Senior Models are the heart behind the senior portrait side of Photography by Seneca & they are one of my favorite activities of the year. We are heading into our fifth year of having a senior model team and it feels like just yesterday that I was out in Las Vegas at WPPI learning from Sarah Lane & Meg Borders about their senior programs. WPPI was my first in person conference and my parent’s gave me a trip of a lifetime when they agreed to take me to Las Vegas of all places because “I have to go to this workshop!”. I learned so much and it was a great jumping point for me to launch my own program here in Montrose! 

So what are senior models? My senior model team is a group of high school juniors who attend any of the local high schools in Northeast PA (Montrose, Elk Lake, Blue Ridge, & Mountain View to name a few). The senior models apply to be a part of the team and once we narrow it down to the 20 on the team, we get together to start planning the year. There is a large editorial photo shoot complete with hair & makeup, that all the models get to be a part of. It’s the craziest day of the year, from dawn till dark, we are all together & laughing! Then they schedule their own senior portrait session & we work together to create a custom session that showcases their unique personalities and talents.  They talk about the senior photos with their friends and can earn awesome rewards by telling their friends about Photography by Seneca. 

For me, the senior model program is so much more than just the photos or the business side of it. I love getting to work alongside some of the sweetest juniors, build relationships with them, and watch them become friends with each other. Our house is filled with energy and laughs each time everyone comes over for a meeting or photo shoot. The office is the designated “hair & makeup room” so it smells like a salon with music blasting and some off key singing. Snapchat photos capture the behind the scenes moments & I cherish all the selfies with the models! I want each model to walk away feeling confident and realizing how beautiful they are in the eyes of the King. Confident people are ones who are able to show love to others and I encourage everyone to be positive and to love the people they come in contact with each day in their schools. It’s more than just the modeling, it’s about being a role model for those around them. 

As we gear up for the Class of 2018, I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of love & applications we’ve received. There’s still time to learn more & apply to be a part of the Class of 2018 Senior Model team: http://www.photographybyseneca.com/#!/2018_Senior_Model_Team

A big thank you to our wonderful makeup artist, Silently Colorful, and our hair stylist, Pebbles Hair Designs. They are amazing at what they do and so thankful to have them on the team!