Senior Portraits at Bentley's

In The Mail

This morning our first postcards went out to the class of 2013.  So now it is official, we are booking seniors for the class of 2013!  In the next few days we will be sending the "Big" mailing with our senior catalog to everyone, this first mailing only went to addresses that our models got from classmates.  The next mailing will go to more than twice as many people so don't put it off when you get it, call right away even if you are waiting till later to do the session.  Now is a great time for portraits. Everything is green and a little cooler than it is going to be in a few weeks, and a few weeks is all you get out of school for summer! Plus, you will save big time if you are photographed in the month of May!

These are just a couple of the girls we have photographed in the last week or two.  Both of them had sisters that came to use for senior portraits a few years ago.  Bralin came to us from Morgan county and Lauren came from Central Gwinnett.

Early Notice On BIG Sale For Class of '13

This is just a quick post to let you know what is happening, and about to happen, at the studio for the Class of 2013.  Our new catalog is being printed right now, I am attaching a few of the pages of it to this post.  We hope to get it in the mail by the second week of May.  I know that sounds early, but we have some specials in it that start in May and they can save you a lot on your senior portrait sessions.  Since you never know just how the mail will be delivered I wanted to give everyone an early notice here. 

This is the biggest sale of the year that we have on senior portrait sessions.  Also, I wanted to let you know that the sessions haven't gone up in the last three of four years, might be more than that.  The deal is this:  Book two or more sessions and be photographed in May and you will save 75% off your session fees!  The other deal is for June and the deal on it is that you book your session before May 31 for two or more sessions anytime in June and save 50% off your sessions!  The only limitation is on the Senior Safari and the Make-Over session and we can't discount either of those sessions.  So if you want to save the 75% on your sessions call ASAP!  May sessions go very quick because you are in school till almost the last week and there aren't many times available for everybody.  We will be mailing our catalog to over 2000 seniors and we limit ourselves to a maximum of 200 seniors.

These are just two of the pages, the cover and the session choice page, of our eight page catalog.  To see more examples and find out about all of your session choices you can check our website out at: bentleyseniors.net.  Also be sure and check back here on a regular basis to see more images and find out about other specials.

Senior Safari Dates For The Class of '13

What is a Senior Safari?  Just the most fun, all day senior portrait "event" that we have for six seniors every year!  We head out of town and photograph in three different locations throughout the day. Your portraits won't look like anyone else's!  This year's Safari is on June 11th and we will depart Winder at around 9AM.  We stop at one location for a morning session then proceed to our second location where we will photograph and have lunch.  After lunch we will go to our last location and return to Winder by 7PM.  The cost is $125 and includes travel, snacks and lunch.  It's a great way to meet seniors from other schools and have a fun series of portraits from different places!  Space is limited so give us a call and get on the schedule! 

These are a few from last years safari's.

Graduation Invitations

Over the last week or two we have had a lot of seniors coming into the studio ordering graduation invitations.  Our graduation invitations are perfect for graduation parties too and each one can be customized and all feature several images.  If you had your senior portraits taken already just give us a call and we can get you some ordered.  If you haven't been yet you still have some time too, if you hurry.

Ashley came in last week for her session so she could get her invitations back in time for graduation.  Ashley plans on attending LSU next year.

Never Enough Time

Wow, I can't believe it is almost April!  The sad thing is that we haven't posted anything since February on this blog.  My life has been pretty crazy and I hope it is about to finally get back to normal so I can post more images.  We have been pretty busy the last few weeks photographing seniors from the class of 2012 and some models from the class of 2013 along with other things. 

Over the next week or two I am going to post some more images with a little information about each person.  We are also finishing up on a couple new sets that I hope to post soon.  For now I'll just post a few images from the last week or so.  Be sure and check back for more soon!

 

 

Mailing List Companies

In our area if you don't have the school contract you don't have any access to addresses of upcoming seniors.  And these days about the only people that have the contracts are the out of town big photography companies.  So, that leaves us having to purchase mailing lists from companies that gather that information from other places, ring companies, sports leagues or other places that sell things to you and collect your age or class information.  These lists are not very accurate and cost a lot of money, but that is about the only way for us to get the information.  Every year we use our Senior Model program as a way for us to collect names and addresses from upcoming seniors, that way it is more accurate.  But just to cover all of our bases we purchase a list as well, that way we get names and addresses from schools where we don't have models.  About a week ago we did a mailing for seniors in some of the counties around ours looking for models and today when I opened the mailbox this is what I found.

