Senior Prom Photography – 9 Tips for Great Prom Photos

Is there anything more memorable in a young teenager’s life than attending his or her prom night? For sure, there aren’t many – and that is why taking good professional prom photos to remember this special event is a must.

Now, if you want to take advantage of this situation and make a healthy profit during this season, you need to establish yourself as the number one go-to person for such occasions.

Please remember, it’s not enough that you know how to shoot good quality photos. You need to capture great photos – photos that are good enough for these young people to proudly show off for years to come. After all, this is their prom night – the highlight of their young life.

Image Source: centennialflorist.com

If you need some help in brushing up your prom photography skills, here are some tips that you may find useful:

Schedule the shoot a little earlier. To make sure you have enough time to take those gorgeous prom shots, you need to schedule your photo shoot a little earlier – about half an hour ahead of your original schedule. Remember, you are dealing with teenagers and you probably know by now how fashionably late they can be!

Always be ready for any unforeseen events. To make sure you have everything covered, don’t forget to bring some extra batteries and memory cards with you. Always be ready for any eventualities – that should be your mantra from now on.

Watch your background. If you want to achieve your goal of being the go-to person in the field of prom photography, you should always watch your background. After all, no decent photographer will ever put his subject in front of some garbage cans, right? Commit this glaring mistake and it will be the end of your career! So, always be careful and shoot around “clean” backgrounds only. Some great backgrounds to consider include the hotel lobby or banquet room, outdoor gardens, or areas near natural bodies of water. Don’t hesitate to be creative. It can work greatly in your favor!

Consider your lighting. To make sure your photos end up looking great, make sure you shoot in a well-lit space. When shooting outdoors, it is best to use force flash (or fill flash) to soften the shadows on these young people’s faces. And please don’t forget to diffuse your flash to make sure no ghastly shadows appear on your photos!

Encourage your subjects to get closer. Is there a better way to capture the true essence of prom night than by taking photos of the happy couple with their cheeks touching? You decide.

Plan your poses. It will be a great idea if you can plan your poses well ahead of time and actually list them down so you won’t forget anything. If you are taking photos of the young couple, you can have them facing each other or with the girl’s back touching the guy’s chest. If you are taking group photos, you can have a girl group, a guy group, and some goofy poses, too. If you are working with a larger group, posing them along a staircase can be a great idea. Let your imagination and creativity guide you!

Focus on the tiny details. Can you believe that the tiny details often overlooked by other photographers can result in some quite interesting prom photos? So, consider turning your focus on the rose corsage on a girl’s hand, a curl of hair, jewelry and floral arrangements or the cuff links on a boy’s tuxedo sleeves. Believe me, you’ll love the results!

Capture the joy on camera. Prom night is quite an exciting and fun-filled affair so let the emotions show on camera. Capture their smiles and the twinkle in their eyes and you’ll have your career in full swing before the night is over!

And lastly, let the photos do the talking. Don’t hesitate to take a lot of shots to make sure you capture every memorable moment through the lens of your camera. Let your photos tell a good story.

Now, are you confident enough that you can start taking all those awesome senior prom photos? Remember, do this right and you can count on it to be one of your biggest money-makers in the coming years!

**If you are inspired to get further into this I recommend you watch the Video on this page.

I hope this has been of some help,

Ray Baker