*I’ve made a small change to this post – please note that I do NOT encourage you to turn in your senior yearbook photo late!  Please respect your school yearbook staff and all the hard work they put into things and turn your photo in on time.  Planning ahead matters!  That’s the entire point of this post 🙂  Sorry if this caused any confusion!
I’m I continuing on in my series about the perfect senior portrait experience! Â If you haven’t already, be sure to check out previous posts:
Part 1: The Perfect Senior Experience: Finding the Right Photographer
Now that you’ve found the perfect senior portrait photographer, it’s time for step 2: get it on the calendar! This is fairly obvious, but you’re going to need to contact your chosen photographer and reserve your session date.  Make sure you contact your photographer RIGHT AWAY as soon as you’ve chosen them!  I’ll talk more about why in just a minute 🙂  Usually a phone call or email via your photographers website will suffice.  If you have questions, give your chosen photographer a call and don’t be shy – ask away!  Whether it’s about sessions or pricing or other special requests, now is a good time to ask.
One key thing to consider is the time of year you would like your session to take place. You can read more about what you can expect during different seasons of the year here. Each season of the year has its perks. With summer, you have lots of green, flowers, and the weather is generally beautiful, though it can be hot! Â Fall is cooler, the colors are gorgeous, but it can be very windy, which certainly presents it’s challenges when making sure you don’t have hair in your face. Winter is unique and different, and you can layer and have lots of different looks! Though it is definitely cold! Spring is my favorite, since it is still green, but not as hot as summer. Â Plus, I love early spring flowering trees!
Keep in mind that some photographers calendars fill up very FAST. This is particularly true for photographers who photograph more than just seniors, and also very true during peek season.  For me, in Iowa, peek season is usually from August 1 – November 1.  Make sure you contact your photographer far enough in advance to get the date and time of year you would prefer because you don’t want to miss your opportunity!  I only photograph a limited number of seniors each year, and have a quota for each month during peek season to make sure I don’t over schedule and can instead give each senior my undivided attention.  Other photographers may or may not do this, but still, if you’ve got your heart set on a particular look or time of year, call in advance.  It’s not uncommon for me to have juniors calling to make their senior portrait appointments before the spring school year has even ended!
You’ll also want to work with your photographer to schedule any follow up appointments, such as an ordering appointment. Â It’s usually easier to do this before your session takes place so that your own personal schedule doesn’t fill up with other obligations and you’re not left waiting several weeks to see your photos. Â You’ll also have your choice of more openings in the photographer’s schedule as well.
Finally, even if you “miss” the yearbook deadline, it’s not too late. Even if you miss that deadline, it can still be a great opportunity to take some milestone photos for your family and friends to have at graduation.  They’ll greatly appreciate this gift from you!
Stay tuned for the next step!