All bundled together we had 55 postcards already returned that had the wrong addresses on them.  These were from the mailing list we purchased.  So, why are I telling you all of this?  I want be sure that we are able to get our senior information to everyone this year and I need your help!  If you want to be added to our Class of 2013 mailing list go to this form and fill it out and we will be sure you get all of our mailings for the Class of 2013.  By doing this you will find out about all of the great deals we are offering you and the Class of '13.  We are busy working on our catalog right now along with some great new specials.  Huge money saving specials!  Over the next few weeks senior models will be coming into the studio for some special sessions so be sure and check back here or on Facebook to see some images.

The most important thing about this post is this - go here and fill out this form!

Not Too Late Postcards

Yesterday postcards were sent out that said, "It's Not Too Late For Great Senior Portraits" to seniors all over the surrounding area.  These were just to remind you that it isn't too late to get some great senior portraits done before you graduate and leave home for college!  Face it, after you graduate and leave the next time you have anything like this done will be at your wedding.  After your wedding you will be working and then getting your own children's portraits done and it will no longer be all about you.  This is your last big hoorah!  Something to remember your high school years with, something for your parents to look at when you are gone.  Why would you trust anything this important to just anybody with a camera, or those pictures you had done at the school last summer?  Now is your time.  Get what you want and deserve, you have worked hard over the last 12 years.  Give us a call and get a special one hour studio session with unlimited changes of clothing for only $25!  If you want to go somewhere we can still go on locations and to downtown for a little bit more.  This special $25 session is for a very limited time, it will end on April 13, and a lot of things are going on between now and then.  So don't put this off any longer!

These are just a few we did yesterday of Crystal, she came last summer for a studio session but wanted some more in town.  While we had her we wanted to try out a few of our new backgrounds in the studio.  Oh, and even if you already had your senior portraits taken you can have more taken now with this special!

New Catalog for Senior Clothing

Today we got a catalog in the mail from Boston Proper, don't know why we got it but I am glad we did.  Every year we look for places to find clothing for senior portraits and this one has some really good things, look at the Winter clearance sweater section for some really nice sweaters at great prices.  One that is more local and has some great things is Entourage in Athens.  When choosing clothing look for something that is simple, solid colors look great.  Stay away from big stripes and big floral prints.  It is always, always, good to bring something black, remember I said always twice!  A great thing is to bring several things that are from other seasons too so everything isn't summery or wintry.  Sleeves are good, long or short, I would stay away from spaghetti straps.

The big thing to remember is: if it looks good on you or you get compliments on it, bring it!  If you look in the mirror and say, "Man, I look good in this!", then that is the outfit to bring.

Getting Better At What You Do

This is just a quick post about what is going on around the studio that relates to senior portraits.  No, it isn't too late for senior portraits!  That is the question we always here this time of the year.  Ok, now to get back on track.  A couple of weeks ago the Professional Photographers of America had a convention in New Orleans that I went to so that we could be up on the newest trends for this year.  These conventions and conferences are a great way to stay current on technology, backgrounds and trends in photography and learn from some of the best photographers in the world today.  It is also a great place to meet up with friends.  Something I heard last year that was pretty good was this - "Because of the influx of horrible photographers, there has never been a greater need for good photography!".  Since the beginning of my photography career, I say that because that is what this is for me, education has been a very important thing for me to continue to strive for.  So in that vein this weekend I am off again to a Senior portrait conference at St. Pete Beach, Florida.  This is one of the best that I have found for senior photographers anywhere, and the food is good too.  Another great thing about the timing of this conference is that over the next few weeks we will be having our senior model meetings for our models for the class of 2013.  In the past we have come back with new backgrounds, ideas for new sets as well as exciting new locations and poses.  This year we already are planning some new locations for our Senior Safari's, several new props and sets as well as some fun changes to our model program.  I can't wait to see what kinds of new ideas come home with me after this weekend!

Ybor City, from last years trip.

 

 

Senior Model Information

This is a quick update to all who have already filled out applications for our Class of 2013 model program.  We are currently reviewing all of the applications and will contact you by February 10th to let you know about the meetings.  As of right now we are still looking for models in the following schools:  Apalachee, Archer, Athens Academy, Athens Christian, Dacula, George Walton Academy, Hebron, Jackson County, Mill Creek, North Oconee, Oconee and Winder-Barrow. 

Anyone interested in applying who hasn't already applied you can do so here.  Or check out the blog post below for more information and links, that post even has more images!