How To Plan A Senior Rep Photoshoot | Senior Photographer Education
As with any event, there’s a lot that goes into planning a senior rep photoshoot, How nice would it be to know exactly how to plan a senior spokesmodel group shoot without all the stress? The truth is, it’s more than possible — and today, I’m teaching you a method that will help you through every step of the process.
In the same way you can confidently follow a recipe and know that a delicious cake is bound to come out of the oven, what you’re about to learn is a system just like that. When you follow my signature 4-D framework, you’ll have everything for your senior rep team event covered. The ingredients you’ll need are:
2+ senior reps
1 venue
1-2 outfit concepts
1 info sheet
1 healthy sprinkle of your creativity!
Instead of pouring, whisking, mixing, and baking, the main actions you’ll be taking in this system are: discovering, deciding, designing, and distributing. This is the exact recipe I’ve used to plan and execute over THIRTY senior ambassador events so far. When you follow this proven framework, you'll plan a successful group photoshoot that actually works to bring you new senior leads (and rep applicants for the following year) — which is the primary motivation of investing your time and energy into these fun group photoshoots.
Picking a theme
Discover: Head to Pinterest first and look for Pinterest trend predictions. Also research Tiktok "aesthetics" so you can get a better idea of what teens are wearing and/or "into" right now.
Decide: Choose at least one aesthetic with photos of outfits, textures, patterns, and settings. Then, decide on a fun name for the theme!
Design: A Pinterest board showcasing the theme.
Distribute: Include a link to your Pinterest board when you send out your group session materials to your team.
Picking a location
Discover: I usually spend a couple of hours researching location options, whether local or destination. For some senior rep photoshoots, I'll re-use locations I visit often with regular clients, and sometimes I'll look into rentals, venues, and spaces I've never tried before.
Decide: You might find yourself with several great options (I know I have!) and sometimes I take a few days to pause before coming back to make the final call. I'm always looking for places with posing diversity options, props, unique backdrops or cohesion with the wardrobe aesthetics. Book your location as far in advance as possible — you’ll want to lock it down before someone else snags it!
Design: Download photos of the space and save them into a folder.
Distribute: When you’re sending out the details for your shoot, share the photos of the space so your clients know what to expect upon arrival.
Creating a schedule
Discover: First, check your schedule to confirm which of your reps are scheduled to attend this particular group shoot. (My Rep It! Students have an entire "Kitchen Sink" spreadsheet which includes one tab for easily tracking their rep team members' info throughout the year.) (We should link something here about rep it… the rep it freebie here instead of later in the budget section? Let me know your thoughts)
Decide: Decide how many outfits, how many backdrops, and whether you want to do group photos or solo shots or both (I’d recommend both).
Design: Write out an easy-to-understand schedule list with order of clients, time slots, and important notes about timing.
Distribute: Be sure to include these details in your info sheet or group shoot email that goes out to parents and seniors.
Putting together goodie bags
Discover: Brainstorm what small gifts will surprise and delight your team.
Decide: How much are you willing to spend and what items will go into it. Check your budget spreadsheet! (This is another gem that Rep It! students have access to.)
Design: How do you want to present the present? Presentation is everything!
Distribute: I like to have the gifts set up upon arrival as a surprise, or pass them out one by one. For this shoot, we did unique nametags that doubled as "wanted posters." For example, Bailey got a card titled "WANTED: Blackjack Bailey" - it was a hit!
When it comes to preparing your reps, visuals are everything! I also suggest looping in both parent and senior, clarifying your guest policy, including parking and directions, and even adding some suggestions for other activities to do in the area.
If you ever feel frustrated about a theme not coming out the way you hoped, or the outfits missing the mark, chances are there was a miscommunication from your end to the client's end. Doing this 4-D prep work ensures that there is no room for guessing — your team will step inside your mind and see the vision alongside you!
As far as my own preparation as the photographer, there are a few must-haves I won’t show up without: extra batteries, memory cards, water, and sometimes an outfit change for fun.
Behind the scenes coverage is a need as well, as it’s super important for leveraging this event into content over the next several weeks post senior rep photoshoot.
The JenRenPro team shows up and shows out at these group shoots — I couldn’t do it without my videographer and assistant. A videographer will capture vertical video for social media and/or professional video for promotional videos on your rep team application website. One year I even hired someone to bring a drone and it's some of my favorite rep footage to date! My assistant helps with running the schedule, notifying the next senior when it's almost their turn, chatting with parents, etc. Having an extra person on hand is SO helpful, even if it's your spouse, sibling, or friend jumping in to help!
Budgeting your senior rep photoshoot
It can seem tricky to justify a senior rep group photoshoot if it costs more than it produces — which is why knowing how to harness this event for marketing is essential to the success of your program.
Group photoshoot costs can range anywhere from $100-$2,000+ — it depends on factors like venue, number of students, costs for assistants, gifts, props, wardrobe, partnerships, travel, etc.
That's why it is SO important to track each and every expense in your rep team, as well as how much business it brings you. That way you can feel confident that these group photoshoots are not a trivial expense for a few likes on social media — they're a surefire investment.
You put in a dollar and it gives you ten dollars back. That's the idea for marketing across the board!
Getting together the theme, location, schedule, budget, and everything in between doesn’t seem so hard now, does it? With the 4-D framework and these tips in your back pocket, you can plan an unforgettable senior rep photoshoot for your senior rep program!
