best senior photographer near me Harrisburg PA

Why I Use Multiple Locations as a Cumberland Valley High School Senior Photographer in Mechanicsburg PA

If you’ve browsed some of my senior portraits in my portfolio, you might have noticed that each session has a lot of variety - varied locations and varied looks all packed into the same session. Every photographer does their photo shoots a bit differently, but as a senior photographer in Mechanicsburg, PA, I love to bring my clients to several outdoor locations in the course of their photo shoot. 

Take this beautiful Cumberland Valley High School senior’s photo shoot for example. She had a great time seeing all the different looks we could capture at different locations in the Mechanicsburg area. Why exactly do I do this and why have I come to think this gives my clients the best senior portraits? I’m happy to explain!

A high school senior girl dances through a wildflower meadow at her outdoor photoshoot with best Mechanicsburg PA Senior Photographer

1. Creating Visual Variety as a Senior Photographer in Mechanicsburg PA

You might be surprised by how often you use your teenager’s senior photos. They’re often used for their high school yearbook, programs for senior extracurricular activities like sports or musical performances, certain events or awards in their first year or two of college, and simply for you and other family members to frame and enjoy in your homes. When I incorporate several outdoor locations into the session, it offers a lot of visual variety, which gives you a lot of different looks to use for various formats and purposes.

Best Cumberland Valley high school senior pictures near Mechanicsburg PA

2. Capitalizing on the Fluidity of a Senior Photo Shoot

Many types of portraits are meant to highlight a particular chapter of your life or aspect of your family, like a maternity photo shoot or a newborn photo shoot. As much fun as it is to highlight a special moment in your life, a senior photo shoot is unique because it’s a lot less defined - we’re celebrating your child as a whole, not just a particular life event. This means we have more freedom to get creative and be adventurous, so it’s a great opportunity to play with multiple locations. In fact, senior portraits are the only type of photo shoot when I get to shoot at several locations!

Cumberland Valley High School Senior poses along a stone wall at her outdoor senior pictures with Karissa Zimmer Photography

3. Honoring Your Teen’s Complexity

Senior photos are all about freezing this moment in time when your teenager is at the junction between childhood and adulthood, and you know well that they’re so much more than a one-tone personality. They have many different interests and aesthetics, so why limit their photo shoot to only a few aspects of who they are? Let’s celebrate every side of who they are! Taking advantage of multiple locations allows us to capture so many dimensions of your soon-to-be young adult.

Sunflower field Senior Photography in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania

4. Taking Advantage of What the Mechanicsburg Area Has to Offer

“Because we can” might not always be the best logic for doing something, but in this case, it absolutely is! The Mechanicsburg area simply has so many unique aesthetics to offer - there are stunning woodsy parks, edgy industrial locales, colorful floral fields, modern urban streets, quaint small-town looks, and so much more. To be frank, if we have all that available at our disposal, why not take advantage of it to make your teen’s senior photos truly wow-worthy?

Girl Poses along a stony creekside for her high school senior pictures with Best Mechanicsburg Senior Photographer

Now Booking as a Senior Photographer in Mechanicsburg PA

For many teenagers, their senior photos are their last formal photos until their wedding, so let’s make it count! Taking advantage of our area’s beauty is one way that I make my clients’ photos stand out as a senior photographer in Mechanicsburg PA. To chat about how we can make your teenager’s photo shoot one of a kind, contact Karissa Zimmer Photography.

Best Senior Photos near 17055 PA A Cumberland Valley senior lays on her stomach amongst purpe flowers while posing for her senior pictures. Flower field senior photos Mechanicsburg PA High School Senior Photoshoot in an outdoor flower field

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What to Wear for Girls Senior Photos in Harrisburg, PA

For a lot of girls, planning outfits is one of the most fun parts of getting ready for their senior photos. Whether you’re going shopping for something new or pulling out the best of what your closet has to offer, I meet with each of my clients in advance to plan your wardrobe and all the other exciting details of your one-of-a-kind photo shoot. But if you want to start exploring some ideas, here are some tips for what to wear for girls senior photos in Harrisburg, PA.

A Central Dauphin high school senior sits in a beautiful field of tulips at her Harrisburg PA senior photo session with Karissa Zimmer Photography.

Have Casual and Formal Outfits

You’ll use your senior photos for a lot of different purposes, from social media to your senior yearbook, so you want to have enough looks to suit all those purposes. That starts with having a casual outfit or two and a more formal outfit too. Some popular favorites for casual outfits are:

  • A flowy boho dress
  • Jeans with a simple yet stylish top
  • A cute romper

On the flip side, your more formal outfit could include:

  • A sophisticated dress
  • Dress slacks with a classy top

Of course, it all needs to match the venues where your photos are taken, so don’t worry, we’ll talk through all of the styling in your consultation.

High school senior flower field photo shoot near Harrisburg PA

Dress for the Season in Your Girls Senior Photos in Harrisburg, PA

Senior photos are usually taken in the spring or summer before senior year or in the early fall, and the season you choose should match your outfit choices. For spring or summer, choose light and airy looks and colors, such as:

  • A sundress
  • Light warm-weather colors like white, blush pink, mint green, or vibrant yellow
  • Light fabrics

For fall, you can go with a more rustic or cozy look with deeper colors. For example:

  • Jeans and a sweater
  • Earth tones like shades of brown, army green, or rust orange
  • A sweater dress
  • A high school senior girl spins in a tulip flower field during her senior photo session with best high school senior photographer, Karissa Zimmer Photography.

Keep It Simple

These are your senior photos and we don’t want your clothes to take all the attention! Opt for solid colors, or patterns that are very simple and not too busy or attention-grabbing. When in doubt, it’s better to err on the side of simpler clothes because you can add accessories if you want more detail - it’s a lot harder to make a busy top look quieter than to dress up a simple top.

Poses for High school senior girl flower field photography.

Remember: Choose Outfits That Fit Your Style and Personality

All of my advice above is generalized for a broad audience, and while it can be helpful, take it as suggestions rather than rules. Ultimately, your senior photo shoot is all about highlighting and memorializing who you are at this special crossroads in your life, so your outfits should be authentic to you.

Best High School senior photographer near Harrisburg PA photographs senior girl flower field session.

Planning Your Girls Senior Photos in Harrisburg, PA

Now that the ideas are flowing, let’s start planning your photo shoot! Contact Karissa Zimmer Photography and we’ll get started.

Central Dauphin High School Senior photos with Karissa Zimmer Photography

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