This past week I was able to take my grad photos. I never did them when I was in high school so I was a little nervous about how it would be and how the photos would turn out. I spent weeks looking for a photographer and I was set on one when I won a giveaway. I was gifted a free photography session by an actual photographer with a degree and many years of experience. I was very excited about this opportunity since I do not tend to win things and this specific prize was worth almost $700. I prepared immensely for the photos so they would look great and this is what I did.
- Found the perfect outfit/dress
This was one of the most important things to get done first since it was a huge part of the photos. Without having the key outfit, my photos would likely look horrible. Luckily I was able to get two dresses: one that was more like a white cottage style while the other was a more formal dress. It took me about two weeks before I was able to pick the right ones for me. The first I got from Macy’s and the second from Lucy in the Sky.
- Comfortable shoes
Heels or whatever shoes one is wearing are very necessary. For my photos, we had to walk around at least half of my college campus. If I would’ve worn very skinny heels then that would’ve been an issue since walking would have either hurt or I would have tripped on something. I’m glad that I have platform heels from Steve Madden which were very comfortable despite being 4.5 inches tall.
- Face mask/skincare routine
Since you’re going to have these photos for the rest of your life it is important that one looks their best. That is why I began doing my skincare more often and focusing more on what my skin looks like. Despite the photographer, I had to do edits to my photos I didn’t want myself to look unnatural or only edited. I made sure I had clear skin with no acne so that my photos would always look great. I used various different maks, oils as well as gua shas, and face rollers.
- Get nails done
I think this was something really necessary for me at least since I do have smaller nail beds. I always want to make sure my nails look more girly so by getting nails I was able to achieve this and my fingers didn’t look weird. I was able to do something natural-looking so that even though they weren’t my real nails they did not look too fake.
Overall I think these are the most important things to have the perfect grad photos. Although not everyone needs to follow these steps to have the perfect photos, it’s what helped me get the perfect photos. I still have not gotten the actual proofs of my photos, but when I saw them on the camera they looked great.