from you. The goal is for the focus to remain on the individual rather than the clothing.

Our editing style is light and airy, and most seniors naturally choose colors that complement this aesthetic. Soft blues, creams, tans, whites, and muted greens photograph beautifully on the beach. Our social media is a wonderful resource for outfit inspiration and ideas.

We encourage bringing at least two outfits, and for the ladies, we recommend including at least one pants or shorts option, which is easy to manage on breezy beach days. It is very important to bring appropriate undergarments for each outfit, as this is the most common oversight. Bringing a few extra outfits can be helpful, and accessories are always welcome to complete the look.

We also love when seniors bring items that highlight their personality, such as sports equipment, musical instruments, hobbies, or even pets. These personal touches make your session unique and help tell your story.

Senior portrait

Session Details

Our sessions are scheduled around sunset, and last 60-90 minutes, based on the session. Every session is unique to our senior, and we do not have a “set” number of images we deliver, as it will vary slightly depending on outfit changes and if you’re incorporating anything into your session.

Sessions take place at Coquina Beach in South Nags Head. At this time we do not cover the Northern Beaches (Duck/Corolla).

Senior pricing

$550

  • Up to 60 minutes
  • 3 Outfit Changes
  • Image Editing
  • Private Online Gallery
  • High-Resolution Digital Files

  • *Option to extend your session to include immediate family photos.

Frequently Asked questions…

Once a date is chosen, you will receive a booking link via email. You’ll select your session and submit the contract and session fee. Once submitted you’re on the books and all set!

We offer a limited number of sessions each week and cancelling last minute prevents us from re-booking the date. Most weeks a significant number of inquiries are turned away due to unavailability, therefore, our session fees are non-refundable and due in full at booking.

We understand that situations come up, and in the event you cannot make your session we will do our best to reschedule, one time with at least 48 hours notice, based on availability. If no dates are available, or you are unable to choose a date that at that time, a raincheck will be issued to use towards a session at a later date within one calendar year.

*There are no refunds or reschedules for no-shows.

We watch the weather closely on session days. If the weather looks iffy, we are typically able to work around it by adjusting our start time a little earlier. We suggest sticking close
to home on the afternoon of your session, should we need to adjust our start time, to allow everyone the ability to get ready.

We intentionally take a limited number of sessions each week to allow us built-in rain days. In the event of a total rain-out, your session will be moved to another day. For this reason, we do ask prior to booking that families be flexible with their session availability, understanding we may need to change in the event of rain.

Beach sessions take place at Coquina Beach in South Nags Head, starting around 1 hour prior to sunset. This is our best beach for photography and where 99% of what you see on my website is taken.

At this time we do not offer sessions in the Northern Beaches (Duck/Corolla). We do service Hatteras Island, based on availability, and travel feels apply.

Looking for something other than the beach? We do have some great non-beach locations and we’re happy to chat with you about those options.

Most importantly, have all of your clothing options ready to go, including accessories. Take inventory of your items and plan your outfits in advance. Keep everything in one place so nothing is left behind. Plan to arrive at your session in your first outfit, or fully prepared if you plan to change on location.

It is essential to try on all of your outfits ahead of time. We suggest moving through poses such as sitting, standing, and kneeling to ensure you like how the outfit looks and fits in a variety of positions. During the session, we will move around the location, and you will be asked to sit, stand, or kneel as we work through different poses for variety in your photos.

For young women, if you plan to wear a dress, we recommend also bringing at least one pants or shorts option. Most beach days have a breeze, and while we can usually work with a dress, it is helpful to have an alternative that is easy to manage if the wind picks up.

Make sure you have the appropriate undergarments for each outfit. The most common mistake is realizing the correct bra was not brought or wearing dark undergarments under a light outfit. Adjustments such as removing tan lines or correcting straps fall under retouching and may incur additional costs.

When in doubt, packing an extra backup outfit is always a good idea in case you forget something or change your mind. Avoid applying lotion prior to your session, as it will make the sand stick to your skin.

We try to have a sneak peek up on our social media with a couple of days. Full galleries are ready within 3 weeks of your session. The gallery link will be emailed to the booking party, and they may forward it along to the rest of the family. Galleries remain online for 2 weeks and may be extended for $10/day.