SUGGESTIONS FOR GIRLS:

At The Photo Express, we offer you a choice of sitting styles, so that you have a Senior Portrait especially for you. We've prepared this page to give you a few suggestions so that you'll be the most happy with your portraits, so please take a moment to read the following suggestions:

CLOTHING:

In any portrait, your face should always be the main point of interest, not your clothing. You want your clothing to compliment your face, not compete with it.

In the old days everyone wore dark, solid colors, but today we encourage you to bring different types of outfits, so we can give you a complete assortment to choose from. The magic word today is VARIETY! Instead of bringing, say, 4 white sweaters, try instead to bring 3 or 4 different outfits. Examples:, a formal or dressy outfit; 1 or 2 semi-dressy (or semi-casual - hey, we're easy!) outfits; a casual; and a special outfit.

Also, try to pick your outfits so you'll have a variety of colors & tones (that is, light & dark) instead of all the same ( how dull, you know?). If you don't think you have enough variety, beg or borrow from your family or friends! Here are some examples for you to bring:

FORMAL - For girls, a formal dress, dressy dress or suit, etc. This will probably be the one your family will hang over the mantle, so you want this to look classy - Solid colors are best here! Just remember that if you wear stripes, polka dots, contrasty prints or plaids, etc., you're going to get really sick of looking at that same design day after day on the wall (not to mention looking outdated soon) - that's why you want to stick to something classical and simple.

SEMI-FORMAL - Any kind of dressy or sporty looking outfit - a regular dress, pantsuit, fashiony look, etc; again, you will want to lean more towards solids.

CASUAL - This can be solids, prints, stripes, light, dark, rainbow colored, whatever you feel like! - Jeans, shorts, casual shirts, Levis, warmups, etc. Try to have different colors and tones from the other 2 outfits!

SPECIAL - We encourage everyone to bring one of these! Such as:, sports/band/drill/cheering uniforms or outfits, bathing suits, snowski/tennis/dance outfits, etc.

COLORS:

As we said above, try to bring different types and colors of your outfits. Ideally, bring at least one dark, one light/pastel or white, and different colors. 4 different colored sweaters & levis isn't really giving variety. Neither is having different types of outfits, but all of them in the same color - you won't really see the variety as well.

Want to Look THINNER?

Hey, not even Brittney Spears has a perfect bod - what you wear can make a major difference in your size appearance in your portraits. A few suggestions, for those who want to look better!:

Light & bright colors (yellow/red/pink/white/etc.) will make you look larger.

Dark, cool colors (blue/green/brown/grey, etc.) will make you look smaller.

Solids Only! - NO Stripes, polka dots, prints, etc.

Long sleeves are a definite plus - avoid sleeveless outfits, unless you've got great arms & elbows. This is especially true on your formal & semi-formal outfits.

The point is to draw less attention to your body and more to your face - that's what it's all about!

Retouching:

We can soften or remove: blemishes, lines, bags, scars, moles.

We CAN retouch: braces, teeth, strap marks, crossed eyes, glass glare, stray hairs, etc.; but this is done digitally, and IS done at an additional charge.

Freckles: We can soften, but you probably won't look right if they're TOTALLY removed - besides, freckles are cool! Also, makeup helps! If you do want them ALL removed, we can do this digitally at an additional charge.

Glasses: Strong corrective lenses distort - photograys hide your eyes - they all reflect - these cannot be retouched except at additional cost. Ask your eye doctor to loan you a pair of (matching) empty frames, or remove the lenses beforehand. (Some types, we can do here). Your portraits will look 1,000,000% better!

SUMMER SUN - We CAN retouch sunburns, redness or peeling, but only digitally, (see above). And, with sunburns and red skin, we can't always fix EVERYthing, even digitally! A slight tan looks ok in portraits, but if you look like a bronze goddess, or a Red Lobster, well, that's the way your portraits will be! There's something called SUNSCREEN (preferably 30+) that's been around for years - use it! But, if you get burned before your sitting, the best thing to do is - RESCHEDULE!!

NECKLINES - V-or cowl neck look best - round or square necklines sometimes make your face look broader.

HAIR - make sure it looks fresh and natural, and clean. Don't try a new hairstyle right before your sitting - You probably won't like it!

MAKE-UP - It's really important that you do use makeup for your portraits - just make sure you know what will give you the best results and don't overdo. On girls we use "sofftouch" lenses on many of the poses, so it's important to make sure your eyes especially are accentuated. Also, coverup can eliminate most minor blemishes. We can also offer makeup assistance.

JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES - Bring coordinating jewelry, necklaces, earrings - all that junk.

CLASS RING! Don't forget it! (also, if you wear your boyfriend's class ring, we recommend making one pose with it to give to him, then wear YOUR ring for the rest!

SHOES - Make sure you bring matching shoes, slacks, pants, belts, etc. to go with the top. We'll do a couple of full length poses, so don't forget!

What Else To Bring: We encourage you to bring several things to help personalize some of your portraits. These are just some examples, please use your imagination. so we can capture the real you!

PETS - Definitely! Cats, dogs, horse (but please let us know in advance if you're bringing a horse!), birds, etc.

PERSONAL -Boy/girl-friend, car, bike; surfboard, waterskis, snowskis, windsurfer, awards, trophies, etc.

HOBBIES: - art work, camping, RC gear, , martial arts, photo equipment, scuba diving, computers, etc.

SPORTS: - sports equipment, uniforms, trophies, etc.

COLLECTIONS: - stamps, stuffed animals, coins, etc.