DAD BRAG PHOTOGRAPHY - Class of 2025 guide

SENIORS SENIORS

You’re not like everybody else.

Winning national senior photography awards is easy... when your clients are this awesome.

While the winner is listed as “Dad Brag Photography,” most of the credit belongs to the subjects - the students who want to celebrate their senior year with a once in a lifetime photo shoot.

SENIOR INSPIRE

“Photographer I’d Like to Follow”

2023

Madelyn Kennedy, Medina High School

SENIOR LUXE “Best of 2023”

Bailey Hemming, Aurora High School

SENIOR STYLE GUIDE

“Hot 100 Recipient, Community Choice Award”

2024 Anwyn Hobbs, Solon High School

SENIOR INSPIRE

“Photographer I’d Like to Follow”

2024 Charlotte Hirsch, Aurora High School

You’re not like everybody else.

It’s not just the title to a really old song by The Kinks. “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” is the philosophy our high school clients take into their photo shoot.

You’re not like everybody else, and your senior pictures should reflect that. Dad Brag Photography will take the time to meet with you, learn about your personality, style, and interests, before planning a shoot that reflects who you are.

Yes, we’ll capture the good looks you were fortunate enough to inherit from your mom. But Dad Brag will capture your unique personality as well—and do it in a way that guarantees your pictures will stand out.

The process starts with coffee.

And it ends with all your friends losing their minds over how fabulous you look in your senior pictures.

The Consultation.

Grab a parent or two, and we will meet for coffee or lunch. At your initial consultation, we will get to know each other.

We will figure out what you want out of your senior session, and perhaps more importantly, we will determine what you do not want.

Your style, your interests, and your personality will be discussed. Ideas will be exchanged.

From there, we will plan your photo shoot. What will you wear? Where shall we go?

The Photo Shoot.

Your session will last as long as you wish, or until one of us passes out from exhaustion. Guys usually like to shoot for 90 minutes, while ladies often push for “just one more location” around the threehour mark.

The shoot will include poses we discussed during over coffee, as well as us pouncing on inspiration whenever it strikes.

Every session ends the same way. I ask, “Did you have fun?” Every client so far has said “yes.”

Every. Single. One.

Edits and Prints.

Soon after your photo shoot, you will receive an online album of pictures to review. We will then determine which ones you would like edited further, whether it’s converting a favorite photo into a black and white version, or just removing a stray hair.

Once edits are complete, you may order as many or as few products as you choose. Your many options will include prints of all sizes, photo albums, and wall art.

Then, share your photos on social media, sit back, and soak up the praise from all your friends.

A modern approach.

Senior pictures have changed since 1991 when your favorite teachers were your age.

Dad Brag Photography takes a modern approach. No cookie-cutter photos here. Instead, each session is individualized to capture your own style and personalitywhether you are looking for photos that are fun, artistic, or glamorous.

My wife, Aurora High French teacher Madame Cook. Her senior photo is shared here with her relucant permission.

Fun.

The first priority of your photo shoot is to have fun. Because if you have fun, it will be reflected in all of your senior pictures.

Artistic.

When you’re creative, the last thing you want is a photo that looks like something you’d find as a sample picture in a frame at Target.

Your best black dress is coming out of the closet for your session. Beautiful, classy photos can be fun too.

SUMMER

is senior picture season.

4

reasons to book your session for this summer.

1The days are long and beautiful.

Warm weather. Summer clothes. Sunlight until 9 p.m. Vibrant plants everywhere. There’s no reason to wait until the fall.

2 Better choice of dates.

The early bird gets the best dates on the calendar. When you book early, you can get prime weekend dates in the summer. Or, if you prefer, you’ll be able to book for an evening during the week that works for you and your family.

3

More prep time.

In the summertime, the living is easy. You’re on summer vacation, so you will have plenty of time to pick the perfect outfits, get your hair done and get a manicure. Your session can be longer too, so we will have time to get to Lake Erie, Wade Oval, or anywhere you’d like to shoot.

4

Worry free rescheduling.

When you book a summer date, you get a backup date just in case. This way, if it rains or you aren’t feeling well, it’s no big deal.

What to wear.

Seniors should plan to bring at least three outfits to their photo shoot. A good idea is to bring one casual outfit, one that’s fancy, and then a third that is somewhere in between. Above all, wear clothing that makes you feel confident and comfortable.

Where to shoot.

Look, we get it. Downtown Chagrin Falls is super cute. If you want to go there, we’ll go there.

