High School Senior Portraits

Ah, high school.... the time went by fast, didn't it? Have you been looking back on old photographs and saying, "where has the time gone?" My kids are not quite yet in high school, but I find myself saying that quite often. I graduated from Naperville Central in 1990, and senior pictures were still a few years away from being unique and special. You went to the school photographer (because of contracts), and had some headshots done. If you paid a bit more, you could have a "cool" background or a special effect. In fact, my portrait was so bad, it is not displayed anywhere in my parents' Naperville home!

The Dream Light

Wait...it hasn't changed that much at all! Those studios still exist, and still give the same (but updated) kinds of options. The problem? You're a number. You're just another customer. They do nothing to find out who your senior is, and they don't do very much to try to capture their personality.

We can do better than that!! I believe that the best way to photograph your high school senior is to meet them first... Let's sit down and chat for 30 minutes (no charge, of course..) I'm always amazed at the things I learn about people; things that I would never have known if we hadn't met first. I recently met a young lady that was a golfer. A BIG golfer! That's who she was. But wait...after a while of chatting, I find out that she plays the guitar and ukelele. This resulted in a stunning portrait of her with the guiter. Although she was a huge golfer, the soft image with the guiter was a much better choice for a portrait.

"Neil took my daughter's senior pictures and they all turned out wonderful. Of course he had a great subject to work with but he did his magic and made her look even more beautiful. I would recommend Neil to anyone looking for a photographer!!" ~ Al Kelkhoff, Aurora IL

The Junk Yard

Senior pictures should be FUN! Everytime you look at an image, it brings back memories also. If the experience of creating the photograph was not a good one, you won't have as much of a connection with it. That's why the typical, high volume, senior portrait studios produce dull, boring, impersonal images. They don't have the time to spend with each senior, so your photographs look just like everyone elses.

Give us a call at 630-428-4540 to set up your free, no obligation consultation. I look forward to creating something truly special. Remember, it's about quality, not quantity... Yes, it's more expensive than the high volume school photographer; but, you'll be having FUN, and your portraits will be special.

Click here for the High School Senior Picture Gallery

"We have worked with Neil Gates Photography on a number of things over the course of many years. He took baby and toddler photos of my kids, he has taken family photos and senior photos of those same kids. He will likely take photos at their weddings, too! 
The photos are always fabulous and he is so easy to work with! Nice, accommodating, fun. Thanks for the memories, Neil!" ~ Kim Weeks, Naperville IL

Say NO to Bad Senior Pictures!

It's really amazing that these are real!! What on Earth??