They spent eighteen years becoming exactly who they are. These portraits are the proof of it — before the chapter closes and the next one begins.

for the woman who blinked and there baby is graduating
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Senior portraits are not for the yearbook. They are for you — the parent who has been there for every version of who they have become. The portraits that go on the shelf, make it into the graduation speech, and end up framed in a house of their own someday.
A senior session at Julie Irene Photography is a real experience. A consultation to plan everything in advance. A full session on the day, directed from start to finish. Images that look like your kid at their actual best — not a costume version of them.
Boys and girls both. Studio and on location anywhere in Orange County. Hair and makeup available as an add-on. Twenty years of knowing how to get a genuine, confident portrait out of a teenager.
Before anything is booked, we connect to plan session style, location, wardrobe, and what you want to walk away with. Pricing is covered here. By the time session comes around you and your senior will be fully prepared.
Available as an add-on for senior girls. Happens the day of the session at your home or in-studio with a professional artist. That two hours changes how your senior walks into the session — and it shows in every frame.
One to two hours, directed from start to finish. Studio, on location, or both. Families are encouraged at the end for a separate set of portraits together. No wasted time, no uncertain moments.
A private ordering appointment one to two weeks after the session to see the images and choose wall art, albums, and prints. Digital files within two to three weeks. Lab prints within three to five weeks of approval.
She has been the one behind the camera for most of their life. The phone photos at every game, every recital, every first day of school. None of those are on her wall. None of them look the way she remembers it feeling.
Senior portraits are the one session where she gets to see her kid the way she has always seen them — at their best, on purpose, captured by someone who knows how to make that happen. Not for the yearbook. For her.
The portrait that goes on her desk when they leave. The one she looks at when the house gets quiet. The one that is completely, unmistakably them.
Twenty years of doing this means knowing how to get that image out of a kid who walked in skeptical. Getting teenagers to relax, engage, and look genuinely like themselves — that is the whole job, and it works every time.
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BEST TIMING - Junior year or summer before senior year. Before applications and activities fill the calendar. Book early for fall availability.
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LENGTH - One to two hours. Add 1.5 hours if hair and makeup are included. Family add-on is approximately 30 minutes at the end.
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LOCATION - Studio in San Clemente, on location anywhere in Orange County, or a combination of both in a single session.
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HAIR & MAKEUP - Available as an add-on for senior girls. Done at your home or the studio the day of the session with a professional artist.
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FAMILY ADD-ON - Family portraits added immediately after the senior portion. About 30 minutes. Mention it at the consultation so time is built in.
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INVESTMENT - Session fee from $395. Image collections from $1,590. Most senior clients invest between $1,590 and $6,000. All pricing discussed at the consultation
After the senior portion wraps, we bring the family in for a set of portraits together. It takes about thirty minutes. The images last a lot longer than that.
For a lot of families in Orange County, this is the last time everyone will be in the same place before their senior leaves for college, moves out, and starts building a life of their own. The family that exists right now is worth documenting before it changes.
It doesn't have to be a production. It is thirty minutes at the end of an existing session. The kind of thing you look back on in ten years and are glad you did.
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Session fees cover the full experience — consultation, session day, and private design and ordering appointment. Images are selected at the ordering appointment, where wall art, albums, and print collections are available. Most senior clients invest between $1,590 and $6,000.
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★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"He came in with his arms crossed. He left asking if we could see the images right then. That is not something I expected from my seventeen-year-old. "
Nicole • IRVINE, CA
Everything parents ask before book — from timing to hair and makeup to senior boys to the family add-on. If something isn't answered here, call the studio at (949) 887-5928.
Junior year or early summer before senior year is the ideal window. Senior year fills up fast — college applications, sports, activities — and the best session dates book early. Summer before senior year is the most popular time. If you are already in senior year, reach out today. Waiting for things to slow down is not a strategy that works with senior year.
Yes — and senior boys are a particular specialty at this studio. The portfolio has more senior boy images than any other senior type, because real work has gone into figuring out exactly how to get a genuine, confident portrait out of a seventeen-year-old who arrived skeptical. The session is fast and directed. By the end, most boys are asking when they can see the images. Their moms are usually surprised.
Wardrobe is covered in detail at the consultation before the session. Most seniors bring two to four outfits — something casual that feels like them, something that reflects their personality or interests, and something more polished. The goal is portraits that look like them at their actual best, not a formal version of themselves. Avoid large logos or anything that will date quickly. For senior girls, hair and makeup is available as an add-on and is done at the studio the morning of the session.
Hair and makeup is available as an add-on for senior girls. It happens at the studio in San Clemente the morning of the session, with a professional artist on hand from start to finish. It is not just about how the portraits look — it changes how your senior feels walking into the session. That confidence is visible in every frame.
