Seniors
2016
Mike Fox Photography
About Mike Fox Photography Welcome to Mike Fox Photography. I’m Mike Fox, and this is my wife Angi. We work together to create a fun senior photography experience and create great portraits that capture who you are. I am a software developer by day, and Angi teaches kindergarten, but the job we love the most is being the parents of three children. We have two kids in college, and one who is a sophomore at Dawson High School. We have been taking Senior Portraits since 2011, when we got started photographing a family friend. We believe that this is an important milestone in your life, and it deserves more than a 5 minute photo session after waiting in a long line with everyone else. It’s important to us to create portraits that reflect who you are, that show something besides the same old “school picture smile”.
D
A
LIKE THERE’S NO ONE ELSE AROUND FIND YOUR STYLE &VOICE DRESS FOR YOURSELF
N
C
E
THE BEST PICTURES EVER simply reflect who you are
Why take Senior Portraits? Senior Portraits are about much more than just the picture. Seniors, you are at an amazing age… you are starting a new life and may be heading to college or into the working world (or maybe you don’t have a clue yet). This is a time that you are exploring your identity and becoming your own person. That is what your Senior Portraits are about – your identity. We love photographing seniors because we love your spirit, your life and your attitude. (Yes, Mom, we love the attitude). You will cherish your memories of high school, and the friends you’ve made. Senior Portraits are a great way to stop and take it all in before stepping forward into the world as an adult. Someday you’ll look back fondly, even on things you’re glad are done. If you are asking why take Senior Portraits, your answer should be because “It’s My Time” and you will never have the opportunity to step back in time, but your memories will last forever in these images.
Let’s Have Some Fun What to Expect Getting Ready Style Guide Makeup Prep
Props For the Guys Past Clients Sessions/Products Q&A Senior Model Program
Let’s Have Some Fun Whether you are a fashion diva, want a more natural casual feel, or are somewhere in between, your session is about you. That being said, you’re only a senior once (hopefully), so let’s have some fun. Tell us what your "dream session” would be. We can do sessions that range from High Fashion to Casual, Urban to Country, Beach to Forest. You can shoot with your musical instrument, all your sports gear, at the pool, the beach, in a field or downtown. During your planning meeting we’ll work through all of the options and find the one that works for you. Once we get the planning done, it's easy; just follow the few tips that I outline and we'll handle the rest.
It was personal. Mike went above and beyond to make sure that the shoot was something that reflected my personality and interests. I never felt like a customer. I felt more like a friend. Christian
I was comfortable and encouraged to try new things and step out of my comfort zone but also stay true to myself ... Paige
What to Expect
Before your session To get started, contact us and set up your initial complementary planning session. We’ll meet, get to know a little bit about each other, and start planning a senior portrait experience that will be perfect for you. When you contact us, you will receive a questionnaire. Please fill this out, as this will give us some background information to help plan your session. During the planning session we will walk you through the entire senior portrait experience, letting you know what to expect along the way. You will also have the chance to custom design your senior portrait session. We encourage you to bring your own ideas to personalize your experience, and we have a variety of locations and concepts to work with as well. We will go over sports, hobbies, and interests that we may want to incorporate in your photos. Another way that we like to use to get to know your style is through Pinterest. Follow me on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/mikefoxphoto . We can set up a board for you to pin pictures you love. Do you mostly pin pictures from wooded areas, or city streets? Are most of your pictures soft pastels, or bright colors? This will help us plan locations and shooting styles. Most importantly for us, this planning session gives us a little time to get to know you and your family (everyone is welcome to come to your planning session). Your images are about showcasing your identity and how can we do this unless we get to know you a little? The planning session is the beginning of your relationship with us and we love meeting our new clients.
During your session When you arrive, we will first go through the things you’ve brought and organize and style your session. If you have selected the Model Session, you will spend about an hour in hair and makeup. I work with hair and makeup artists who are experienced at working with models and photographers, so they know which products and styles work best with the camera. We will shoot for around two hours, depending on the ideas and outfits that we have planned out. This isn’t a hard deadline, but usually provides plenty of time to get the images we want. Don’t worry about anything; we will be there to work with you, and help you pose to look your best.
After your session After your session, Angi and I will pick out your best images and edit them. Once this is done, we will contact you to set up your ordering appointment, usually a week and a half to two weeks after your session. You will come in to view your images, and select how you would like to present them. We have a wide range of products, from albums to wall art to mobile applications. At your ordering appointment, we will show you a video show of your best images. (Don’t worry parents, we always keep a supply of tissues handy.) Then, we will work with you to pick out the images you like the best. Once we have your favorites selected, we will help you decide which prints you need as gift prints, which ones you want as wall art, and what pictures you would like in your senior album. After your order is placed, it takes anywhere from a week to three weeks for your order to be ready, depending on the product.
