Sometimes when a senior girl contacts me she tells me – I don’t usually wear makeup. And as a person who RARELY does either – I totally get that.

Makeup as a concept is pretty foreign to me. I used to think – “eh – who cares?” But…after doing this a while, processing thousands upon thousands of images I can confidently say this: it matters.

Makeup gives your skin just that little bit of extra – smooths, beautifies, makes you glow. It’s why we are so drawn to fashion magazines – those girls can look an amazing number of different ways – cute, pretty, hip, grungy, elegant.

Makeup and Hair, baby. So there are really two schools of thought on this – the first is: “I don’t want to look like anyone but me” – and I say in return – I agree!

When you are wearing makeup - - it should enhance you and your natural beauty. Not be a layer or make you feel like you’re wearing a mask.

Makeup done well makes you feel amazing – more free, more beautiful, more alive. The second school of thought is: “I want to wear makeup and ROCK MYSELF OUT LIKE A MODEL” and I say in return – I agree! ::laughing:: It’s all about personality and what YOU want your images to be like. So…I’m telling you all of this to get you thinking. I have a group of amazing professional makeup artists that handle hair and (duh) makeup – and you don’t have to think about it. We do it all for you. It costs extra, yes. But the result makes your photoshoot into something CRAZY COOL. Images that you’ll keep forever.

So…here’s a couple of girls that rocked out the make up and hair professionals – watch their slideshows and think: That could be ME! Email me for more information.

Check Out Olivia (click the image to see the whole slideshow):

The second biggest question after “what should I wear” happens when the person I’m photographing arrives and says “how should I pose?”. Well. Something like that.

Posing is something that doesn’t come naturally. I want everyone to STOP worrying about it. Do you think models have it easy? No. They need the same support and direction and help that everyone does.

Making you look good in photographs is something that takes practice. You and your photographer have to work together to find the style of posing that fits YOU. What works for Tyra Banks is not necessarily going to look good when you do the same pose.

When I’m photographing seniors I say the same thing to everyone: the first 30 minutes are awkward and you are going to feel uncomfortable. That is NORMAL. I play with the light and we move around and try different things until I find a great spot for YOU.

Then we work together on posing. No pressure. If one thing doesn’t work — we’ll try something else.

And then…guess what happens? It sounds weird — but you get a little tired…and bored…and you relax.

THAT’S the moment I’m waiting for. Once that happens — you start looking AMAZING in photographs. Because you stop worrying about you and start BEING you. Does that make sense?

And I’ll start playing with different ideas — some you’ll like and some you won’t. Some will surprise you later. Some of the most awkward poses look the coolest in images. It doesn’t make a lot of sense and I can’t really explain it better than that…but mostly — if you trust me and listen and TRY — you will end up LOVING the result.

That’s the magic of posing.