Picture perfect: Digital Age changes look of senior portraits

Janet Johnston loves the large, framed senior picture of her son that hangs in her Spokane Valley home.

He’s in blue jeans and an orange short-sleeved shirt, set against a white background.

“It’s just a proud feeling,” Johnston says. “That’s my baby. It’s wonderful.”

His picture will soon be joined on the wall by one of his sister, who got her senior pictures taken last week. And next year, Johnston will add her youngest child’s portrait to the lineup.

“I wanted something to last for ever and ever,” says Johnston, who has had all of the pictures taken at Leo’s Portraits by Andrew McAlpin in Spokane Valley.

But fewer families are choosing professional photos to immortalize that final year of high school, area photographers say.

“We’ve lost 75 percent of that market,” says Al Berger of Cunningham Studios in Spokane. “For us, it’s to the point where, in a couple of years, we may just give up. …

“Everybody wants to take (their own picture) to Wal-Mart and get it printed.”

Dorian Studio in Spokane has seen the same decline, manager Bryan Bowman says.

“We’ve probably seen a decrease of almost 50 percent,” he says.

But the same advances in digital photography that are eating into the senior-portrait market are allowing professional photographers to become more inventive and artistic in their work.

All sorts of special effects are now added to photos, from splashes of color to flames to optical illusions.

“The digital photography and digital technology has allowed photographers to be a lot more artistic and creative after the photo is taken,” says Diane Maehl, owner of Portrait Creations in Spokane, who has been a professional photographer for about 20 years.

“I love it,” she says. “Seniors are my favorite group of people to photograph.”

Plenty of seniors still go for the traditional look in photos: Leaning against a tree in a neutral-colored turtleneck. Standing in a letter jacket. Perched pensively on a stool.

But growing numbers of those who choose professional photos are becoming more creative and, in some cases, a bit racier.

Think shirtless guys. Girls in swimsuits. Shots that might make Grandma blush.

“The bottom line is, make them look hot,” says McAlpin. “I kind of look at it as a time in their life where I want to capture these moments. Ten years down the line, they won’t be wearing these clothes.”

Says Bowman: “Everything has definitely gotten a little more trendy and on the edgier side … girls wanting to look a lot more mature than they actually are.”

There’s a fine line to walk, though, since Mom and Dad are generally footing the bill for the photo shoot and prints.

“You’ve got to make the parents happy, too,” McAlpin says.

Seniors are also getting out of the studio more often, choosing pictures taken in parks, near lakes and rivers, or around downtown buildings.

Photographers say seniors’ clothing choices have become much less formal over the years.

“Most of the kids are very, very casual,” Berger says. “Their clothing style has changed tremendously.

“You don’t see very many girls bringing in dresses. You do get some. It’s mostly T-shirts and jeans. That’s pretty much it.”

McAlpin keeps a stock of nice clothes on hand for those times when a subject only brings in tank tops or baggy shorts.

“That’s where the tough love kicks in,” he says.

And then there’s the challenge that has bedeviled anybody who has ever tried to photograph a high school student: How do you make them smile?

Berger tells parents he can get even the surliest teen to show those pearly whites.

“I tell them, ‘I’m going to tease your kids. Harass them and make fun of them. But never tell them to smile.’

“Anything you can do to get that natural smile, ‘cause once they have that smile, they love them.”