Senior Portraits at Bentley's

Be Sure And Bring...

Some things that you should bring to your portrait session.  Bring a white top and/or a black top, one of each would be great.  Both go very well with many backgrounds, both are simple and don't distract from you and both can be very flattering.  Black looks great on almost everyone and is also slimming.  Both go very good with jeans too. 

Always remember to keep it simple.  Solid colors are best.

Another thing to think about is how things fit, you don't really want to wear things that are too tight.  Unless you want to show off every bulge and ripple on your body, like showing off that small waist.  If yours isn't - don't wear tight things.

Just remember if you look in the mirror and think "Wow! I really look great in this" - bring it!  Another good rule of thumb is, if you have an outfit that people always compliment you on - bring it.

Where are you located?

Bentley Photography is located in downtown Winder at 13 W. Stephens Street. We are just across the street from Bank of America's parking lot, but please don't park in it.
For a map to our studio click here.

Certified Professional Photographer

This just came in from the Professional Photographers of America, and we thought you might be interested. FYI Mike recieved his Certification in 1992.

When you hire a photographer, you want the best—but ensuring that you get the best photographer for the job can be a difficult task.

As the leading certifying agency for imaging professionals, the Professional Photographic Certification program is recognized throughout the industry. When you see a photographer displaying the the Certified Professional Photographer seal, you can be sure that he or she is among the less than 3% of all imaging professionals who have successfully completed and maintained our requirements.

Those who have earned the Professional Photographic Certification have passed a comprehensive written exam measuring their technical expertise, and have successfully submitted their work to a panel of judges for review and approval.

Every five years, a Certified photographer must renew his or her credentials by participating in continuing education programs and periodically submitting work for critical evaluation. This helps assure you that certified photographers maintain their level of expertise and continue to develop new skills and techniques.

Parking, Rain, Grass and Camp

As always a big question is where to park when you come to the studio. First choice is to park on the sidewalk either in front of the Magnolia trees or in front of the studio - 4 to 5 cars can fit in those areas, we have been parking like that for 17 years and have had no problem. Second choice is in the driveway - you might have to move your car to let someone out, also please be careful pulling in and out. The big no no is parking at the bank - under no circumstances should you park in the Bank of America parking lot. We won't go into more depth about the issue with the bank parking at this time, but please help us. With a small studio like ours and us working by appointment only we shouldn't have any problem with the amount of parking spaces we have.

The rain is finally here! If you have a session don't worry! We have been able to shoot almost every session this summer, and if we had a problem we were able to shoot the indoor shots and reschedule the outdoor shots very soon, most times within a day or two. Also just because it is raining at you house, it might not be here - we live in a dry island and never get much rain. Because of all of the rain our grass is finally getting green, and it came just in time.

Finally our youngest daughter is coming home from water ski camp today, and it is her birthday. Camp was a long way from Winder and it is her first time that far away for so long. We hear she had a ball and learned a lot, I hope I can post some images of her skiing soon.
Now something to look at! This is Ashley Norris and she is going to be a senior at East Jackson High School this year. We had a ball and got some great images in town of her yesterday.

This shot was prepared with a some high contrast retouching for this effect, let us know if you like the effect.

Clothing suggestions

When selecting your clothing remember that while some things are really popular at the moment, in five or ten years they may look outdated. (Take a look at your parents' senior portraits and you'll see what I mean.) The best thing to do is bring a few trendy things and several traditional choices. Some basic things to remember are the following:
Solid colors look best. In a photograph stripes, patterns, prints and checks are very distracting and draw the attention away from you.
Variety! Bring light, dark, dressy and casual. Bring short sleeves, long sleeves, sweaters, shorts and long pants. If it is summer be sure and bring some long sleeves and sweaters also. Sweaters look great! Black long sleeves look great and go with anything!! The more variety you bring the more interesting your portraits will be.
Avoid strong contrasting outfits. If you are wearing dark tops wear darker bottoms and if you are wearing light tops wear light bottoms.
Avoid wearing a lot of stringy tank tops - all you see is your shoulder and tan lines.
Boys bring more than one extra t-shirt
The most important thing... wear what you like. If you like and are comfortable in what you have on you'll love your portraits.

What to bring

Bring more outfits than you need (4-5). If you can't decide what to wear let us help you pick out your outfits while your here. And remember, just because you bring it doesn't mean we will use it!
Wear your first outfit to the session, we always start in the studio first. Also, remember to try and be a quick change artist - the faster you change the more time there will be for you to be photographed.
Feel free to bring a parent to the session. They can help you with your clothing and hair and make you feel more comfortable and relaxed. Most people are nervous at first, but that won't last long!

Bring photographs that you like, either from catalogs, CD covers or magazines - show them to Mike before your session. This way we can be sure and get the look or style you want and your images won't look the same as anyone elses.

Cool jackets, hats and sunglasses make great props. If you have a letter jacket or class ring be sure and bring it! Even if you are not doing the Your Stuff session they are part of your senior year and are very important.

Also, you don't need to bring any money, your session is already paid for and you are just here for fun on the day of your session!

What else?

Suntan? It is very important that you avoid spending too much time in the sun or tanning booth before your session. It is almost impossible to fix a sunburned or peeling face. Tan lines from swimsuits can sometimes be fixed, but at an additional retouching charge. We strongly suggest that you don't overdo your sun exposure before your session, less is better than more.

Makeup? If you wear makeup, you'll want to wear it in your portraits. Remember that a little goes a long way, so don't overdo it. Avoid wearing glitter makeup! It leaves white dots on your skin in the photographs and you will not like it.

Hair? Please remember that your hair is your complete responsibility - we do not have a stylist on staff.

Zits? Part of our service is that complete blemish retouching is included at no extra charge.

Glasses? If you wear glasses you will definitely want to wear them for your portraits. To eliminate glare and reflections, call your optician and arrange to either borrow a pair of empty frames like yours or have the lenses removed from your own frames. Most opticians will gladly do this for free if you give them a few days notice. If you wear your glasses and glass glare occurs, keep in mind that removing glass glare is an additional retouching charge.

Rain? Summer showers happen and most of the time while it might be raining where you are it might not be a mile down the road. Summer showers also come and go quickly. Many times while we are shooting in the studio it might stop before we even go outside. The best thing to do is not worry. If the weather seems to be a problem WE'LL CALL YOU. So if you haven't heard from us before your session you can assume it is still on.

When will my pictures be ready? Normally we will have previews ready for you to see in 5 working days. If you choose to take the preview book home, a $150 payment is required. This payment is applied in full toward any order placed within 30 days of viewing previews and is subtracted from your balance when you place your order. The portrait preview book cannot leave the studio without your deposit. Your finished portraits will be ready in 4 to 5 weeks after you place your order.

Where are you? The easiest way we have found to find us is using mapquest. Simply go to www.mapquest.com and enter our address 13 W. Stephens St., Winder, GA 30680 and it will show you the way. We are really easy to find.

Where do I park? Just park on the sidewalk out front, please avoid the grass. Or park on the grass just past our driveway in front of the magnolia trees, you will see a car already parked there. Please use the driveway as a last resort. Please do not park in the Bank of America parking lot as they are not very friendly about sharing space.

When do I arrive? Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for your session. We will have some paperwork for you to fill out and you don't want to be rushed in your session. If you are more than 15 minutes late you may be asked to reschedule and pay another session fee.

Questions? If you have any other questions or problems just call us, we will be glad to help you! Our number is 770-867-2853.