Senior Picture Money Savers

In a few short weeks, there will be high school seniors graduating all over the country.  Along with graduation come senior photos, which are often taken professionally at a hefty price.  Some photographers are cheaper than others, but either way you'll be forking out a decent amount of cash.  I've known people that have spent hundreds (if not close to $1,000) on senior photos.  However, thanks to an idea my family got from one of my friends, we paid $0 for my brother and me to have our senior pictures taken (and only a small amount for them to be printed).

How was this possible?  The answer is simple: we took the pictures.  My mom was responsible for my pictures, and my brother's pictures were a combination of work by me, my younger sister, and my mom.  We took the pictures outdoors in our backyard, at parks, golf courses, etc. with our own digital cameras, uploaded the pictures, and edited them on Picnik.  To print the photos, we simply sent the photos to get printed at Walmart's photo center (these prints are very reasonable priced) and picked them up later.  

In other words, the pictures could be taken on our time, in a location we chose, and could be uploaded/printed as quickly as we wanted.  My mom would be better equipped to provide more detailed information on the exact cost of printing at Walmart, but I know it's not very much.   All in all, this is a great way to cut hundreds of dollars from the senior year budget.  I've included a couple examples of my brother's senior photos below.

This photo was taken in our backyard and edited by my mother.

This one was taken by me in a local park, and later edited on Picnik. 

Finally, this shot was taken by my younger sister (a freshman in high school) and later edited by me in Picnik.

You can also cut corners on graduation invitations, converting one of the pictures into a party invite. Below is a mock graduation invitation made from one of the senior pictures my mother took.  All of the editing and text was added in Picnik.

I'm not good with invitations, so the words I chose are a bit lame, but you get the idea.  Just like the regular senior photos, invitations can also be printed off at a local Walmart or Walgreens for a low price. 

Overall, I think taking your own senior photos is an ingenious way to save money.  The hundreds of dollars that you would have spend on photos can be put towards something else like college, textbooks, or other post-high school expenses.  One last thing I would like to point out, though, is that this method is not the best for studio portraits.  My family prefers outdoor shots, so this was not a problem.  However, you can still save money and get studio headshots.  My suggestion is to take your outdoor photos yourself and get a one or two studio shots at a professional.  It may not be as cheap, but it's not as expensive as getting ALL of your photos taken professionally.