11 Mistakes to avoid with your senior pictures.

by Jeff Comella Photography

11 Mistakes to avoid with your senior pictures.

  1. Picking the wrong photographer.
  2. Wearing the wrong clothes.
  3. Choosing the wrong season.
  4. Lacking confidence during their session.
  5. Don’t know what you want.
  6. Seniors that are unprepared.
  7. Under estimating the importance of good make up and good retouching.
  8. Getting your hair cut or a new hair style right before your session.
  9. Realize your cell phone camera is not good enough for senior pictures.
  10. Getting tanned before your session.
  11. Forgetting to relax and have fun.

1. Picking the wrong photographer.

Compare photographers by checking out their website. You are shopping for a photographer’s style. While budget is a consideration, you will have these photos for a lifetime so choose based upon what like and can afford. Call and ask questions before choosing. Do they have a studio, do they use lighting, and can they provide you with a yearbook photo?

2. Wearing the wrong clothes.

Sometimes clothes you like do not flatter you in photographs. Many times clothes can add extra weight in a photograph. Consult with your photographer before your shoot date to discuss clothing.

3. Choosing the wrong season

While you can shoot all year around, weather, wind and direct sun can be a major factor in planning your photo session. Most seniors are photographed between their junior and senior year during the summer break.

4. Lacking confidence during their session.

Don’t be shy, bring your energy and be confident. It will show in your photos.

5. Don’t know what you want.

Many seniors simply don’t know what they want…Plan ahead with your parents where you plan to place the main portrait and which wall. Get a sense of what size would look good for the space.

6. Seniors that are unprepared.

Think entire outfits…don’t forget your belt, jewelry, ear rings, uniforms, sports gear and accessories. Make sure your clothes are wrinkle free.

7. Under estimating the importance of good make up and good retouching.

A professional makeup artist makes a huge difference in your photos. There is no need to worry about blemishes as they will be covered with makeup or removed with retouching.

8. Getting your hair cut or a new hair style right before your session.

Girls, trying out a new hair style is not the time for senior pictures. Guys, getting your hair cut 2 weeks before your session is a good amount of time to look great. You want your hair not be too short or too long.

9. Realize your cell phone’s camera is not good enough for senior pictures.

Cell phone cameras are great, but they are not a replacement for high quality senior pictures. Natural light can be okay for candid photos, but high quality senior photos rely on good lighting indoors and outdoors.

10. Getting tanned before your session.

Getting a tan before your session is ill advised. Tan 1-2 weeks before your session if you want, but it is often not necessary.

11. Forgetting to relax and have fun!

Getting great senior pictures takes planning and preparation but don’t forget it is part of your senior year experience and should be fun and a great memory to add to your bucket list.

©2017 Jeff Comella

 

Senior Model Reps…

2018 Seniors:

We are looking for a few outstanding, responsible, outgoing, and fun high school Juniors to be model reps for our studio. We want you to help us spread the word about our beautiful, award winning senior pictures. We have found that model reps and referrals are the best way to promote our studio! This is an opportunity to earn up to $1000 in free prints!  All you have to do is show your gift card portraits to as many friends as possible and refer them and convince them to come to us for their senior pictures. If they are not convinced direct them to visit our website www.comellaphoto.com and see why we were voted #1 for senior portraits and create the best senior pictures in Pittsburgh.

As a Senior Model Rep you will enjoy the following benefits:
A free headshot model photo to be featured on  your model $50 Gift Card and Facebook. This is your digital business card.

YOU WILL RECEIVE credit for each referral that completes a session and places/pays for their senior portrait order.    Each senior portrait referral is applied to your account.
Refer 5 students and receive $500 in free senior pictures! Refer any students after 5 referrals and receive $100 for each.

Example: refer 7 seniors and you receive $700 in free prints.
Refer 10 students and receive $1000 in free senior pictures!

Ok, so how many friends do you know? Your referrals do not have to be from your school. How many seniors can you convince that Jeff Comella Photography is the best studio for their senior pictures! We have photographed many seniors from Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.
The more referrals you send us the more free prints you receive–up to $1000 worth!

Our studio may also feature your photo in our marketing brochures and on our web site to promote senior pictures.

