Cherry Creek High School Archives - Kelly Weaver Photography

About to be a High School Senior? Get Pics Now!

It can be hard to believe that your little boy or girl is now almost grown-up. You can remember them on their first day of school with so many years ahead, and now they’re about to be a high school senior! This is a moment, as a parent, you may want to cherish. That is why the team at Kelly Weaver Photography are proud to offer senior photos in Denver.

Now is the best time of year to snap those senior pictures in Denver. It’s summer, the weather is gorgeous, and the new school year is about to begin. Also, keep in mind senior yearbook images are due at the start of the school year, so don’t wait until school has started. That being said, we pride ourselves in our ability to accommodate those who have waited too long by turning around a finished yearbook image in 24 hours if necessary.

Before your teen has a chance to say no, book a session with Kelly Weaver Photography and have those senior pictures in Denver snapped before they’re off to College! The best part is, we only take 50 senior pictures per year. This means your child’s photo will be one of very few like it! In fact, we aim to make the process as individualized as possible.

So how does it work? Below are some tips to ensure you get the best senior pictures in Denver.

Don’t Settle on One Outfit

It may be strange telling your teen they can choose more than one outfit, but that’s something Kelly Weaver Photography encourages. If they can’t decide on what to wear, that’s a good thing!

Bring a few different complete outfits – including shoes and accessories – and we can arrange several different photos in each outfit. Some will be head and shoulders, some may be mid-shots, and some may be full body shots. The more variety we can offer, the better it is for your senior pictures in Denver!

However, even though it’s encouraged that you bring several different outfits – don’t bring four different black dresses. For the best senior photos in Denver, choose different styles. This could include formal, casual, outdoor clothing and semi-formal. Choose clothing that reflects the senior’s own personal style, not clothing that will impress grandma. You want your teen to feel as comfortable as possible and this can be achieved through allowing them to express their own clothing style.

Choose a Shoot that Suits You

Senior photos in Denver don’t have to involve just your teen – we have 3 of 4 senior packages which allow the senior to involve mom and dad, as well as any brothers and sisters with a complimentary family session. We want the senior session to be just about and for the senior. We will shoot in different locations for families. We even help the senior create their online personality profile to allow the senior to share their interests such as favorite movie, hobbies, music interests, and more with the intention of engagement within the session and having their true self-represented online.

Kelly Weaver Photography offers more than just senior photos in Denver, we also offer family photos that capture that special moment in time – the time your teen became a high school senior. Contact us to find out more about how to turn that memorable moment in your family to a mantelpiece-worthy photograph. We have several different packages to choose from, and each one is individualized to your family.

Make a Day of it

The new school year is about to start, so when you’ve decided to get senior photos in Denver taken, why not spoil your teen for the day? After all, with another busy year ahead and the weather so mild, there’s every reason to take advantage of the day.
Take a trip to the Littleton Museum, or why not show your competitive side with Colorado Journey Miniature Golf? We are surrounded by fun things to do and see here in Littleton, so get your senior photo in Denver and enjoy yourself while you’re at it!

There are also more benefits to making a day out of it than you realize. Often teens don’t enjoy getting their photo taken and this can show in the photos. If you plan a full, fun day out with family and friends, the photos will be the icing on the cake of what was an extraordinary experience. It also helps to remind your senior that they will be getting a stunning yearbook photo they can look back on for years to come.

Getting senior photos in Denver taken can be an emotional experience for parents. Your baby is all grown up and you’re not sure where the time has gone. Treasure the memory and capture the experience with Kelly Weaver Photography. We are dedicated to helping you savor every moment.

5 Reasons to Avoid the Dreaded FWAGC (Friend with a Good Camera) Pitfall When Taking Senior Yearbook Photos

For the first time in Colorado history, over 900,000 students are currently enrolled in the Centennial State – most of which probably have a smartphone in their pocket, right now.

