Name: Ever After Portraits
Price range: $$$

Seniors, what about Makeup and Hair?! I Northern VA Family Photographer

We are big believers in the power of inner beauty! We realize that might sound a tad ironic coming from a portrait photographer working a stone’s throw from the nation’s capital in Sterling, VA! But, we believe that what’s inside is what makes you genuinely beautiful as a person.

However, it’s undeniable that having your makeup and hair done by skilled professionals for your Senior Session is fun and exciting! It also yields beautifully professional results for your portraits.

As a portrait photographer we typically recommend professional makeup and hair for our fine art portrait sessions, including Senior Sessions.

Why Use a Professional Makeup Artist?

• A professional makeup artist will have experience in makeup application for portrait photography. This is an important distinction. A camera doesn’t “see” you in the same way another person will.
• They know how different types of makeup will appear in camera and in your finished portraits.
• They have high quality makeup products in practically every shade imaginable!
• They know how to choose colors that highlight your best features, as well as how to contour in the most flattering way.
• As an added bonus, you’ll feel amazingly confident, beautiful, and ready to start your Senior Session! Your portrait photographer will be able to capture that confidence and beauty for you in your portraits.

DIY? Tips for Makeup & Hair

If you prefer to do your own makeup and hair, check out these useful tips for doing it yourself.

Makeup

• Apply your eye and lip makeup slightly darker than you normally wear. To be seen on camera as a “natural” look, makeup needs to be stronger/darker because a camera doesn’t pick up the contrast and the definition that our own eyes see in person.
• Don’t apply layers and layers of heavy makeup, though. Cakey makeup does not photograph well!
• Avoid mineral makeup and makeup with SPF. While great for everyday, they can create an unflattering shine in camera.
• Set your foundation with translucent powder that reduces shine. A camera can enhance shine giving you a “sweaty” look that you don’t want in your portraits.
• Wear lipstick, even if it’s just a shade more than your natural lip color.
• Wear mascara. It’s a must to bring out your eyes! Apply it cleanly, not clumpy. If you normally wear mascara, apply 2 coats for your Senior Session.
• Wear medium or dark, rich tones of eyeshadows. Pastel or pale eyeshadows will look washed out. Rich shades of brown and gold are usually safe.
• Wear eyeliner, but avoid heavy black eyeliner! It makes your eyes look smaller. Choose gray or brown and blend it well.
• Avoid sparkles and shimmers! Although it’s all the rage right now for glowing skin, matte makeup simply photographs better.

Hair

• Your Senior Session is NOT the time to try a new cut, style, or color! You’ll be at your most comfortable in front of a camera with hair that you’re most familiar with.
• Do get your hair trimmed and any touch-up to your color a couple of weeks prior to your session.
• Keep your hair naturally styled. If you have straight hair, sure, give it a light curl to add volume and for framing of your face.
• Use hairspray for your session, even if you don’t normally use it. It’s the best way to tame all of those little flyaways you don’t normally notice but that a camera will.
• If your hair leans toward the frizzy side, use products that help minimize the frizz. This is especially helpful if your Senior Session is being held outdoors. Try to avoid any sticky hair products, though.

Bonus Tips: Nails

• Believe it or not, natural nails look wonderful for portraits! Ensure they are trimmed neatly, filed/shaped, buffed and, of course, clean.
• If you prefer painted nails, choose a neutral or light color that goes with all of your outfit choices.
• Chipped nails just look terrible, so if you’re using polish, paint your nails the night before your session.
• If you’re going barefoot or wearing sandals at all, don’t forget your toes! Everything that applies to your fingers applies to your toes too.

As a Sterling, VA portrait photographer, we have a lot of experience working with high school seniors and their Senior Sessions. We keep it fun, exciting and memorable. We look forward to meeting you at your session!

Ever After’s Senior Pinterest Boards

Be sure to check out the makeup and hair ideas on our Pinterest pages below:

Ever After’s Pinterest – Senior Makeup
Ever After’s Pinterest – Senior Hair

Family and Senior Portrait Photographer

Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

Professional Photographer

Senior Guys, What to Wear Do’s and Don’ts for Your Senior Session | Northern VA Senior Photographer

When it comes to doing senior portrait photography, a little guidance from your favorite Sterling, VA photographer (that would be us!) can be enormously helpful. So, we thought we’d share some what-to-wear tips for young men.

