Summer in Texas....well its hot. But did you know its actually an optimal time to schedule your senior pictures? Yes I know what you're thinking, its way to hot and there is no way thats happening. But give me a chance to convince you why summer session might be your best choice! And for reference, every photo on this post was taken during the summer months.
Summer Schedule
It probably goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyway; summer schedules are the most flexible. Sure you may have work, camp or vacation plans, but those are easy to work around.
If you are in any fall sports or activities, you know that your summer is shorter. Often band, drill team and football start practice again in July. Which means from July until mid November your weekends are booked and your schedule is busy. Its so much hard to schedule once school starts. Not just because of extracurriculars and actually time spend in class; but there is homework, projects, etc. And if you have a job, well that just adds to an already full schedule.
And I also like to mention, if you want an ad I the yearbook, those deadline are EARLY, usually late September or October.
So if senior pictures are important to you, and your fall calendar is full. Consider scheduling for the summer.
Best Locations for Summer Sessions
So thought the year, there are some locations that are better in some seasons. For example, winter isn't great for nature, unless you love bare trees and dead grass (I am not judging, it is a whole look and I have take beautiful nature images in January). But luckily *most* of the summer has really pretty nature options.
The grass is green and growing, there are leaves on the trees and it photographs really nice. There is just something about that summer light that is special. But if you want to head to a park, I do suggest you skip the August months. Parks and trails tend to die off once the weather is extremely hot and coupled with a drought nearly every summer, its just kind of a dead look. But there are loads of other nature locations that are not impacted by the hot drought.
Consider the Arboretum or Botanical Gardens. They are tended to, watered and landscaped year round so they always look good. There are fees to shoot there, but if you want flowers in August, its worth the fee.
You could also head to the lake. There are a few gorgeous rock and beach front lake options nearby. Obviously there is no grass to worry about, and tipping your toes in the water is actually quite refreshing when its hot out.
Or maybe plan a city look. An urban setting is not seasonal so its a perfect choice year round.
Or....we can always take it indoors.
Managing the Heat
So, its hot, we cant really get around that. But after years of photographing seniors in the summer, I have learned a few tips and tricks. And I will spend the most time talking about how we deal with the heat.
Schedule for earlier in the summer. I know that school just finished and its hard to think about doing much. But summer is gone before you know it. And just to circle back, all those fall sports, they have camps and practices starting in July. So really June is THE BEST month to schedule a summer session. Does that mean you can't plan for August. Of course you can! If that is when you are available, we can absolutely make that work. But June is cooler in August, so if your schedule allows, plan for an earlier summer session.
Plan a morning session. OK, so you might not be a morning person. I get that. I AM a morning person so I don't totally get it, but yeah. You don't want to be up at 5a getting ready for a photoshoot. Because we all know that being awake is not the same as being photo ready. I won't sugar coat it. But its 1 day of your life. There are coffee shops that are open and we can your session completed before the heat of the day really kicks in. Just for an example based on super scientific weather sites. At 9am early in July the temperature is about 80 degrees. At 4p its about 93. Thats a 13 degree difference and while it may not sound like a lot. I promise you feel every single degree.
Take AC breaks. It is totally acceptable, and expected that we will take some AC breaks. You can hope in your car for 5 minutes just to cool off. Or if we are in an urban setting, hop into the nearest coffee shop for a AC and caffeine break (I never turn town coffee). The truth is, it would take far more time to edit the sweat and fallen hair then it would to just cool off and do a quick refresh. I would rather spend that extra 15 minutes with you at our session. It just makes the experience and product better.
Freeze some towels, and wrap them in ice packs. You can run your towels under water and wring them out REALLY good and through them in the freezer. They also make these things called chilly towels, you can get them on amazon, that are made for just this. You do not want your towel sopping wet, just damp to help cool you off. You can place them on the back of your neck, before the next outfit change, and just let it cool you off for a minute. If you are going to do this, bring a claw clip too so you can pull your hair off your neck so it doesn't get wet. Its surprising how much they can cool you off.
Bring touch up makeup. You will need it. The heat and humidity are not great with makeup. The best option is to bring a matte powder that you can use to touch up the shiny parts. If you have a foundation powder or any powder that has color that is helpful too to add color back in where it might have rubbed off. And after you refresh you might need to touch up your cheeks and lips too.
Go overboard on the hairspray. I know that hairspray can get stiff and crunchy and that might not be your favorite everyday look. But, it will do wonders to hold your curl and style while its hot. My absolute favorite is Kenra Volume Spray 25. You can buy it at Ulta, sometimes there are even sample sizes. But this stuff will hold through anything. I used to to hold my curls on my wedding day where the humidity was over 100 and it rained. Just know, that you should spray it when your style is how you like it. Do no spray it hoping your curls will fall a little, because they will not.
Bring a hat or plan to pull your hair up if it falls. Even with the best hairspray, sometimes its not enough. A cute hat can do wonders to cover a fallen hair style. Or you can throw it in a quick braid or pony tail. Its great because it adds a lot of variety to your session and looks super cute. And its defiantly an upgrade from frizzy hair that hasn't held. I do plan these looks for last, because we want to get those fresh looks early on. So don't wear the outfit that goes with your hat first, plan that one for the end.
Bring water. And a lot of it. I am not kidding when I say I have gone through a 96 ounce Yeti tumbler as a session before. I don't want you light headed or dehydrated. It doesn't do much for keeping you cool but its so important in not feeling sick.
Portable fan. You may not have one of these, and thats ok, but if you do, bring it! There are the ones that go around your neck or that are hand held. It doesn't feel like AC, so manage expectations here. But it can help just to have some air blowing on you and to dry your hairline if needed.
So, its a long list and I hope it doesn't have you dreading the heat. I think its important to acknowledge that it will be warm, and there are things you can do to make it more comfortable. And really, in your finished images you will not notice that you were hot! So if getting your session done early is important to you, its totally worth it and just use these tips to help give you the best results and experience possible.
So what do you think? Would you consider a summer session?
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