OMG, it’s really happening! This might be my last full summer at home! Junior Year is pretty much done and I’ve got Senior Year ahead of me. The last year in the safety of knowing most of the people around me. After this new school year, I’m going off to college in a different town, maybe in a different state. WOAH! ….
These might be thoughts going through your head right about now (that is if you’re reading this just before the end of your High School Junior year). But hold on, relax, take a breather! You still have this summer to be a teenager and mostly free from doing things much more independently. So, do you have plans for this summer? I hope it’s not going to be all work! While I get that you will need some cash flow happening, and it’s a great idea to work and save, please don’t forget to have fun!
Wanna know what I’d do if I was this age again? Btw, if you’re the Mom of a High School Junior right now, read to the end and see what you should be doing this summer!
Job-wise, I’d work at a Youth Camp – my preference is Christian Harbor Youth Camp. It’s like getting paid at the most awesome jobsite with food and shelter provided. ALL SUMMER LONG, or at least to the middle of August, some a little longer. So, if you don’t have to be home other than a few days here and there, and you like kids two or more years younger than you, then find a camp somewhere near(ish) to you.
And fun-wise, I’d still go to camp, specifically the one mentioned above. LOL! But if that’s not possible in your schedule – and you can’t say financially because Christian Harbor is like REALLY affordable!!! – but then I’d try to visit friends and family that may have moved away or whom I haven’t seen in too long. Find something to do in your area or in their area and make it a little road trip. Just meet up and spend the day together, or crash on their couch and make it a couple of days. Even if you do that only once a month, by the end of the summer, you will have (re)connected with at least 3 friends or relatives. Since I’m kinda old from your point of view, I can tell you from my own experience that those relationships will have meaning to you later in your life. You just have to make that little effort. It starts with a quick message.
There’s at least one other thing you need to take care of this summer:
You need to find a photographer for your Senior Photos!
There are a gazillion photographers out there. This can be a confusing task. So, if you want to find the best fit for you, you’ll want to start your search now. Obviously you can ask your friends who they are hiring or who they’d recommend. Ask them WHY they like the one they chose. And then do your own research – unless you’re a total follower and just do what everyone else is doing because that seems to be the thing to do. If you prefer to make up your own mind and want to search the unending depth of the web, I would recommend this site: https://www.findaphotographer.com/
Even though a lot of photographers on there do not have a bunch of details and photos listed but they are all members of PPA which IMHO shows that they are professionals because why would you join the Professional Photographers of America if you weren’t a professional photographer?!? Now, that doesn’t say anything about the quality of their work though. This is where YOU have to start digging. I’d just start at the top of the list and check out each one’s website, and then if I like what I see there, I’d send them a message. Or if you are one of the rare types who likes to talk on the phone – just give’em a call! Set up a time to chat in person.
Why?
Well, an in-person meeting gives you (and the photographer) a chance to see if you ‘click’ – pun not intended, hehe. But if you’d just simply message someone and set up a session – what if you get to your session and you have a weird feeling about the photographer you never met before and now, you just don’t feel comfortable? … So, just meet your photographer once before your session.
This is also where you lay out all your crazy or boring thoughts about your senior photos! Maybe you want something totally epic but all you actually do outside of school is video games, or work at some local large blue (or tan now) retail store, or you take care of Gramma, while everyone else seems to do awesome stuff with their sports and trucks. Well, do not despair! Seriously, when you find THE photographer for you, they will come up with epic ideas to document just that! Who says you can’t visit Gramma WITH your photographer for part of your session?!? See where I’m going with this???!!!
Now, of course I want you to check with me and hopefully you’ll like me and my work enough to book with me.
But what I really want is actually that you have epic senior photos! Nothing saddens me more than seeing bad photos or just the school photos in the schools’ Senior Announcements. Gosh, get a photographer who knows how to use existing light (natural light) and or or how to use flash properly, someone who knows how to pose you so you don’t look like you’re just standing by some random wall, crouching in the grass making your legs look big, or standing on a bridge and looking like you’re 4ft tall when you’re actually 5ft 5in! Someone who knows how to do this stuff makes that random wall compliment you because of its color, size, or texture …; your legs will look perfect when posed right and the grass and flowers will frame you beautifully …; and that bridge will be a nice (geometrical?) element in your photo adding a couple inches in height because you’re actually just 5ft 3in, right?
I know I already wrote more than I should have because no one reads this much anymore nowadays. But I mentioned the Mom of a Senior up in the beginning. So, here’s what you REALLY should put on the top of your list: FAMILY Photos! Because your baby will be leaving the nest next summer and then it will be more and more difficult to get all them little chickens to your nest all at the same time! So, make plans for your family portraits – you can follow the same steps as the seniors to find your perfect photographer. This summer or early next summer is the perfect time! You have been waiting for someone to tell you when the perfect time for family portraits is, haven’t you? (I did a blog post on that subject, too.)
So, here’s your summary:
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Work at camp for most benefit in fun and finance
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Spend a week at camp just for fun and friends
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(re)connect with an old friend or relative
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Find an awesome photographer for Senior Portraits
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Find an awesome photographer for Family Portraits
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