Senior photos on a budget

It’s that time of the year…Graduation! Seniors are graduating from college and from high school and they need their pictures taken professionally. Yes, it’s nice to take a selfie and post it but for graduation, you should show that off with professional pictures. Now when I graduated from high school I only took the lame pictures that were offered through the school. You know the pictures of the cap and gown and then for some schools you dress up in the dress up glamor shot outfit lol. My mom didn’t buy my senior photos. Number 1 she couldn’t afford it. Number 2 they were horrendous. They didn’t show my personality one bit and it was kind of forced. I had to take the standard photo and it was killing me inside to not be who I was. My mom couldn’t afford to take me anywhere to get them done so I have senior photos that I hated that you will never see neither will my kids lol. Fast forward to 2016 I now take professional photos and we don’t do boring around here. I did my first senior photos in 2016 and I offer them to people. I like to call it quality photos on a budget. I am not expensive as most but I remember me as a senior wanting fab photos and my mom just couldn’t afford them so I offer them to parents who want nice photos but don’t want to pay thousands of dollars to get them done. Here are some ways you can get some senior photos done on a budget.

Senior photos on a budget

Go to another studio

Usually, if you go somewhere like a JCPenney Studio or a spot in the mall they will be better than the senior photos and you will have more control. Now I am not a huge fan of these type of photos but you have to do what you have to do. They are cheaper and there are always deals around. You can check Groupon or look up online some deals. I also know that they print for the low. If you are wanting to get your pictures printed without the high cost of most studios then this is an option. Check with your local mall. I know they have closed a lot of olan mills but there are places like the picture people and other spots around that won’t cost you an arm and a leg

Do your Homework

Find someone that is cheaper and that fits your budget. I knew someone who paid 1500 for photos when they could have come to me for less than half of that and the pictures would have looked the same. You have to ask around and you have to do your homework. Not every photographer who charges cheap prices are bad….a lot of them are lol but so are some high priced photographers. I have seen photos that were in the 1000’s that look no better than my couple of hundreds. Trust me we use the same camera you just have to trust your photographer and do your Homework. I repeat that a lot because a lot of people don’t. I got a call from a mom a few weeks ago wanting to do senior photos for her son. She couldn’t believe my prices so she went with someone else who went up on the original prices after the photos were taken. She wasn’t able to afford them and only got 2 because the price she was quoted was just too much. She called me back and asked to do the photos not only did I give her good quality photo but I also printed out one of the photos as a gift. See you never know what you will get with me. Don’t always judge a book by it’s cover. My pictures are on my Instagram and I also have a section on my blog dedicated to photography.

Check out local schools

Last summer I was looking for an intern and came across a local school in my area. The students needed models to build up their portfolio. Quite a few models were seniors. A lot of them have gone to school and need the practice and you will be surprised by how good they are and if you don’t like the photos at least it didn’t cost you anything because all you needed to do was sit with them and probably sign a waiver. Call the local college or high school in your area to find out if they have someone who needs some credits.

Ask a friend or Rent a Camera

This is the last resort but hey this is better than a phone selfie. If you know someone who has a digital camera (preferably a canon T series or better) ask them to take some photos of your child or if you love doing photography yourself borrow a camera from Aperturent or something like that. Look I am all about saving money and if you think you can handle a camera yourself do it.  As long as you know this is your child’s seniors pictures and this will forever be with them. If they get mad at you that their friends have better pics than them then you will have to deal with that lol.

My kids are a long way from being a senior but I know that I will be taking my kid’s photos myself because they are lucky to have a mom that is a photographer. If you are in the Atlanta area or knows someone who needs senior photos done have them contact me at kita@itsreallykita.com. I promise I am not expensive as most and I will point you in the right direction to get them printed.

Did you take senior photos? How much would you spend on senior photos for your child?