Smartphone technology has provided millions of people with a high-quality camera available to them at any time, and many of those people take beautiful photos with those cameras. There are entire social media platforms basically devoted to the smartphone camera.

Despite the advances in smartphone camera tech, that friend with a good camera (FWAGC), aka everyone with a smartphone, still is most likely not a good choice to take your senior yearbook photos. Not because of any lack of skill on their part, but because of some specific reasons post-shoot that should be trusted to a professional senior yearbook photographer.

1. Specific Specifications

High schools have VERY specific specifications on what they will and won’t accept, if your yearbook picture doesn’t meet the specs, it’s NOT accepted. It can be weeks down the road before knowing your senior yearbook photos have been rejected. Don’t get stuck without a photo!

2. Cheap Shows

This is the time NOT to be OBVIOUS that you went cheap… I mean, who wants to stand out in a bad way in the yearbook?

3. Lasting Memories

The yearbook is what is pulled out at EVERY family reunion… again, who wants to look like they went cheap?

4. Retouching

Friends with good cameras can NOT retouch images, or if they do they look artificial and fake…it’s a fine art to retouch them just right.

5. A Story to Tell

A boy came to us recently who had gone to JC Penney’s for his yearbook picture in the Fall. They gave him a yearbook image with NO retouch (blemishes still in tact) and the pose was extremely unflattering. That experience and the final yearbook image actually affected him SO much that he was genuinely self-conscious about the way he looked.

When we photographed him, it completely CHANGED the way he looked at himself, and when we showed his mom the images from the back of my camera (at the session), she actually cried and thanked me.

PENNY for Your Thoughts (and Image)

What WE do at Kelly Weaver Photography, that a FWAGC can NOT:

- P is for PRO products
- E is for EXPRESSION
- N is for NO pressure
- N is for natural
- Y is for YEARBOOK

Don’t wait to get your senior yearbook photos done, call Kelly Weaver Photography today!

5 Reasons Why Senior Picture Sessions Before June 15 Just Makes Sense

Life during the school year can be crazy. But the summertime? Now that’s the time to get everything done. With the kids out of school, and no longer out of the house for most of the day, scheduling items to cross off their to-do list should be much easier. More time, more opportunity, right? No after-school activities, no early morning practices; just a full day to get stuff done!

The one exception to this logic is one to-do item that typically does occur during Summer, but actually, it might make more sense for it not to: Senior picture sessions. Typically the most gorgeous season in Colorado (debateable), it’s seemingly straightforward that Summer would be the best time to schedule your senior’s portrait session. Waiting until after the longest day of the year, however, could mean hard-to-find time slots and rushed production. Ensure your Senior picture sessions produce the absolute best results, with these five simple tips!

Avoid the bottleneck

Senior portraits take place the Summer between Junior and Senior year. Many wait until right before the start of school which creates a bottleneck, meaning you may not actually get a booking date at all and may be forced to go with the “friend with the good camera” (definitely NOT what you want to do for your senior portraits). The longer you wait to do your session, the longer you will wait to get through the process from start to finish (because of the increase in the number of students).

Waiting until Fall interferes with school activities

Once school begins, schedules go crazy….sports and other activities begin taking a great deal of time, and adding the senior portrait session in the mix really adds to the chaos. Also, many yearbook deadlines are VERY SOON into the school year, so if you wait, you may be not only hard pressed to even GET a session date, you will be pushing your yearbook deadline date and won’t have much time to review and select the images.

Preparation of the yearbook image takes time

Clients need at least 2-3 weeks after the senior session to allow ample time for the studio to have the images ready for viewing. After the images are viewed and chosen, at least 1 week is needed to retouch the chosen images, prepare the order and size the yearbook according to the school’s specifications. Most high schools have very specific needs when it comes to the size and quality of the yearbook image.

