tips for your senior pictures

i've been doing senior pictures lately & doing a ton of research. during this time, i can't help but reflect upon my own experience & the silliness of it all, what went wrong & what kinda sorta went right to produce that.
(thanks Laura for working your magic to make my quirky self look presentable! you're the best!)
& here's what i came up with:

DON'T get your hair cut the day before your pictures. you will not know how to style it & it will be stick straight where it should be flowy. get it cut 2 weeks or more in advance, just in case. don't try anything crazy or new either. trust me.

DO get your locks updated. fill in those roots (i wish i would have thought about that back then), wash & style it. possibly even invest in a hot oil treatment or something of the sorts so your hair will be sleek & shiny.

DON'T fret about zits or blemishes on your face. i'm not going to explicitly tell you what sorts of infestations came upon my face on this day, but i will tell you that i caked on the makeup & i wish i hadn't.

DO NOT cake on the makeup. it is easier to take away blemishes than to take away lots of makeup in photoshop. you want your face to look fresh & fine, not cakey & crappy.

DO wear nice makeup! invest in fake eyelashes if you so choose. wear what you normally wear, but pump it up just a bit (i emphasize just a bit because you musn't over-do it) to make it special. trust me, these pictures will be your "senior pictures" for, like, the rest of your life. you want to look nice.

DO pluck, shave & wax whatever needs be. eyebrows, lips, armpits, hairy moles, just get it off. it's so very noticeable in photos & is difficult to remove in photoshop. & yes, peach fuzz is sort of noticeable-- but it's your call. alos, lay off sodium & carbs for a few days before your pictures & drink lots of water-- that will reduce water retention & make you (at least your face) thinner & more fit.

DON'T cry over what you're going to wear. i know it's sort of a big deal to wear cute clothes, but if you're literally crying over it then just give up. have your mother or your best friend pick out something nice. you can never go wrong with a simple t-shirt & jeans, & that is FACT.

DO schedule your shoot more than a month before your graduation. i had mine scheduled for the day of our "senior sluff day" where we went up to a resort in the mountains & played outside all day. then i came home & had my pictures taken-- and it was a few days before graduation. DON'T do that.

& lastly, PLEASE DON'T be afraid of the camera. so what if some lady your mother knows from your childhood is holding a huge camera in your face & telling you to smile? OWN IT. work that updo. no deer in the headlights or "aw, but i don't like my smile. i don't like posing. i don't like blah blah blah i feel weird!" if you act uptight or nervous in your shoot, it will definitely show in your pictures. photographers are there to make you look so good, all you have to do it give them something to work with. otherwise you'll be looking at the final product and be all, "geez, these are ... how awkward am i? mom, do i really look this dorky all of the time?" do it for you.

this is all from my own experience on the "other side of the lens" as i would put it. & since i've seen both sides of that lens, i can tell you all of it my tips are true. so good luck & have FUN!