But there is no need to limit yourself to what everybody else does.

Your photo session can take place just about anywhere in NE Ohio, including the Warner & Swasey observatory.

You may choose to dance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, turn an elevator into your studio, visit a cemetery, or even pose in a box filled with Froot Loops.

Studio time.

Are you interested in having photos done in a professional studio?

Dad Brag Photography is now teaming up with Recognizze Studios in Cleveland on indoor shoots with backdrops and dramatic lighting.

Aim higher.

Your goal should be more than just getting a pretty mug shot to put in your high school yearbook.

When you book with Dad Brag, we are going to attack your session like it is a photo shoot for a magazine.

In this example, the magazine in question is Vogue.

P.S.

Despite what you have seen on the first 27 pages, Dad Brag Photography is for the guys as well.

Let’s talk about cost.

Many local photographers charge a reasonable fee for a senior photo session, but then force parents to buy an expensive package of prints.

Please be assured that Mike at Dad Brag isn’t smart enough to do that.

When you book a senior photo session with Dad Brag, you will be charged one flat fee. That’s it.

Your cost will include the initial consultation, the photo session, and the editing of your photographs. You will then own the entire online photo collection, with no annoying watermarks.

If you’d like to order prints, wall art, or photo albums, you may of course do so through the Dad Brag Photography website. Order as few, or as many prints as you need. However, you may feel free to order prints through a third-party vendor.

Dad Brag offers a lower price for summer sessions, but book ASAP, as summer dates go fast.

For a slightly higher price, you may book your session during the first few weeks of the school year. As you will see on the following pages, Dad Brag Photography shoots sports as well, and as such, fall dates are extremely limited.

“National

Enjoy their game.

Parents, watch the game. Be in the moment. Cheer! Let Dad Brag capture the memories for you.

Book your team today for next season.

Because nobody wants to see the awful cell phone photos you take from the 10th row of the bleachers.ke from the bleachers.

Armed with Westcott FJ400 lights and a smoke machine, Dad Brag Photography can now provide athletes with a Brad Deel-inspired Media Day-style photo shoot. These stylized photo shoots are available for individual athletes, as well as entire high school teams.

Everybody dance now!

Celebrate your years of dance lessons with a photo session you will never forget. Dad Brag has worked with both seniors and professional ballerinas on shoots capturing the skill, strength, and beauty of dance.

Kind words.

“Mike went above and beyond with my daughter’s senior pictures. They are fantastic and unique. I am so pleased with the entire experience.”

Esther, Class of 2024 Mom

“I had such a fun time! I’m so excited to show off the amazing photos!”

Annabella, Class of 2024

“This experience has been so joyful and compelling. Thank you so much for these astonishing photos.”

Charlotte, Class of 2024

“I love my senior pictures. Thank you! I cannot stop smiling when I look at them.”

Lizzy, Class of 2023

“OMG! Do I really look like that? Wow, can we take even more?”

Maggie, Class of 2022

“Your stuff is so unique, and you find locations that no one else does. Bravo, dude.”

Karl, Class of 2022 Dad

“You are so awesome. I feel just so grateful for the opportunity to work with you.”

Eileen, Class of 2023 Mom

Meet your photographer.

Mike Cook started taking photos at his family’s sporting events over a decade ago. He eventually got good at it, and egged on by parents and athletes, his hobby became a business called Dad Brag Photography.

Dad Brag shoots for teams in Chagrin Falls, Aurora, and Solon. Mike is also a contributor to SB Live, a partner of Sports Illustrated. He has shot hundreds of games across Northeast Ohio, including eight OHSAA state championship games, and dozens of playoff games.

In 2020, by popular demand from soccer moms, Mike’s photography business branched out to senior pictures. His clients include seniors from his base in Chagrin Falls, Aurora, and Solon, as well as seniors from Berea-Midpark, Berkshire, Brunswick, Beaumont, Medina, Hathaway Brown, Walsh Jesuit, and Cleveland Heights.

Mike’s senior photography work has earned national awards from Senior Luxe, Senior Inspire, and Senior Style Guide.

As for a day job, Mike serves as the Communications Director for the City of University Heights. He has previously worked at the American Red Cross and the Ohio General Assembly. Mike also served a stint working for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, where he organized heroin education assemblies in local schools.

Mike lives in Solon with his wife Barbara, their two athletic kids, plus their fancy dogs Margaret Dumont and Lillian Roth.