IF YOU ARE READY AND INTERESTED in being Jeff Comella Model Rep, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A SENIOR MODEL APPLICATION FORM. CALL US AT 412-369-8908, OR EMAIL US AT INFO@COMELLAPHOTO.COM.

Jeff Comella Photography
www.comellaphoto.com
412-369-8908

Senior Pictures Pittsburgh – Gift Card

munsch-giftcard5Regina Munsch – Wait, I’m going to be a senior at North Allegheny? It’s time for senior pictures!

Jeff Comella Photography is offering an amazing senior picture deal – just flash this coupon and you’ll get $50 off! As you can see, he’s super talented & honestly the best photographer in Pittsburgh for senior pictures, so head over to his website www.comellaphoto.com to see what it’s all about! — with Jeff Comella.

Spring is finally here! Booking Class of 2016 Seniors…

Exciting new things are happening here at the studio with the anticipation of spring…Goodbye snow! Happy to see you go! Ha.

We are ramping up for the Class of 2016 Seniors and have already started booking summer dates for senior pictures.

We recently converted our website www.comellaphoto.com from a flash site to html5. This makes it more Google friendly and vastly improves the loading time to view the site, especially for our mobile clients. We have added some new high school senior pictures to the site, which were taken in and around various Pittsburgh locations.There are almost 200 photos in the senior section alone!

Here are two recent senior sponsorship ads: one for Pine Richland yearbook and the other for North Allegheny musical.  Class of 2016 seniors, get ready and schedule your senior session.

Beautiful seniors pictures. North Allegheny

Beautiful seniors pictures. North Allegheny

 

senior-pictures-pittsburgh-location

senior-pictures-pittsburgh-location

Modern Senior Pictures Pittsburgh

new look for seniors
THE HEAD SHOT…
Jeff Comella, Pittsburgh senior pictures would like to share a beautiful photo of a Miranda taken for her high school senior pictures at North Allegheny High School. The look is a modern senior portrait and is achieved thru lighting and editing.
I have been developing some digital makeup techniques and have begun to work on a new “look”  for  beauty lighting which can be easily adapted to models, dancers, high school seniors and anyone who needs an updated head shot, especially a business head shot.
The original un-retouched photo on the left is shot with a Mola light modifier and a reflector fill… aka some photographers call it the clam shell lighting technique, since it lights from the top and bottom.
In the retouched digital makeup version, I decided to accent and contour to the cheek bones, and add heavier eye shadow.  This can be varied to taste.
The new “look” brightens the skin color, adjusts the contrast curves some and adds some diffusion and glow to create the overall head shot effect. There straight out of the camera un-retouched photo is still beautiful.
The beauty of the effect is like seasoning while cooking you can alter the effect to your taste buds. Beautiful seniors! Enjoy!

Senior Pictures on Location…

Sometimes senior clients desire something very different, custom, and unique for their senior pictures. So we offer to photograph their senior pictures on location. The parents wanted a senior picture of their daughter on their boat at sunset. That is a tall order, considering Pittsburgh is known for its cloudy days. I knew we needed to light our subject and balance our lighting with the background. Technically, this is something of a challenge as the light is changing very quickly and so is the sky. With some post production enhancements and the weather cooperating, we got the shoot in…as we were packing up the rains came. Here is a recent Pittsburgh senior portrait of Sarah Prins of Vincentian Academy.  What a great idea for a unique and beautiful senior picture. Cheers!

custom senior pictures on location

Custom senior pictures on location

So, where should I go to get senior pictures in Pittburgh?

Duh, c’mon you know the answer to that…Jeff Comella Photography near Wexford.  lol

Here is a quick take from yesterday’s session with Rachel Brunner of Pine Richland.  We got some great shots! We love black and white photos here at the studio, but we call this Vintage, which is both color and black and white combined together for a unique look. We vary it so that every photo is different and special. Here is another from our archives of a guy on our barn wood.  Enjoy! 🙂

 

Senior Pictures – A montage of recent seniors

Wow, students are back in school and what another great senior season for senior pictures! We had a blast working with the students and their parents.  We will be posting new photos over several months. Here is a montage of seniors from our current brochure spread. Enjoy!