How to Choose a Senior Portrait Photographer in Grand Rapids

Hiring a senior portrait photographer is a bigger decision than most families realize. These images will live in your home, in your grandparents' wallets, on your graduation announcement, and on social media for years. Here's how to choose well.

Look at Full Galleries, Not Just Highlights

Every photographer posts their best images on Instagram. What matters is consistency — ask to see entire galleries or larger sets of images. When you look at an entire gallery from a single session, do all the images hold up? That tells you what you'll actually receive from your own session.

Find a Style That Matches What You Want

Photography session styles vary significantly in several ways:

Posing
Some photographers shoot highly posed, fashion-forward images. Others work loose and candid, letting moments happen naturally. Neither is better — but you want a photographer whose instincts match what you're actually hoping your portraits look like.

Editing — Overall Look
Some photographers, myself included, lean toward clean, natural-looking edits. Others push toward a specific aesthetic — dark and muted, bright and airy, heavily saturated. None of those is wrong; it just comes down to what you like. Look at a photographer's full galleries, not just their best images, to get a true sense of their editing style.

Editing — Skin and Eyes
Skin tone is one of the most telling parts of a photographer's editing style and can vary widely. Some photographers favor heavily retouched, airbrushed skin with bright, enhanced eyes. Others prefer a more natural look — realistic skin texture, true-to-life tones, eyes that look like yours rather than a filter version of yours. Neither approach is wrong, but it's worth knowing which direction a photographer leans before you book — because it's hard to un-edit a portrait.

Meet Before You Book

The day of your session should not be the first time you meet your photographer. Nobody wants to step out of a car, shake hands with a stranger for the first time, and immediately say "Cheese." A pre-session consultation — in person, by video, or at least a real phone call — lets you get a feel for whether you actually click. Your comfort level with your photographer matters more than you might think. It shows up in every image.

Ask About the Process

What's included? How many outfits? How long is the session? When do you get your images? How are digital files delivered? Are the images watermarked? Is there a print release? These aren't small questions — they shape your whole experience.

Understand the Pricing Structure

Some photographers charge a low session fee but sell prints separately and have minimum print orders or specific packages you need to purchase. Others include everything. Neither approach is wrong, but you should know what you're getting before you book so there are no surprises. My pricing structure is built on the belief that pricing should be simple — there should be no surprise costs, no pressured print sales sessions, and no “Wow, that was way more expensive than I anticipated.”

Trust Your Instincts

If a photographer's work moves you, if their personality feels right, if their process makes sense to you — trust that. These portraits will matter for a long time, and the photographer you choose will shape how they turn out.

Contact Me To Discuss Your Session

If you're in the Grand Rapids area and you're starting your search, I'd be honored to be in the conversation. Reach out anytime — even if it's just to talk.