When researching senior photographers and senior sites, I came across a wonderful resource for Senior Fashion and Photography.  Salt & Prep is a website created by Michelle Moore of Michelle Moore Photography.  Michelle is a fabulous senior photographer and shares her work and other inspiration on her blogs, michellemooreblog.com and saltprep.com.

Salt & Prep is dedicated to fashion and giving clients ideas for their sessions.  It also does a great job of promoting a healthy body image!  Seniors and photographers can get tons of information from this website to help them prepare for senior photo sessions.

I talked with Michelle about her vision and inspiration for Salt & Prep.  Below is her interview.  Be sure to visit her websites for more wonderful inspiration!

When did you start the blog, Salt & Prep? I came up with the idea in early 2010 around January-ish I believe?  I didn’t actually “officially” launch it until April 1st 2010, so it’s just a little over a year and a half old!

What was the inspiration for this blog? It started as an extension of my philosophy and brand and love of fashion.  I wanted my own little space on the web where I could blog about my favorite fashion brands, styles, etc.  In doing so I wanted to help my clients out with ideas for their senior portrait sessions, while also raising awareness to healthy body image, and good life choices.  It started to blossom into a place to share other senior portrait sessions from around the country – something that I really think is missing from the internet right now.  All these wedding photographers have blogs to submit featured sessions to – but senior portrait photographers do not!

Who is this blog geared toward? This blog is geared towards teens – but I know that many photographers enjoy reading it as well.  I primarily want to reach an audience of 13-18 year olds (girls and boys) but it is great because anyone of any age could enjoy it!

What do you hope readers will learn from this blog? I really hope that young teens read it and start tearing down false perceptions of themselves.  Modern society is SO hard on teens and our youth, and I want everyone to believe in themselves and feel good in their own skin.  I hope that readers of our blog will find inspiring articles!

How important is fashion in a senior photo shoot? I think great style is important, but NOT the end-all-be-all.  It’s a place to be INSPIRED, but in no shape or form is it some “requirement” to look a certain way.  I want my clients (or any clients out there!) to still be themselves.  Hopefully seniors will find ideas, and see new ways to wear their own clothes, or feel confident to rock an idea they have.  I don’t want anyone to feel discouraged.  Nothing is wrong with a cute white tee and jeans!!

Do you help seniors with their wardrobe for your photo shoots? I do – but I don’t.  I have a really well-thought out wardrobe FAQ that my clients read before-hand.  I have modified and updated it over the years as I’ve learned what things work/don’t work.  Mainly my clients read my blog and see what other clients have worn and get ideas from that.  Plus over the years I have shaped my brand and marketed to the type of client I want, and so I think those clients search me out, so all my clients have a similar and great sense of what to wear, and it just grows from there!  My clients bring what they want to their sessions, and I help them narrow down, but they really are choosing on their own!

How many outfits do you suggest for senior portrait sessions? That really depends on your shooting style.  I stick to 4 – it’s been our magic number.  3 is great – 5 is great, but for me, I find that my clients are exhausted by outfit #5.  I try to get a read on their energy level and how much I can get from them.  If you shoot each outfit for 10 minutes, then you could probably do 6 or 7, but if you are taking 45 minutes or longer per outfit, then maybe only 3 is a good number for you.  It took me about 3 years to get my magic number down to a science and it takes time and lots of shooting to learn what fits for both you and your clients!  (TIP: salt&prep does require at LEAST 3 outfits from a single session to be considered – just because we want to share a good variety from each session!!)

What is the biggest tip you can share to photographers on how they can help seniors dress for their photo shoots? Try to share sessions on your websites that show off examples of the clients you want – and the style they have.  Setting an example for your clients will get your ideal clients excited about choosing YOU!

What are your favorite places to shop for senior fashions? Well, I’m not in high school anymore, but I still love to check out Forever 21!  They have such a great variety, and everything is so affordable that you can really put together almost anything you want!

Thanks for the interview Michelle!!