Getting Ready Style Guide
“What do I wear??” – Wear your favorites! You look best when you feel best so pick the clothes that make you feel amazing. That being said I have some key tips to picking the best wardrobe for you Senior Portraits: • Variety! Bring more outfits than you think you will need, so we can pick and choose what is best for each location. Bring light and dark, vivid and neutral colors. Bring a variety of styles. Most seniors have a pretty casual style so bring mostly that, but remember to bring something dressy (for grandma). Bring a prom dress (tux for you guys) or other formal if you have one – these often end up being some of the favorite images! Don’t worry about bringing too much. We’ll help you choose what works • Try to emphasize classic looks. You’ll want these pictures to still look great 20 years from now. Somewhere, there are pictures of your parents as seniors in parachute pants. (Look it up) • Jackets and layered outfits will give you the most variety of images. We can change a jacket or add/subtract a layer to totally change you look in one location without a full outfit change. • Accessories! Bring everything: shoes, purses, jewelry, sunglasses, belts, and more.
Makeup There are things that look great to the eye but not to the camera. In addition, depending on the lighting we use, you may need a little more makeup than you normally wear. Also, it helps to bring your makeup with you for touch ups as the shoot goes on. Avoid: Avoid bronzer and glitter makeup. Bronzer gives you a beautiful sun kissed glow in person but it gives you a shiny, sweaty look in your images. Glitter eye shadow will reflect light as little specs and what looks like a shimmer in person, just looks like little shiny dots to the camera Eyeliner: Eye liner will really help your eyes pop in the pictures. I don’t suggest you pile on the eye liner if you never wear any, but I suggest everyone increase their normal look by about 25%. Powder: This is the opposite of bronzer. I suggest you even bring this little miracle along with you for your session, this and lipstick should be all you touch up during the session. Powder will smooth out your complexion and help absorb light to give a beautiful soft glow. Foundation: Even if you do not normally wear makeup I suggest a good foundation to even out your tones and some lip gloss to enhance your natural lip color. Nails: Apply a clear polish or French manicure (it’s a good excuse to get acrylics done). Don’t wear a brightly colored polish….less is more in this case.
If you REALLY want to look your best, and experience the full model treatment, consider adding our Model Session add-on. We will bring a makeup artist in before the shoot to do your makeup and/or style your hair
Prep A few days before Tanning: Please don’t use fake tans. Even professionally applied tans can have uneven spots, and many photograph orange even if they don’t look that way to the naked eye. Pick out your outfits; try everything on to make sure it fits well. Do a little shopping if there’s something you want to wear that you don’t have. Hang everything up to make sure it doesn’t wrinkle. If you color your hair, make sure it’s touched up if needed. The Day before Drink a lot of water before your session. It will improve the quality of your skin in your images. Get plenty of rest. Touch up your nails if needed. Lay out all the outfits to make sure they are complete. Lay out any accessories that you want to bring. Often, a few simple accessories can make a huge difference in the look of an outfit. The day of your session If you have chosen our model session, arrive with clean, dry, hair and no makeup. It’s a good idea to moisturize your skin before your session. Bring a playlist of music you like, something that sets the mood for the shoot.
Props Sports gear: Bring your letterman jackets, uniforms, equipment, trophies, metals, etc. You put your time, money and effort into your sport so why not show it off in your images. Hobbies: Make your images uniquely you by showing of your favorite hobbies. Hunting, photography, scrapbooking, archery, and even stamp collecting‌ these hobbies are part of who you are – show them off! Musical Instrument: You put time and effort into your discipline so why not capture that in your portraits.
For the Guys Some senior guys aren’t as excited as the girls are about having Senior Portraits done. The way we do it, it is a lot of fun, and having Senior Portraits done isn’t something you want to miss out on. This is a major milestone in your life, so don’t pass it up. Do it because it’s fun, not (just ) because Mom wants you to.
Prep You’ve got things a little simpler than the girls here. Here are few tips to help you get ready. Don’t have your hair cut a day or two before your session. The best idea is to get it done about half way between haircuts. If you are into hats, bring them but don’t wear them to the shoot so you don’t end up with hat hair in the images. Shave. Make sure you come to your session clean shaven Clean nails and shoes are also important
Clothing The most important thing is to be neat, avoid wrinkled clothing. Hang everything neatly. Plan on 3-4 changes of clothes, bring extra so we have some choices. Bring something dressy, something casual. If you have booked a combination session, we tend to do dressier clothes at the studio session. Layers help give variety. An unbuttoned shirt over a tee shirt, sweaters, and jackets work nicely.