Gender aside, it can be tough to know what to wear for these milestone portraits. We also realize that boys are often the more reluctant gender when it comes to posing for pictures. We promise you that, while you might not be too excited about doing them, you will feel better when you see the results. There will come a day when you sincerely appreciate your mother’s encouragement to have senior portraits!

Let’s start with what NOT to wear:

* Don’t wear anything wrinkled – even if it’s meant to look like that. Sometimes, what looks good in person, doesn’t look good in pictures, especially in such important ones such as senior portraits.
* Don’t wear busy patterns. Those don’t translate well in photographs either and distract from the star of the show: YOU.
* Stripes can be tricky, so we suggest you stay away from bold stripes.
* Cargo trousers are beloved by men the world over – however, we strongly encourage you not to wear them for your senior portraits. Do you really need that many pockets preserved for all time through photography?!
* Sneakers or athletic shoes, what can we say? We realize they’re trendy these days, so we won’t discourage you too actively from wearing them, especially if they coordinate with your outfit. However, we would urge you to make sure they’re spotless and not looking ratty!
* Flip-flops are usually a big no-no – unless you’re having a beach portrait.

Now on to the more positive!

What you SHOULD wear:

* Sporting a classic look for your senior portraits is the best thing you could do! You can’t go wrong with collared, long-sleeved shirts and clean-lined trousers, khakis or nice jeans.
* Tasteful layers are a good idea, especially for outdoor portraits. It’s an easy way to do different looks quickly and easily. Keep your layers light and simple. No parkas, heavy coats, etc. They don’t translate well in pictures.
* If you wear jewelry, we strongly recommend keeping it simple and tasteful.
* Ties of any kind, especially bow-ties, are cool! Bring it on! You’ll look great.
* Color coordinating your outfit will result in a professional look. That means consider the color of your belt and shoes. Do they coordinate? Your shirt and pants should complement each other, and nothing should clash.

Check out our Pinterest board full of clothing suggestions for the Senior Guy!

If you are thinking about doing your senior portrait photography here in the Sterling, VA area, give us a call! We’d be happy to answer your questions and work with you on commemorating this significant life milestone!

Family Photographer, Senior Photography

Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

Professional Photographer

What should I expect for my Senior Portrait Session? | Northern VA Senior Photographer

Many fun things will happen when you’re a high school senior and, believe it or not, your Senior Portraits are not the least among them! Our fine art senior portrait photography is an artistic (and fun) way to commemorate this big transition in life.

We work with Seniors throughout Northern Virginia including Sterling, VA, and one of their most frequent questions is: “What’s going to happen? What should I expect for my Senior Portrait Session?” Read on for the answer.

Getting to Know You

Our process is designed to create a personalized session for high school seniors and parents who want portraits designed for them — guaranteed to be unique, artistic, and celebrate your unique personality. So the first thing we’ll do is have a conversation with you and find out who you are and what you want for your Senior Portrait Session.

Getting to know you is how we design the perfect Senior Session for you, whether you are a fashionista looking for something sophisticated and couture, or the girl-next-door who dreams of a field and portraits with her horse , or the guy who wants his first car to be included.

Location

When you (or your mom) calls us to schedule a Senior Portrait, we will discuss various points related to your Senior portrait session including the location. We can do your portraits in our indoor studios, at our private, outdoor portrait park, or another site of your choice.

Wherever we do your pictures, you can expect a personalized session designed entirely around you. The results are guaranteed to be artistic and unique – there’s only one you, after all!

Appointment Details

When you call to book your Senior Session, your reservation fee will be due at that time. The fee secures the date and time for your custom Senior Portrait Session.

(Some of our Senior Sessions include makeup and hair, so we’ll get some info from you regarding what you want for makeup and hair, as well as the start time for that pampering to begin.)

Two days before your Session, you will receive a reminder of the start time. If your session includes makeup and hair, that will be the start time we’ll remind you of.

We’ll also go over any other logistics we need to cover as a reminder.

Always plan to arrive early for your portrait session or makeup appointment. It’s important to start on time, so we can end on time because there might be another session immediately following yours.

