(Click for a better view)

In addition to being ridiculously expensive, senior portraits are often seriously stressful, disappointing, and occasionally humiliating. Add to that the pressure of the picture being preserved forever in yearbooks, and you have a complete recipe for suck. I'm here to offer another way. It's simple and cheap, but it isn't what you might expect.

My approach is centered around three basic principles:

1. Photographers should take (and develop) artful pictures.

Taking a portrait isn't easy, and it takes a lot of skill, experience, and equipment to do it right. The art of photography is in finding the right moment, the right light, and the right placement to make you look your best. To show who you are. This is the primary reason you should be hiring a professional photographer.

2. Images of you should be yours.

Studios make their money on holding the copyright to your images. When they take a picture of you, they "own" it and sell it back to you at an inflated rate. Frankly, I think this is disgusting. When I take a photo of you for your senior picture, I will give you a copyright release form which gives you the copyright. Why should anyone else own images of you? Why shouldn't you be able to use your pictures however you want?

3. Quality photography should be affordable.

Studios use copyright to push artificially high print costs on you. I don't have any interest in selling you prints or charging loads of money for invitations, 8x10's, portfolios or what-have-you. I will charge you for taking the pictures and processing them, and then I will leave you with a CD-ROM containing images as well as a copyright release form. Armed with these two things, you can take your senior portraits to Wal-Mart or Monarch and have them printed very cheaply. Currently, wallet-sized prints at Wal-Mart costs 22 cents each.

Let me be clear: I am not a full-service photography studio.

I don't do:

• Studio shots/Glamour shots. (I take pictures outdoors in natural light).
• Lots of clothing changes. (I will spend one hour shooting you and two hours processing your images, I won't waste time on clothing changes. Layer if you need them).
• High-maintenance shoots. (If you need more than the above, please use one of our local studios).
• Extreme airbrushing. (I will happily remove acne, but I don't believe in airbrushing people into plastic fantasy dolls)
• Printing of any kind. (The idea here is to save you a ton of money on prints).

Again if those things are important to you, please use one of the excellent studios around Fargo/Moorhead.

Alright, finally the pitch: for $150, you get:

• An hour photosession with me at the location of your choice. Could be your backyard or the concrete jungle of downtown Fargo. We will discuss this beforehand.
• A "tear sheet" with between ten and twenty images for you to choose from. From these, you can choose up to 4.
• I will then make you a CD-ROM with your selections, ready to print at any photo studio (I recommend the Fuji printers at Wal-Mart).
• A copyright release form (Wal-Mart will require this to make the prints).
• Concise printing instructions to make printing easy.

If you refer a friend, I will refund $10 from the cost of your order. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Senior picture Do's and Don'ts:

• Think hard about where you'd like to be photographed. This one is so important that I made it first.
• Do get a good night's sleep beforehand. Remember, We Don't Want This To Suck.
• Don't make any major changes right before the shoot. In other words, keep your mohawk or perm intact.
• Don't wear polka dots or stripes or crazy patterns. (Striped socks are OK!)
• Do wear solid colors. Simpler is better. Darker is better, except for white tops with collars.
• For girls, sleeveless tops can sometimes make your shoulders look huge (but not always).
• Don't wear logos, unless they are funny and you are cool with them being a joke for all time.
• Do schedule early. I won't be doing portraits after October, and there is a limited window each day (from 4-8pm) where the light outside is flattering.
• Wear a button-up shirt over something else, and then you can do a "clothing change" just by taking it off to reveal the dress/whatever underneath.
• Do bring props and your own ideas.