We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world! We have mountains close by, historic landmarks, farms, woods, and incredible beaches.
It’s no wonder that many of our Seacoast high school seniors request their senior photos to be on the beach, and I’m 100% for it. The best part about our beaches in the New Hampshire and Maine area is that there are different types of beaches to fit your style. There are more sandy beaches to rocky beaches to those with iconic lighthouses.
6 Beaches for Senior Portraits in New Hampshire and Maine
1. Great Island Common in Newcastle, NH – This seaside park and beach is a great spot for senior photos! This beach has rocky spots and a few sandy spots. The green space and park offer a few opportunities for outdoorsy backdrops.
2. Fort Foster in Kittery, Maine – This historic fort offers a gorgeous view of the rocky beach that overlooks Portsmouth Harbor. There is a 2-mile walk with lots of great spots to capture senior portraits.
3. Fort Stark in Newcastle, NH – Another historic fort that my seniors love! Here we have an old fort that looks really cool as backdrops as well as a great beach. Don’t let the rocky beach fool you; this spot results in gorgeous photos.
4. Hampton Beach State Park in Hampton NH – This sandy beach is popular for swimmers and visitors. We typically schedule senior portrait sessions closer to sunset, so we’ll avoid most of the crowds. This beach offers beautiful sunset photo opps.
5. Footbridge Beach in Ogunquit Maine – Beach plus charming footbridge, yes, please! I love using the footbridge and surrounding areas as a backdrop for my senior portraits. The sandy beach at the end of the footbridge is the perfect spot for photos.
6. Odiorne Point in Rye NH – New England forest meets the rocky beach in this park. I have a few favorite spots at this location to capture my seniors near the forest’s edge and along the rocky coastline.
Beach Senior Photographer
As a proud Seacoaster, I know all of the best spots for senior portraits. Some that I didn’t list here (I can’t give away all my secrets!). I want my seniors to feel excited and confident about their senior session, and part of that by helping them choose a meaningful location. Whether that’s the beach, a park, or somewhere else, we’ll work together to find the perfect spot for your treasured senior portraits. If you’re ready to schedule a chat, please click here to send me a message. If you’re not quite ready and just researching, please feel free to join my email community here to stay in the know about all that’s happening around here.
BONUS TIP: Be sure to lock in a date to get a family photo at the beach before they head off to college or work in the fall…YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!
Your child’s senior portraits are photos you’ll treasure and look back on for the rest of your life! As you’ve learned all about my senior portrait experience, you’ll know that the location of your senior photography session is so important! You want a location that creates beautiful photos, but also one that is meaningful to your senior.
I share more about when it’s the best time to take senior portraits here. Once you decide when you’re having them done, you need to lock down the location. I’m in the know of all the top spots in the Seacoast and the surrounding areas and I want to share some of them with you!
Top 8 Senior Photo Locations in the Seacoast NH Area
Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH – Prescott Park offers beautiful gardens, fountains, docks, and old homes with cool doors in Strawberry Banke. So many options for amazing senior photos. Visit the park’s website.
Great Island Common, Newcastle, NH – This rocky beach offers spots with white sand and seagrass for different beach looks. Oh, and there are two lighthouses – two! Perfect to capture a seacoast background. Visit the website.
Fort Stark, Newcastle, NH – Senior photos at an old fort!? Trust me, this spot results in seriously amazing photos. Not only are there two forts, but this spot also offers boats in the marina for a beautiful harbor backdrop. The beach and woods give us lots of options for different backdrops! Visit the website.
Swasey Parkway and Downtown Exeter, NH – This lovely local park offers that classic New England views for your photos. This spot looks particularly gorgeous in summer or with fall colors. Visit the TripAdvisor listing.
Footbridge Beach, Ogunquit, ME – Footbridge Beach offers two beautiful senior photo locations along a gorgeous wooden footbridge or the sandy beach as well as spots in between. There are many delightful spots at this location! Visit the Trip Advisor listing.
Raynes Farm, Exeter, NH – This location offers the iconic red barn – the largest in Exeter! The barn makes for a great backdrop but this spot also offers picturesque nature views along the trail and wetlands area. Visit the website.
Wagon Hill, Durham, NH – Here’s another farm, but this farm offers the iconic wooden wagon at the top of the hill! We can take senior photos by this beloved landmark or around the farm property. Visit the website.
Vernon Family Farm, Newfields, NH – To wrap up this list, a local favorite! The Vernon Family Farm offers unique landscape backdrops for your senior photos. Plus, it’s an amazing local business. Depending on the time of year, your senior photos can feature beautiful wildflowers! Visit the website.
Finding Your Seacoast Senior Photographer
I hope this list helped you narrow down where you want your seacoast senior photo session to take place. I love getting to know my seniors and creating a senior session experience all about them and that includes finding the right location for their portraits! If you’d like to schedule your senior photos, send me a message!
Senior season is in full swing, and I just love it! I love getting to know these young men and women and capturing them during this amazing time in their lives.
I’ll give you my best tips below, but I want to make sure to say that the senior session is ALL about your senior. If there’s a different season they want photos, that’s great! It’s essential to find a photographer that cares about getting to know your senior and what makes him unique!
I’ve had the honor of photographing seniors from across the area including;
Exeter High School
Dover High School
Winnacunnet High School
Portsmouth High School
Newmarket High School
Best Time of Year for Senior Photos
The best time of year for your senior portraits is the summer before senior year. Taking them now is close enough to your senior year but gives us time to take, process, and print the photos you want to display in your home and use in the yearbook. July and August tend to be my busiest months with senior portrait sessions.