Portrait Session

Arrive at your session ready to launch right in!

If you’re doing your own hair and makeup, that should be ready as well when you arrive!

We usually recommend professional hair and makeup for the best results on camera. We have a professional team that you can work with for this.

Expect us to take a lot of photographs during your session so you will have a variety from which to choose. If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to answer them, of course!

Ordering Session

Your in-person ordering session and cinematic presentation of your portraits will happen about two weeks after your Portrait Session. You will see only the best portraits from your session. And, yes, there are always some great one to show!

We require that all decision makers be present at this ordering session so that you can place orders at that time. Portraits not ordered are typically deleted, so be sure to grab everything you love!

Delivery of Portraits

About four to eight weeks after your final payment, the ordered wall art, albums, and custom products arrive at our studios. We will then contact you to arrange a pick-up time or to schedule your in-home installation.

Online Posting

Lastly, we kindly ask that when posting your amazing portraits online to social media, that you never crop or clone out our watermarked logo for any reason!

If you’re ready to do beautiful senior portrait photography with one of Sterling, VA’s best photographers, call us up to reserve your Senior Session. This is such an important event in your life, you wouldn’t want to skip scheduling senior portraits!

Family Photographer, Senior Portrait Photography

Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located in Sterling, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.

Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

Professional Photographer

Which session style is best for my Senior Session? | Northern VA Senior Photographer

Portrait photographers can do Senior Portraits in a variety of portrait session styles. The most important one, however, is the one you and your parents select for YOU. Not only are there several style directions, being in the Sterling, VA area means we also have many location options as well!

Let’s take a look at four of the portrait session styles we offer to our Seniors.

Park Setting, Our Outdoor Portrait Park

Are you the outdoorsy-type who loves to be in park-like settings? Do you love your beautiful backyard or other tree-filled parks? We can offer you our private, outdoor portrait park for your Senior Portraits. It’s the perfect location of 2.5 acres and is custom designed as the ideal outdoor portrait venue.

You’ll be out among trees and can make use of any one of our props – including our two ponds, wooden bridge, wildflower meadow, barnwood, and farm fence!

Indoor Studio

Our Indoor Studio is fully equipped with a variety of backdrops to make your session your very own.
How about a vintage and super-glam sofa for your portraits for a unique look?

City Slickers

Being in the suburbs of Virginia doesn’t mean we can’t take things into the city for a more contemporary urban look! If you want an edgier, more modern look, then an urban setting might be the best way to go.

Keep in mind that a city-styled session can still give you a timeless look. Think of some classic films shot in a city where glamour and elegance defined the look. We can replicate that look for you in our nation’s capital!

Country Living

For a more rustic style, you can choose our outdoor portrait park or some other local rural location. We are blessed in Virginia with rolling hills and beautiful countryside which are ideally suited for portrait photography. We can take advantage of sunrise or sunset for a dramatic portrait further enhancing the landscape! Do you love horses or a particular farm? Those can be another great location for your pictures.

Whatever style you select, we work with you to customize your portrait session to be the best reflection of who you are and what you love! We are fortunate to have worked with many seniors on their portrait photography in and around Sterling, VA. We know we can produce Senior Portraits you will fall in love with and cherish for many years!

Family Portrait Photographer

Senior Girls, What to Wear Do’s and Don’ts for your Session| Northern VA Senior Photographer

High school graduation is a significant milestone! Selecting fine art photography is a poignant and beautiful way to commemorate this important event. The first question we often hear as Sterling, VA photographers is “What do I wear?!”
As a professional photographer, we know what translates well from real life to photographs, so we thought we’d offer you young ladies some tips for your Senior Portrait Session.
We tell our seniors that they may not be too excited right now about doing Senior Portraits, but they will be thrilled when they see the results. Plus, someday they will genuinely appreciate their mother’s encouragement to do senior portraits!

Lastly, keep in mind that senior portraits are meant to be a visual commemoration of your final year of high school and graduation. They can be fun and reflect your personality while being tasteful and beautiful.

