The Class of 2025 answered a survey on their senior portrait experiences to help students in the future

By Lexi Hayward, STAFF WRITER

Nov. 4, 2024

The yearbook deadline for senior portraits and information was due Nov. 1. Seniors have enjoyed asking teachers and classmates for opinions on which photos to choose, which brought forth another interesting conversation: students had very different experiences and pricing across the board.

For background, seniors have the opportunity to get professional photos of themselves for the yearbook and submit a senior information sheet that entails a little bit about them and their experience in their four years of high school.

However, through general conversations in schools, some students have noticed extra fees added to their session or for access to their photos post-session, showing not all experiences are created equal.

As expected, photographers charge different rates based on experience, turnaround time, and even access to photos, so we surveyed seniors who have had their senior photo session asking specifics on their shoot. We received just over 60 responses.

The questions were based on where their shoot was located, who took their photos on a professional scale, cost involved, and more. To my surprise and relief, most responses have many similarities. 

Nearly 55% of seniors used a professional photographer, while nearly 40% used a family or friend in a more amateur setting. The remainder of respondents used the yearbook staff at school or did not submit a photo. Therefore, the majority of senior photographers are professionals.

Approximately 60% of seniors claimed their photo sessions lasted one to two hours, while another 25% logged their session as lasting 30 minutes or so. Five students said their session lasted three hours, and two students noted it took longer than four hours.

Within that time frame, 17 students conducted their session in one outfit, 13 students wore two different outfits, 18 students wore three, while 7 students recorded four or more.

For locations, our seniors reported the most popular location types, which include the woods/forest (32%), a grassy area/field (31%), and the beach (20%).

The area we received the most disparity and inconsistencies are cost, as expected. I received shocking results based on the cost of their experience. For example, 42% of participants recorded that their photo session was free, but let’s remember that nearly that same percent of students used a family friend for photos. The next most popular cost was listed as more than $350, where nearly 16% of students logged their costs, followed by 12% who claimed they paid between $100-150. Eight more students recorded costs landing between $200-300.

Following the photo shoot, 12% of surveyed seniors (7 students) also acknowledged additional costs afterward that included ordering prints or gaining access to non-watermarked photos, while 88% said the shoot price included all their prints. In my personal experience, I was a student who had to pay for access for every individual photo I wanted to keep, which adds up fast.

Finally, when asked if the experience was positive, almost everyone said their sessions were enjoyable, and more than 75% of seniors said they would recommend their photographer.

Did you have a positive experience with your photographer? Give them a shout out in the comments!