What is [Real] Senior Photography?

What's on offer

These are my current portfolio-building offers. My Senior Portrait Day event offer for communities is something different, and you can find out more here.

THE MEMORABILIA SESSION

You tour me through your most meaningful items as you talk about the stories they represent, or what they mean to you, or even what you hope they mean to your family. I snap away quietly, capturing you and your precious physical memories. A session lasts as long as it lasts but I don’t expect it to last longer than an hour or two.

Memorabilia sessions are also ideal for preserving physical memories before an estate sale, or simply for having a visual memory of a loved one's favorite items after they're no longer using those things.

Memorabilia could encompass a house or property before it's put on the market. This is handled like the rest of my portraiture, not like real estate photography. The visual impact should be emotional, not Zillow-ready.

ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITURE

I photograph you in your natural environment. What’re the most meaningful things you currently do? That’s where we’ll shoot. It’s a cross between a portrait session and candid street shooting. We’ll focus on a single environment per session, attempting to tell a story in a few impactful photos (the session itself could last up to two hours to get the right shot in the right light).

This can expand to day-in-the-life photography. It's a mix of memorabilia, environmental portraiture, and journalism. Capturing your mundane routines, your life, the ways your family will remember you as you are now. This session is as long as needed to tell the full story.

If your family/pets/friends are part of your usual day then they’ll be incorporated into the session. Otherwise I expect us to work alone when I’m ready to start shooting. No children, no chaos, no nosey or noisy pets (a quiet, well-behaved pet is fine).

A FORMAL PORTRAIT

A plain backdrop, studio lights, and you in your Sunday best. The idea is to capture your personality through a minimalistic, classic approach to portraits. You shine, and everything else takes a back seat. Getting you comfortable to get the single perfect shot might take a while but probably not longer than 30 minutes, or an hour at the absolute most.

If you want your partner to be photographed with you, let me know. That changes the focus from just you to your relationship, as well as your individual personalities.

If your pet is going to be part of your portraits, please make sure they’re on their best behavior, and look their best, as well. 

This is also where Generational Portraits happen. 

The photoshoots

Generally, I expect us to work alone. While environmental portraiture is always going to feel more casual than a studio shoot, there is a level of intimacy and concentration that is needed for both of us to get to the heart of your message. Because that’s what this is: you’re sending a message to the future, to whomever it is who views these photos.

When I'm with you, I’m listening and taking photos while you tell a story (and I'm probably asking questions). I’m learning about what’s important to you and capturing all of this in the camera to tell the your full story, with feeling. There will be wide-angle full-scene shots, detailed close-ups, and everything in between. I will do my best to see how you see and convey that on film (well, digital).

The final photos are meant to be displayed in a frame on the wall, or as an actual coffee-table book for your family to view whenever they want. Sure, you can share the photos on Facebook; in my opinion the true impact always comes in the physical, tangible realm. We’ll discuss the best printing options after we digitally proof the photos and select the most evocative winners. (The good news is that lab costs are very reasonable, so wall art is within reach of everyone.)

This is legacy photography, not an outfit-of-the-day for Instagram. I’m taking the process very seriously and hope you are too. Don’t expect this to be like the normal family portrait studio process.

Please note that I expect seniors to have different abilities than younger people. As such:

• Mobility aids and glasses are not a problem
• Certain hearing aids may need adjusted due to reflecting light
• Most health-related equipment is not a problem and can be worked around. It's part of your life, therefore, is part of your personal portrait.

Color? Or black and white?

Every time I visualize the photos from my sessions, it’s always in black and white. It’s what I was trained on. Not that I have anything against color. I feel this is the type of work that should be black and white. All that I do and the labs I recommend are geared for shooting black and white prints, even though I’m using digital technology.

Where?

In your environment, of course! Not only do I want you to be comfortable, the entire point of environmental portraiture is you in your own space.

My mobile studio service means I can set up anywhere I have an electrical outlet and high ceilings for a formal portrait. 

