New YouTube alert! I’ve been avoiding this topic honestly, but, here she is – camera settings for senior portraits!! I get asked ALL the time, “what settings do you use for your pictures?” And well, it’s a complicated answer! So, why have I been avoiding this topic? Because it’s simply not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. Let’s talk about it…

When it comes to adjusting your settings at a session, there’s one KEY thing to think about. LIGHT! What kind of light situation are you in? Is it cloudy? Is it super sunny? Are you in the shade? There’s so many things to think about before just adjusting some settings and never looking back.

Second thing thats going to make a difference is your equipment. I shoot with a Canon R6 and 50mm 1.2 and an 85mm 1.2. If you’re using a 50mm lens that only goes down to 4.0 f-stop, that will make a huge difference in your settings compared to mine. I explain this more in the YouTube video!

If you want the short answer without watching the YouTube video, there are three things you must be focusing on. F-Stop, ISO, and Shutter Speed. I explain in the video that when I’m taking senior portraits and it’s just the one senior, no friends or parents in the photos, I’m pretty much always on 1.8 f-stop and don’t change it the entire session. ISO, I start as low as possible and Shutter Speed as high as possible. (and I’m not saying crank it up as high as it will go. I’m talking about setting it high enough so that the image is properly exposed!)

Want more insight to it all? You gotta watch the video! It’s linked here for you!! ‘Camera Settings for Senior Portraits’

P.S. As a little thank you for being here, I have a free posing guide for you! It’s called Posing for GEN Z and it’s my go-to prompts for trendy poses! It’s linked right here and 100% FREE! Enjoy!

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