Most senior sessions run one to two hours. If hair and makeup are included, plan for an additional hour to an hour and a half at the studio or at your home before the session begins. If a family add-on is planned, account for approximately thirty minutes at the end. The session itself moves efficiently — which works in everyone's favor when you are photographing a teenager.
Session fees start at $395 for weekday sessions and $495 for weekend sessions. Image collections start at $1,590 — the 8 Portrait Collection includes eight matted prints with matching fully edited digital files. Most senior clients invest between $1,590 and $6,000 once wall art, albums, and digital files are selected. All pricing is discussed at the consultation before the session, so there are no surprises at the ordering appointment.
Yes, and many families do. After the senior portion wraps, the family comes in together for portraits — typically about thirty minutes. For a lot of families in Orange County, this is the last time everyone will be in the same place before their senior leaves for college. It takes almost no time relative to what you get. Mention it at the consultation and it will be built into the plan.
Call the studio at (949) 887-5928 or reach out through the contact page. A consultation — by phone or in person at the studio — covers everything: session style, location, wardrobe, timing, pricing. One conversation is usually all it takes to have the whole thing handled, before anything is booked or paid for.
Book a separate family session before the next chapter of your family begins.
If grandparents and multiple generations are together for the graduation, this is the session for that moment.
See the full range of Growing Families portrait sessions available at the studio
Julie Irene Photography, a luxury portrait studio in San Clemente, California. Newborn, family, maternity, headshots and personal branding for Orange County
san clemente, ca
This is what an extended family session actually looks like before you see the final images.
Two strobes on the beach are a must with this many people if you plan on getting that gorgeous sunset perfect. Twenty-some people in eucalyptus trees requires hauling some stools.
Then you have me trying to get everyone to look the same direction at the same time, which never happens.... but good thing I know how to head swap!
Swipe to the last slide.
That`s the part they actually hang on the wall.
#extendedFamilyPhotography #SanClemente #OrangeCountyPhotographer #familyportraits #southOC
Yesterday I took a mental break. I’ve been dealing with some perimenopause symptoms for the last few years and the worst part of it all has been my sleep.
2am. Wide awake. Again.
my mind goes from thing to thing – nothing important, not one clear thought I could actually grab onto. I’m laying there doing breathing exercises, hoping that will help but sometimes that just makes me more aware that I’m still awake. My heart’s going a little faster than it should be. I’ve read enough about cortisol at this point to understand why, but understanding something and being able to fix it are two different things.
I have been doing everything. Functional medicine appointments, every few months, bloodwork, daily workouts because they’re supposed to help, supplements I could fill a small cabinet with. I just received a cooling mattress pad last week in hopes that will help as well. I cut off all caffeine after 10 AM. Even warm showers at night. Next step I’m gonna consider acupuncture.
Some months are great. Then all of a sudden weeks will go by without one good night sleep.
The thing that nobody told me about Perry menopause is that it’s different for everybody. Nobody hands you and manual, and most of the advice you get doesn’t actually apply to you.
I’m figuring it out. Slowly. Some nights are better than others.
If you’re in the same place, I generally love to know what’s helping you. I’m sharing this for another reason then I know I’m not the only one lying awake at 2 AM doing math and how many hours of sleep I can still get.
The women who book She Means Business sessions are usually the ones who have been doing kick ass things for years and still don`t have images that show for it.
They`ve got speaking gigs, writing books, and clients who trust them — and a headshot from 2016 they`re quietly embarrassed by every time they have to use it.
The session is a full day at my San Clemente studio. Hair and makeup. Multiple looks. Behind-the-scenes footage they can use for their businesses. A feature in the She Means Business Orange County magazine at the end of the campaign. As well as an invitation to the campaign-end Gallery Exhibition.
We still have space for 17 more amazing women. If you`ve been meaning to do this, this is the one for you!
Link in bio to start the conversation.
Summer is almost upon us. This is the time of year the whole family may actually be in the same place.
Cousins running around and having fun. The grandparents getting all their hugs and snuggles in with the grandkids. Someone is grilling and there is always that one complaining about the sand or heat. And sadly, nobody has thought about portraits — because why would they? The moment feels infinite.
It isn`t.
I`ve been photographing families for almost 20 years, and the sessions I think about most are the extended family ones. Not because they are the most complicated to coordinate (they are), but because I feel they are the most important. From personal experience I had these done before my father passed and those photos I treasure the most.
If your family is together this summer, it`s worth a conversation with everyone to make it happen.
My studio is in San Clemente. Sessions booked by retainer, and summer fills faster than people expect. If you`ve been thinking about reaching out, the sooner the better.
This studio session brought four generations into one room. The daughter who organized it got everyone together before her niece flew back to Idaho with a baby due in June. Sessions like this don`t happen on accident. Studio or beach, the harder part is getting everyone in the same place. If yours is going to be in one place this year, this is the kind of session it makes.
#sanclementephotographer #orangecountyfamilyphotographer #extendedfamilyphotos #fourgenerations #studioportraits