Offseason Senior Photos
Generally, summer is the best time for senior photos, but it might not be the best time for your senior! Maybe your senior is dreaming of a fall color backdrop. Or, perhaps your senior is an avid skier and wants a winter session. The earlier you reach out to your senior photographer and communicate this, the better for planning and execution.
Best Time of Day for Senior Photos
I love photographing during the “golden hour” or an hour or so before sunset for the best lighting. Summer evenings lead to a dreamy backdrop, that’s for sure! We can make other times of the day work for your senior. Does she want a sunrise beach session? Yes, please! Does he want to take photos with his car as the sun is setting? That sounds cool! The most important part of senior portraits is capturing your child’s interests and hobbies, so let’s make it happen.
Finding Your Senior Photographer
Find a senior portrait photographer who will take the time to get to know your senior and craft her session around her and not the other way around. This is a big moment for your child and your entire family, so let’s make sure to do it right! If you’re interested in working with me, send me a note here. Not quite ready to book? Subscribe to my email and join hundreds of other Seacoast mamas!
You blink, and your precious baby is now about to graduate high school and head off to her next adventure. If I think about my kids graduating for too long, I feel teary. And I still have a few years to go! I truly understand that this is a special time for your entire family, and I know how to make this a pleasant experience for your kiddo.
I’d love to share more about my senior portrait process with you so that you can feel comfortable and confident when choosing the right photographer for your graduate. Whether they love taking selfies with their friends or they don’t like the spotlight – we’ll make sure to craft an experience around who they are to capture portraits to treasure forever.
Your Senior Session
This is way more than just snapping a few photos. I’ve worked hard to build a senior session that’s fun, laidback, and results in portraits that reflect your senior! Our end goal is to take and display photos, but I like to start by learning more about your senior than building the session around him. This process has laid to even the most resistant senior boy to say, “That’s wasn’t bad.” Curious? Let me show you how it works.
5-Step Senior Portrait Process
Carefully Crafted Session – I start with asking a few questions to get to know your senior. Questions like, What are your hobbies? Is there a meaningful location? What look are you going for? Starting here helps me craft a session around what’s important to your senior!
Location Scout – I know alllll the best spots for a senior portrait session, but I’m not afraid to try something new for your senior. Whether you want the beach, studio, park, or somewhere in between. Recently, I went off the trail and into the woods for a gorgeous session.
Wardrobe Guidance – Sometimes seniors know exactly what they want to wear, and sometimes they have no clue! I’m here to help. I can literally pull things out of the closet and find an outfit she’ll feel cute and comfy wearing.
Product Selection – This is very 1996 but in a really good way! I go through and choose the best photos to edit. Then, I print them all and invite you to the studio to go through each photo. There’s just something about holding each photo in your hand that helps you decide if this is the yearbook photo or the printed portrait for the living room. Hey, if you want to make it even more 90s with some Kool-Aid and Dunkeraoos, by all means!
Mom Moment – I highly encourage moms to join the session, even telling moms to be photo-ready. I love capturing a few photos of mama and her baby. I also really need mom with me to tell me if it’s a genuine smile or not. I will pretty much do whatever it takes to get a smile out of even the most resistant senior!
Find Your Senior Photography
This is such an important experience for you and your senior. You need a photographer you can trust to make sure your senior has a good time and takes the portraits you’re dreaming of. That’s why I’ve carefully crafted a senior portrait experience that makes the magic happen! If you’re interested in booking me, please contact me here.
Senior portrait session is in full swing! Early summer means families with seniors are gearing up for graduation and soaking in the last summer before their baby leaves the nest. If this is you, check out my Senior Cap & Gown Sessions here!
If your child is heading into their senior year, it’s time to schedule their senior portrait session! This is such a special session where we get to capture your amazing senior and celebrate all she’s accomplished before heading off into the world.
As a seasoned senior portrait photographer, I have a few tips I want to share with you so that you can help your senior feel comfortable and confident during the session. The more confident she feels, the more we’ll love how their portraits turned out.
How to Have a Great Senior Portrait Session
These are my top five tips for helping your seniors rock their senior session and have some fun while doing it! These portraits will hang on your walls for a long time, so let’s make sure we capture ones that the whole family will love.
Plan Outfits
A great way to feel confident and ready for the session is by choosing outfits that your senior will love but also shows off her personality! Select three or so outfits for the session that include one formal outfit, one that’s casual, and one that is your favorite to wear. This will give us some great options for different style portraits.
Include Hobbies/Passions
This is our opportunity to showcase your amazing senior! What are her hobbies and passions? Does she play sports? Play an instrument? Volunteer? Whatever she enjoys doing, we can incorporate it into the session in a meaningful way.
Bring Family/Friends
This might be your child’s first photo session, and she may feel shy being the star of the show. This is totally normal! If bringing along a sibling or friend will help your senior feel more comfortable, that’s fine with me. They can be my assistant!
Find a Location
Is there an outdoor location that has special meaning to your graduate? Maybe your family spent lots of time at a local park or the beach. Choose a location where your senior will feel comfortable throughout the session. If you’re not sure, share your vision for the portraits with your photographer.
Choose the Right Photographer
Speaking of the photographer, it’s so important that you choose one that your senior will feel comfortable with and one that knows how to bring your portrait vision to life. Your photographer will know all the best locations and offer advice for styling the session.
Finding Your Seacoast Family Photographer
I really mean it when I say senior portraits are such an honor for me to capture for my families. This is your graduate’s time to shine and celebrate before heading off to their next adventure. I know these portraits will be treasured and on display in your home, so I make sure to work with you to bring your vision to life. If you’re interested in booking your portrait session with me, please send a note here.