What NOT to wear for Senior Portraits

• Don’t wear anything wrinkled – even if it’s meant to look wrinkled. Sometimes, what looks good in person, won’t look good in pictures. Wrinkles are a case in point. Generally, we advise you to stay away from them for your portraits.
• No busy patterns because they also don’t look good in photographs and will distract from YOU.
• We suggest you stay away from bold stripes. They aren’t always flattering in portraits.
• Avoid short skirts as well. They too will distract from your beautiful face. Try the old and trusty rule of thumb to know if the length is acceptable: Your hemline should reach no higher than your fingertips when you hold your arms straight down at your sides. You most likely will not be standing during your entire portrait session; so make sure that when you are sitting, everything that should be is covered! (Let’s not shock Dad and show him something he doesn’t want to see, all right?!)
• Avoid revealing tops. Not only might they appear inappropriate but they can distract the viewer. You don’t want to constantly be pulling on your clothing during the session, either.
• Mismatched or visible undergarments are not a good idea for portraits as significant as Senior Portraits. Sheer tops or thin straps where your undergarments are visible aren’t advisable.
• Sneakers or athletic shoes are trendy these days, so we won’t discourage you too actively from wearing them. However, we would urge you to make sure they’re spotless and are appropriate to the outfit!
• Flip flops are usually a big no-no. Save them for the beach!

What you should WEAR:

• Nude-colored undergarments are always recommended for photographs – even more than white which will be more visible under tops.
• Classic outfits which fit you well but don’t appear as skin tight.
• Tasteful layers, regardless of the outfit, are a good idea, especially for outdoor portraits. For women, that can mean sweaters, vests, or light jackets. Layering is an easy way to create various looks. Keep layers light and simple. You shouldn’t wear parkas, heavy coats or bulky sweaters because they can make you look larger.
• If you wear jewelry, we strongly recommend keeping it simple and tasteful. If you have an heirloom piece from your mother or grandmother, wearing it can be a beautiful tribute to them.
• Coordinating your colors is key to a polished look which translates very well into photographs. That means coordinating (doesn’t have to be a perfect match) the color of your accessories. Tops and bottoms should definitely corridinate with each other, and nothing should clash.

Check out our Pinterest board full of clothing suggestions for the Senior Girl!

If you would like to do fine art senior photography in the Sterling, VA, call our studio. We’d be happy to work with you to commemorate this significant life milestone in a way you’ll love!

Family Photographer, Senior Photography

Isabella, Wildflower Senior Session | Northern VA Family Photographer

Goodness! It doesn’t seem long ago that we took our first pictures of Isabella as a young teen. But, here she is in her high school senior photography session in Sterling, VA! These senior portraits reflect this young woman’s radiant smile and natural beauty.

Growing with Clients
As portrait photography specialists, we treasure the opportunity to “grow” with our clients. In other words, we love photographing them through the years as their lives change, families expand, and children grow up. It’s part of the reason we enjoy doing family portrait photography.

Back in Time
We go back in time with this family! The first time we photographed Isabella was as part of a trio: her sister Olivia, their mother Michelle, and Isabella. The girls were in their early and mid-teens.

Michelle again approached us to do their portraits before the girls became old enough to start heading off to college. We photographed them a second time, giving us the opportunity to see how much the girls had grown.

And, here we are! Isabella is off to college at Virginia Tech. Olivia isn’t far behind her.

Isabella is a beautiful and driven young lady. Her beauty is far more than skin deep, a fact which we know her mother is very proud of! We have absolutely no doubt that she will achieve every goal she sets her mind to, and it won’t surprise us a bit when one day we find out she’s changed the world! Big dreams or small, it’s important that you chase them and do your best. That’s what Isabella has always done, and it’s what she’ll continue to do.

From Family to Senior
Obviously, we didn’t know the first time we did the family photography for this sweet family that we would one day do Isabella’s beautiful senior portraits! I guess we could say they’ve enjoyed working with us as much as we enjoy working with them! Capturing Isabella’s senior portraits was very special for us. It was both flattering and an honor to be asked to document such an important milestone in this family’s life. We know these girls will be off into the world to do great things. We wish them much success, health, and joy!

If you are interested in our senior photography work in the Sterling, VA area, please contact us. We’d be happy to discuss our work and pricing with you.

Family Photographer, Senior Photography

Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located in Sterling, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.

Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

Professional Photographer

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