Knowing how to prepare your senior photography clients for their session can be overwhelming. As photographers, we know how much outfits and styling play such a huge role in how the photos turn out. As well as how it contributes to how much editing you have to do later.
However, most of us didn’t get into photography to also become a stylist, let alone research what’s “in” with today’s generation of seniors. On top of the limited time we already have wearing all the hats, sometimes the last thing we have in us is to create client education and guides that you are not even sure your clients are reading.
Trust me I’ve been there, (pulling my hair out, exhausted type of been there). In this blog I’m sharing my secret to not only educate my senior clients on what to wear for their senior photos, but also how to do it so they would actually read the information and how you can do it too! We will go over:
- How I send my own app to my senior photography clients
- How it works
- Already made Canva templates that you can quickly and easily customize and send to your clients right away
- How to find beautiful photos to use if you don’t have the portfolio yet of outfits you want your senior clients to wear
How I send my own app to my senior photography clients
When I asked senior photographers what their biggest hang-ups have been in getting started with prepping their senior clients, the most common ones shared were things like:
- I am not as young and clothing trends are sooooo difficult for me…
- Not sure the best way to send the information to the clients so they can easily access it.
- Just feeling overwhelmed about all the information that goes into it.
- I don’t have time to create what to wear resources.
- I’ve already spent so much time creating beautiful guides and my clients are not reading them.
I get it. I’ve been there. In the early years, I would panic when clients asked what they should wear. I also became frustrated that my clients were not coming to their session beautifully styled and ready. Then the frustration continued to build when my editing time increased as I tried to fix chipped nail polish and mismatched foundations.
As I got further into my photography career, I saw the value in educating my clients beforehand. However, I then spent HOURS designing and putting together all this session prep info for my senior photography clients with these beautiful guides, and then I noticed they were not reading any of it.
I knew there had to be a better way.
If you have ever been there friend, let me give you a virtual hug and offer you an amazing solution.
For years I just attached the session prep info in an email and then eventually progressed to having the info in a “client hub” on my website and I STILL found that my clients were not wanting to hunt through emails or remember links to websites in order to check back on how to prep for their session. And honestly it became one of those “outta sight outta mind” situations.
That’s when I decided I wanted a way to have the info on their phones, because that’s the ONE THING TEENAGERS are almost guaranteed to have and use? Their phones.
Thus, the session prep app was born!
Now I email them a link to add their session prep app to their phone and *BAM* all the information is at their fingertips in a beautiful and modern way. What’s even better, is I can send this app to them right after they book while the excitement is high, and then when they need the info they can access it right away and no more hunting for links or emails.
Want already done templates that you can just drop your images into and send to your clients? Grab my SENIOR SESSION PREP APP TEMPLATES HERE (they are currently 20% off!).
How it works
Wondering how you actually do this and create your own? It’s so easy and probably simpler than you think!
- Create an iphone image size canvas in either in Canva or Photoshop.
- Create your content. Some pages I would include are maybe: what to wear based on seasons, what to wear basics, what to bring to the session, what happens after their session.
- Download your images.
- Upload your images into a mobile app online gallery. Your online gallery service must be able to do mobile galleries. I use CLOUDSPOT.
- Deliever an incredible senior portrait experience and stand out from the crowd by sending an app to your senior clients!
Canva Session Prep App Templates
Don’t have time to create this on your own? Then I’m here to be your photography godmother! Introducing:
MY CANVA SENIOR SESSION PREP APP TEMPLATES
Included: 46 pages of templates/education to help prep your senior clients and video tutorials on how to customize these templates as well as how to upload and send them to your client.
+MAKEUP PREP (verbiage included that I got directly from the professional makeup and hair artists I work with!)
+ HAIR PREP
+ MUA BIOS
+ SESSION CHECKLIST
+ WHAT TO WEAR BASICS
+ WHAT TO WEAR BASED ON SEASONS (verbiage included)
+ WHAT’S NEXT (what clients can expect after their session is done)
Bonuses:
- Video tutorial on how to customize these templates
- Video tutorial on how to upload and send these as an app to clients
- Questionnaire that I send to my senior clients prior to their senior session
What do you need for these templates?
- A free Canva Account
- An online gallery (like how you send digital to photography clients) that have mobile app capabilities. There are a lot of free online gallery plans that offer at least one mobile to get started.
Note: Even if your online gallery of choice does not offer mobile apps you can always still download them as a pdf and send to clients if you don’t already have something to send to them.




Finding photos for your app
I love that these templates are drag and drop and ready to go, but what if you don’t have any photos yet of what you want your clients to wear? Again, I’ve been there and I’ve got you! (You can thank me later).
Places that allow you to use images royalty free:
I would search these websites for the outfits/looks you would love your senior client to show up in. Both of these websites have a large database. Then hopefully with time your own clients will show up in outfits you love and you can replace them with your own work.
Implementing this app to prepare my senior clients elevated the experienced I offered and increased the trust my clients had in me to take beautiful photos. I heard from both the parents and my senior clients talk about how cool it was to get an app. The app also helped me stand out from the crowd of other senior photographers who were not willing to put in the extra step of preparing their clients beforehand.
So if you are ready to save time, stand out from the crowd and increase the value and expierence you offer your senior photography clients, grab these SENIOR SESSION PREP APP TEMPLATES HERE while they are 20% off!
FREEBIE: SESSION PREP CHECKLIST
Don’t have any client education currently and just need something to send to your senior clients right now? You can sign up for my free session prep checklist. This is the exact checklist I send to my senior photo clients so they know what to bring to their senior session, and you can steal it!
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