When to Do Senoir Portraits?

Do them when you can. Friends of my daughters had them done in the summer before their senior year so it was done & out of the way. One of my girls is a bit of a procrastinator & didn't get hers done until Christmas vacation (& almost gave the yearboook editor a heart attack because she waited so long). Another daughter was a little more on the ball & had hers done outside late in the fall. Both sets came out beautiful.

Go to Target, get it done inexpensively and be done with it.

I took my daughter's senior pictures in October late one Sunday afternoon. I took them myself and I have to say, they are awesome!
:)

We had to go to a place like that for my sons yearbook picture. I really didn't like any of the pictures they did and they were way over priced.
I waited till Easter when he was dressed up for church anyway. We went to the Botanic Gardens here and I made his pictures by some rock wall hard scape. It was very masculine. I took several pictures in case he shut his eyes or looked funny. He was under a roof so the sun didn't glare in his eyes. I took one up close and one full length. One with the tie and one more casual. It took all of 20 mins. I made the graduation cards on shutterfly for less than half of the over priced formal high school ones. Everyone loved them.

Lifetouch Prestige took senior pics for my daughter's school, too. We were pretty impressed with the quality, but it wasn't what we wanted for her announcement. I did order an 8X10 of the cap and gown portrait and wallets for her to use for sorority recruitment.

For her announcements, we went to a photographer who took amazing pictures and created a gorgeous announcement for us. We waited until spring break of her senior year, we knew by then where she was headed for college and included some cute pics of her in a tshirt with the university logo. It was worth it to us to wait so we could create a true "goodbye" to HS and "good luck" to her future endeavors.

We did Senior pictures during the summer before the senior year because it was helpful to get it out of the way of a very busy year. Then my kids sat for the official yearbook photographer to have their photo in the yearbook. Is there a Group On or Living Social in your area? They often have deals on photography packages you should check into. We bought a package for a senior and she had a photo shoot at a park and got a CD of about 25 pictures that she could take and print out. That worked out a lot cheaper than the school or a photography studio. Good luck!

Same thing down here. Lifetime take these photos for the Seniors to go in the yearbook. They take all of the others so that IF you want to purchase a package that is an option..

We did not care for the photos they took. Too posed for our daughter .
So my husband, who is a photographer took photos of our daughter. We used the photo our daughter liked best to go with her Graduation Party invites.

There are tons of photographers that offer this service. The student can take the out fits they want to wear, they can rent a Tux, They can take their robe and Morter Board (Many studios have these in the different school colors).

These personal photos can be taken at any time during the year..

Some people send out photos with the graduation announcements at the end of the senior year. Some people use some of these photos for the different Senior photos in ads, that parents may purchase for different end of the school events.

At Christmas we gave some framed photos to the Grandparents.
But our daughter is not a traditional kid. So these posed studio things and posed photos are really just not her style.

Some of our favorite photos that year were her in her Graduation robe was at Baccalaureate and Graduation. She was glowing, excited and looked so different from the beginning of the school year.

I think usually in Fall of their senior year.

Just be aware that many yearbook publishers or schools have quite stringent requirements regarding the size of yearbook photos. They are often a different size than photo developers routinely print. So check with your school about yearbook requirements and make sure your photographer or store can supply that exact size. Many photograph developers will be aware of school districts' requirements and can offer you packages that comply with those. I had my son's done by a private (much less expensive) photographer in the fall so I could just get the photos I wanted and not one of those horribly expensive packages. But she had researched yearbook requirements and supplied me with the exact yearbook size photos.

Does he have to use one of the ones already taken for the yearbook? I recall at my school we had to use a certain photographer for the official yearbook picture but of course didn't have to buy the pictures. If you can submit your own pictures for the yearbook, I would find out what their requirements are for setting, format etc. and their deadline. I would think that summer or fall would make sense to take advantage of the weather and lighting if you want to do something outdoors. I recall that my photos were done in fall of senior year because my jaw was wired shut so I didn't smile with my mouth open. I look like Mona Lisa.

If one of the shots already taken will be for the yearbook and the ones you want to do are just for your own collection, you can really do it whenever and wherever. If you take them yourself (which I wouldn't recommend unless you have a good camera and actually know how to correctly take a portrait) you can wait until the late fall and take advantage of holiday sales at Shutterfly and Snapfish for your prints. Another option would be to find someone who does photos on the side or a photography student who needs to build his or her portfolio and see if they can do it for a minimal sitting fee and then give you the photos on disc to have printed yourself.