When it’s so easy to take out your phone and take a good photo, you might be wondering whether it’s really necessary to hire a professional photographer for your senior portrait session.

Most smartphones have some impressive cameras and they’re great for capturing your everyday moments with friends and family. However, your phone won’t quite hit the mark for your senior portraits – here’s why.

- Your Photographer has Experience. There are a number of elements that make for a good photo and a photographer knows how to bring them together. What’s more, they can help guide you during your senior shoot, which can be helpful if you’ve never posed for portraits before.

- They Know How to Use a Location to Their Advantage.

The location of your senior shoot matters, as does the lighting. When you work with a professional photographer, you benefit from someone who knows how to use their surroundings to create beautiful images. Over and above that, your photographer can provide you with the best location options based on your vision for your shoot.

- They Have the Equipment. Your smartphone’s camera might be impressive, but it will never match up to professional cameras, lenses, and accessories. When you hire a professional senior photographer, you are also hiring their equipment. Plus, professional equipment is necessary for different scenarios, including bad weather and indoor shots.

Editing is a Part of the Package. It’s one thing to add a filter to a photo and another to edit it in a way that highlights all your best features at once. A professional photographer can edit your images in ways that are natural but eye-catching.  

Props can be used. You are more than welcome to use props during the session. For example, if your senior plays football, it only makes sense to use a football in some of the shots. These portraits should represent who your child is in their senior year and if props can help with that, by all means, bring them along. 

- They Bring an Artistic Eye. When you work with a professional senior photographer, their job is to bring your vision to life. However, you can also benefit from their artistic eye – you might end up using ideas you never even thought of.

In the end, this is a big milestone, one that deserves professional portraits. Your senior portrait session is an investment and an experience you won’t soon forget.