Late Spring/Early Summer makes for much better conditions

Late May and early June are PRIME for cooler temps, riper, richer foliage and ideal light. As the Summer progresses, heat rises (making for “sweaty teens”), foliage browns and we must shoot much EARLIER in the day to avoid BRIGHT Sun (not ideal for portraits). And no teen wants to get to their session earlier than 8:00 a.m. when July/Aug. conditions generally are best. We can also get much more VARIETY of backgrounds in the early months.*

Your Senior session will be much less rushed

We generally can spend a bit more time with the Senior EARLIER in the year than we can later when the demand is higher and more students are booked back to back. When more time is spent, the seniors feel more relaxed and we can generally get much BETTER looking portraits with natural smiles.

*Note: In July/Aug., the tall wild grass is no taller than ankle high and other foliage, as seen is either non-existant or brown

Senior Picture Ideas: When to Take Senior Photos? Now!

The new school year is just around the corner, so it’s time to stop procrastinating and get your senior photos now! We offer a variety of senior picture ideas to fit many types of personalities. Kelly Weaver Photography strives to capture the unique personality of each and every student and client; that is, we don’t do cookie-cutter senior sessions!

Depending on your budget, we offer a few options:

Senior Picture Ideas ~ On-Campus Sessions

On-campus sessions are the cheapest option (around $10-$20) because we volunteer our
time for all students to get a great shot for the yearbook, and we offer some discount package options for prints. The cons to this options are students are all lined up, so you do not have any privacy, there is only one background choice, and we only have about 10 minutes with each student, so you do not have the chance to warm up. It’s a very quick session. The good thing is the background choice is outdoors, so at least your photo will blend in with other students who select more robust packages.

Senior Picture Ideas ~ Signature Session

Our senior picture ideas for Signature senior sessions are that they last longer than the on-campus sessions because they are about 30 minutes, which is huge because it gives you a little more time to get comfortable. There’s time to move around and do a few poses and we offer 1-2 backgrounds in a PRIVATE location, so no one will be watching you — except me, of course! You will have 10 proofs to choose from, and the yearbook photo is included. AND you even get to pick what photos you want à la carte with no minimum purchase!

Senior Picture Ideas ~ Regular Sessions

Regular Sessions cost the most — but these sessions are definitely the most valuable for the client because this is when we really have the time needed to capture that absolutely amazing shot of you. You will also be in a private location, and because we have more time together, you can choose from a variety of background options, such as the Highline Canal, which is great because everyone’s personality is unique, so choosing a background that corresponds to your uniqueness will only enhance your beautiful senior photo. The Highline Canal is beautiful and a typical Colorado scape with tall, wild grass, alleyways, bridges, 20-foot walls, and even contemporary,edgy, out-of-the-box backgrounds. Plenty of senior picture ideas here! The BIGGEST benefit of this session is that you get 20-30 proofs, 3 different outfit options, and a TON more variety. This session also is really beneficial for students who aren’t photogenic because it takes TIME to build rapport and to loosen up to capture that winning smile. PLUS, we even do a personality profile to get to know the student first because we take pride in bringing out the best in everyone.

Click here to schedule a senior photo session today!

Turn Your Fave Shirt into a Pillow for a High School Memento!

Do you love your high school? Why not turn your fave school shirt into a pillow as a memento! We work with some amazing high school senior vendors, and Stuffed Shirts is TRULY unique! A stuffed pillow makes a wonderful gift for your college-bound son or daughter. Visit www.stuffed-shirts.com and click on the “Showcase” option to read about the “Original Stuffed Shirt.” A favorite old shirt offers a unique sense of home and also comes with a pocket, so your new college student can have a place to store a phone, MP3 player, alarm, special note, or trinket. Denver residents can call 303-587-7898 and avoid shipping costs by having your Stuffed Shirt delivered to a Centennial address. Kelly’s customers will receive an additional $5.00 discount!

Click here to book your senior session… Class of ’15 starts in May!

Archives for Arapahoe High School