3 Ways To Make Your Senior Portraits Do The Work For You | Hilton Head Photographer

Are you at a loss for what to do with your senior pictures now that you have them? Are you wondering how you can make the most of your free time before graduation to help you move on with life beyond school? Keep reading to find out what we have come up with for the perfect plan to finish your senior year on a high note.

One of our main goals at Elle Michele Photo is to provide you, our subscribers, our clients, our family, with tips and assistance that will help guide you through a successful photo session with us.

You rocked out your senior portrait session and now you have a gallery of drop-dead gorgeous images! Congratulations! But what are you supposed to do with them now? They won’t just magically turn into a gorgeous announcement, will they? And how on earth is the average seventeen or twenty-one-year-old supposed to know how to create a resumé? “Where’s my professional life coach when I need one?” you might ask. Well lucky for you, I’m here to tell you all the ways!

The top 3 things you can do with your images are:

1. Send graduation announcements (#hellomoney ?)
2. Create a professional-looking resume and business card
3. Revamp your social media site.

Graduation announcements tend to be short and sweet and do exactly what they say. Tell your family & friends near and far that you have accomplished a major milestone and update them on what is coming next for you. Whether that be continuing your education with college or grad school, starting a new career, or just taking time to travel the world.

There are several companies that offer a free design service to help you create a card that will do just that. (PS I LOVE it when you send me your announcement too!) Some of my favorites are Shutterfly who I personally use for Christmas cards, announcements, and everything in between). Minted and Simply to Impress also have great designs and all 3 offer discount codes year-round to save a couple of extra bucks on your order.

My favorite part of graduation announcements is that people typically send you money. Starting a new chapter of your life can be expensive. Doesn’t matter if you’re graduating high school and starting college, or graduating college and starting your career. It’s kind of an unspoken rule to send money for things like this. Another thing you can do is add an Amazon wishlist or something to the bottom/back of the card so your family can feel like they’re having a direct impact with helping you.

If you’re going to college, add things that will help get your dorm set up. If you’re starting a career, add some things that may be helpful. Professional biz attire, things you can use in your office or your classroom if you’re going to be a teacher.

Boring resumes are a thing of the past. You want to be sure that you leave a lasting impression on a potential employer, and you want to make sure that they remember your face. Adding a headshot to the corner of your resume can help you accomplish that. Gone are the days of cold, personality-lacking resumes. You want to stand out from the crowd, but at the same time not be too overpowering.

If you’re having trouble writing a resume, Canva has over 1,000 templates to get you started! They take the hard work out of it and give you easy boxes to just plug in your information.

To piggyback off the resume, it’s also important to have a business card to hand out with your contact information, even if you don’t have a job. Who knows, you could get a job with that business card! Again, head over to Canva and browse their templates to find one that fits your style. Drop-in your headshot, phone number, email and you’re good to go!

My last suggestion is to update all of your profile pictures and comb through your social media. I can promise you, potential employers will look you up on Facebook and Instagram, so you want to make sure they’re seeing the best version of you. Go back and delete any embarrassing pictures (like that one college party where you were caught doing a keg stand) or any images that won’t portray you as a professional.

It’s a lot of work, but it will definitely pay off in the end. While you’re at it, set up a Linked In profile too!

Once you have all of these things in order, it’s time to sit back and relax (because let’s be honest – your life will never really slow down again).

Good luck!

xoxo,

Elle