Rates and Model Releases

Though my original idea to offer senior photography came to me years ago, it's taken a while to debut these services. Hence, I'm still portfolio-building. Rates for different projects will be preferential or expenses-only. These offerings are complementary to my Senior Portrait Day events, but not the same. These offerings can be booked at any time, by individuals or their family members. 

While I do not expect to make a business out of end-of-life-photography, I offer it as a service to those who feel a need. End-of-life photography has a Privacy Clause built into the Portrait Contract, unless the family requests otherwise because they want their story shared as broadly as possible. 

Generally, photoshoots I designate as portfolio-building have a Model Release in the Portrait Contract (the point of my portfolio is to showcase my work). In certain cases, I can offer a modified Model Release in which an individual's images are used only for printed promotional materials and/or studio samples, but not shared online.

Dignity and respect are important in this work, and my ethical standards require that I obtain informed consent for any signed contracts. 

When?

Whenever you're ready!

The Consultation comes first. It's free and is the genesis of the photoshoot. It's important because I need to know: What do you want to convey to your family? What messages do you want to illustrate with photos? Are you going to include memorabilia? Is there more than one location you think might work? What is important to you?

Ideally, I can come out for a few minutes to scout the location to see what equipment might be required (or not), and get an idea about what times of day are going to be ideal for the best light or any other considerations. This will be a short visit and just a way of learning what I’ll need to prepare for the day of the shoot. I’m visual, so seeing is best for me!

If I can’t come out first, I’d love some pictures or video from you to have an idea of the location we’ll be using, and suggestions from you about lighting (I’ll have some specific questions based on your photos but it’s your environment, I can’t imagine I’ll ask something you don’t know).

After my prep work, the big day arrives!

You tell the stories, I photograph. The full story comes together through the final photos, selected during proofing.

As with all photoshoots, you have the option of printed proofs, a private online gallery, or proofing immediately after our shoot (though I don't recommend that option for day-long shoots).

During proofing, we figure out how your images are best presented and create the print order. For legacy work, I will guide you to archival, museum-quality products. 

Please note: as per my studio policy, I do not place markup on printed products. Everything is produced at lab cost (covered by the you). I've created a sample table of lab costs from the labs I recommend. Professional labs are quite reasonable, and I've chosen reputable labs who offer archival-quality products.

I include a print-release with each final image so that you are free to choose what you  wish to do with the digital files of your portraits, such as print them elsewhere.

Due to not profiting off marked-up printed products, there is no push for sales of any kind. There is no selling, only recommendations based on your personal tastes and needs. 

Though you cover the lab costs (and shipping), I'll handle the ordering and delivery process for you. Depending on the lab and type of order, you could get a turnaround time as short as 10 days, or as long as 6 weeks. I'll keep you informed, and personally deliver your order when it arrives. 

This is when you and your family can enjoy your visual legacy!

Why

Family photography normally focuses on the young, or a few major life events. The most important stories are never told in a visual manner. The legacy patriarchs and matriarchs leave their families is money, imperfect memory, and often-told tales. What if their legacy was immortalized instead?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then certainly a few intentional, professional  photos should be able to convey the values, the stories, or document the golden years of a fully-lived life.

The legacy you leave to your family is more than just money. It’s your values, your struggles and triumphs, your love for your family. These things are never shown within  the constraints of the usual portrait sessions, or the usual family photographers who gravitate to the young. In my mind, the young are uninteresting—they haven’t done anything yet! 

This eureka! moment came to me in 2019 when I was browsing family photographers and was disgruntled to discover that “Senior Portraits” are just pictures of teenagers. Where were the real seniors? Nowhere!

The Family Legend was born. [The Family Legend is my working name for this service.]

There's no one else out there doing this, and I can't wait to get started making a true difference through photography. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is where I'm starting. I'm creating a new genre of photography as I do so. You can say you were here at the beginning.