Important note: Just because this section said “Guys”, don’t skip the rest, there’s lots of good info there.
What your friends are saying about their Senior Portrait session
My pictures were AMAZING. I loved loved loved all of them. I have recieved 100+ likes on all my Instagram posts and everybody compliments them . What I loved about them is that he works a lot with the surroundings and natural lighting so your pictures are beautiful without looking very made up and edited. Madison
Loved the ideas for shots. Loved that we could pick our own locations for pictures. Loved the personal make up artist. Everything went very smoothly. Awesome experience. Katelyn
I was very happy. We bought a couple aluminums along with another package and I really can’t emphasize how striking the images look. There really isn’t another service like this in this price range ANYWHERE. Christian
Sessions
At Mike Fox Photography, you only have a few decisions to make when choosing a session. We don’t set a specific time or outfit limit which determines your session cost. Most sessions last 2-3 hours, depending on locations and concepts, but we don’t watch the clock. We think that you having a great experience is more important than seeing how many sessions we can squeeze into a day. Your choices are: • In studio session – This will be an indoor session at our studio. We will use a combination of natural and studio lighting, depending on the style we are looking to achieve. This will be closest to “traditional” portraits, and we’ll be sure to capture a few of the traditional shots for grandma. But we will also work to capture your individual style and personality.
• On location session – Make your pictures even more personal by having your portraits done at a location that reflects your style. We have lots of ideas, and if there’s something specific you want, we will try to work with you to make it happen. The park, the woods, a city street or alley, a barn or the beach. What works for you?
• Combination sessions - Our most popular option is to combine the two experiences. We do a more traditional in studio session, and then go on location for a more contemporary look. We find this give us a range of image that appeals to everyone from the grandparents to the senior. • Model session – Feel like a model! We will bring a professional makeup artist in for your session to do your makeup and/or style your hair. This is an add-on option to either an in studio or on location session.
Products
Your Senior Portraits deserve to be displayed as art. We offer a variety of products which extend far beyond the traditional school picture paper prints. Gift Prints These are your traditional paper prints, 8x12 and smaller. Everyone needs pictures to send to relatives and give to friends. Wall Art • Mounted prints - suitable for framing for the wall, we use high quality photographic paper and mount every print 11x17 and larger on heavy plastic to ensure that your prints still look great years later. • Canvas Gallery Wraps - combine the image quality of photography with the traditional look of canvas fine art. The printed canvases are wrapped around the framing bars so that the image continues around the side of the piece. These can be framed, or hung without a frame for a more casual look. • Metal prints - your images are printed directly on a sheet of aluminum, and coated. These are a high gloss high definition version of the traditional wall art piece, for a very modern look. • Acrylic prints - your images are printed onto a piece of acrylic block. The prints are mounted on corner posts, for an art gallery look. Albums Albums are a great way to keep all the images that you love, but don’t have room to hang. For mom, this is your Baby Book, volume 2. These are not press printed (magazine stype paper) photobooks. Our albums are made of photographic paper bonded to a rigid page base for a beautiful durable product.
When you come in for your planning session, we’ll be happy to show you all the options available.
Q&A Do I get the digitals? We have a social media package available which includes files sized for online use. Full resolution digital files, sized to print, are only available in the Platinum collection.
What form of payment do you accept and when is payment due? Cash, Check, and Credit card are all accepted. Payment for your session is due at time of booking and payment for print orders is due at time of order. Payment plans are available, product is ordered once payment is complete.
How soon after our session will our images be available? What about products? We will schedule your ordering appointment between a week and a half and two weeks after your session. Products are ready between a few days and a few weeks later, depending on the product.
What happens if it rains on the day of my outdoor session? In the event of rain during a scheduled outdoor session we will reschedule.
Where do the portrait sessions take place? In Studio sessions take place at our studio. For on location sessions, I have great spots that I’ve scouted out and are perfect for photo sessions. You can choose urban, country, or anything in between.
How long does a typical session last? Typically studio sessions last around two hours. On location sessions usually last 2-3 hours depending on the locations we shoot.
Editing? Photoshop? All the images you receive are edited, blemishes removed, skin enhanced. We can even do special edits depending on the product ordered. (We once turned a senior green to fit in with a superhero theme.)
I’m always happy to answer any questions you might have. Email or call at any time during the process.
Contact us to schedule your initial complementary planning session.
mike@mikefoxphotography.com
www.mikefoxphotography.com
www.facebook.com/MikeFoxPhotographySeniors
713-955-8914