Why You Should Schedule Your Senior Photo Session Early
Timing is Important!
It’s the winter of your junior year of high school. You have finals on the brain, and the last thing you want to think about is the laundry list of items you need to complete during your senior year. Before you know it, you will need to start planning your college applications, think about financial aid packages, where you are going to live, finalizing your cap and gown, planning your spring break trip with your friends, attending your last homecoming and prom, completing your final school projects, securing your summer job… The list goes on and on. But late winter is the perfect time to start thinking about your senior portrait session. And now is the best time to book your session and check one major obligation off your list.
Seasons change And slots book up, quickly.
When you imagine your perfect senior portrait session, what do you envision? Do you envision summer sunsets or fall leaves? Do you want photos in grassy fields or snowy mountains? The timing of your senior portraits can be impacted by many things, and if you don’t book your session in advance, you might miss out on your dream session date and location. After all, I only have so many dates open on my calendar, and once they fill up, that’s it. I will not open up more dates until the next calendar year. So jumping onto the calendar quickly is the best bet to make sure you get the session date you want!
Things to think about:
If you want a snow session, January and February are your best bets, but those dates are already here and almost gone.
If you want to have your session at Discovery Park, the Arboretum, or the University of Washington Quad during the blossoming season, you are looking at booking in the month of April. Check out this Discovery Park Blog post.
The sweet peas at Discovery start growing in May, but they are gone by mid-late June. Check out this sweet pea session at Discovery Park.
The Dahlia garden at Volunteer Park is at it’s peak in August and September, but those dates are among the first to fly off the calendar.
Fall leaves at any park are going to occur in mid-late October, but storms often wipe out leaves before they’ve ever reached peak season.
If a Downtown session is your dream, you have multiple options any time of year, but it depends on where you want your session. If the Market is your dream backdrop, a mid-summer morning session is best to avoid the crowds.
If you want a waterfront session with incredible sunset colors, a late summer golden-hour session is your opportunity.
And of course, if you want a session in the water: beach, river, or lake, you are going to want to wait until the water is warm enough to not cause hypothermia, so a late summer session is the best choice for you.
Golden hour only happens when there is sunshine, so if a golden-hour session is important to you, you are only “mostly” guaranteed sunshine in the months of July, August, and September. That is the start of every photographer’s busy season, so it doesn’t serve you well to wait to book those dates.
***Not sure what golden hour looks like? Check out this golden hour Renton senior mini session.
If you book your session early enough, you are guaranteed the best dates and time slots on my calendar, and you will also get first priority over make-up session slots should you need to reschedule due to bad weather, illness, or emergency.
You want plenty of time to prepare.
When you book a senior session, you need time to prepare so that you look and feel your best. Gathering everything you want to bring to a session takes time. Choosing the perfect outfits, including props such as sports equipment or your instrument, and in some cases, your car collection, needs preparation. If you want to book a session at a place that is very crowded during peak season, you will need to prepare to go when the light is still good, but there are less people about. Having enough time to prepare for your session is the key to making your photos the best that they can be. Check out this blog post with more tips on how to prepare for your senior session.
PLanning early gives you plenty of time to budget.
Senior portraits are expensive. It doesn’t matter if you choose a photographer with a low sitting fee and the option to purchase digitals and prints separately or an all-inclusive photographer (like me) that provides you with all the digital files up front, you need to budget for your senior photos. Your senior photos are an investment that will be cherished by you and your family for years to come. It is very important that you factor in this investment when thinking about the costs of your senior year. Booking in advance allows you to not only budget for your session, but it also allows you to split your payments up over a longer period of time. This way, you have enough time to save up for your session comfortably.
Special Considerations
On thing that you need to think about when booking your session is your high school’s yearbook deadline. Most yearbook deadlines for the Puget Sound area fall between October and November, with the bulk of the deadlines falling on November 1st on the Eastside. If your school has a fall deadline, and most public schools do, you will want to make sure to book your session time at least 4-6 weeks before that deadline. That means you need to book your session date before October 1st. Like most photographers, August, September and October are my busiest months, so if you want an August or September session, you need to book now. If your school doesn’t have a yearbook deadline, you have a lot more freedom and flexibility over when you choose your session date.
Another consideration is that processing times in the slower months (winter and spring) can be as little as two weeks, but creep up to four weeks during the busy summer and fall months. This is standard for most high-volume photographers. If you want a September 1st session, your photos will be processed and delivered no sooner that October 1st. Rush delivery is not an option during the summer and fall busy seasons, and I will not take late bookings that have a quick turnaround deadline.
Weather is another major factor in the Seattle area. It rains here. A lot. If you don’t want a rainy session (which I love btw: check out this stormy senior session), then you need to plan accordingly. June weather is unpredictable, but beautiful when the sun pops out. October is completely unpredictable, and there is as much of a chance for rain as there is for glorious sunshine. Weather conditions need to be a factor in your preparation when booking a session.
I save a couple weekend and weekday dates every month for make-up dates, so don’t stress if you fall ill or if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We will be in contact before your session date to make sure that everything is perfect on your session day, and I will be in contact with you as soon as you book to ensure that we capture your photos exactly the way you want them to be captured.
So if you’re ready to book your senior session, click the button below to be taken directly to my availability calendar.
Still have questions? No problem. Use the buttons below to be taken directly to my website homepage and my email address. I cannot wait to connect with you!
I am so excited for you, and I cannot wait to see you in front of my lens this year. The 2023-2024 school year brought me some incredible seniors to photograph. I know that 2024-2025 will be just as wonderful (if not better). I cannot wait to see you in front of my lens.
XOXO Katie
Check out a limited gallery of my senior work and see my website for my full portfolio.
