Senior Portraits That Actually Look Like You
Houston-based. Built around your senior.
Mike and Angi Fox have been photographing Houston-area seniors for nearly fifteen years. Mike is behind the camera on every session — directing every pose, reading the light, making every shot work. Angi works right alongside your senior — adjusting outfits, demonstrating poses, managing the lights, and keeping the energy easy — so Mike can stay locked in on the shot. The goal isn't to make a 17-year-old look polished into someone else. It's to make them look unmistakably like themselves, captured at their actual best.
This Is Not a School Photo.
A senior portrait session is a different category of thing — not a longer version of picture day, not a step up from the yearbook shot, not a bigger backdrop in the same gym.
The school photo exists to make every senior look consistent on the same yearbook page. It belongs to the school. It runs on a clock. Capturing what makes your senior specifically them isn't the job it was hired to do.
A senior portrait session is for your senior — and for the family that's about to watch them leave. It's the milestone version, made on purpose, with time and intention behind it. It's the image you'll still have on the wall in thirty years, when the yearbook is in a box in the attic.
Built Around You.
You bring the style. The outfits. The props. The personality. That's the foundation we build the session on — and the part nobody else can give us.
We handle the rest. Posing that feels natural instead of forced. Locations that match your vibe instead of fighting it. Light, timing, direction — all the technical work that turns a good idea into a great image.
The goal isn't to make you look like someone else. It's to make you look like you — just lit better, and captured at your absolute best.
Bold. Chill. Editorial. Outdoorsy. Vintage. Cinematic. We've shot all of it, and we'll meet you wherever your senior actually lives.
Mike and Angi.
For nearly fifteen years, Mike and Angi Fox have been photographing Houston-area families through this exact moment. Both of them are on every senior session, and the way they split the work is the reason it goes well.
Mike takes the photos. Posing, lighting, the actual making of the image — that's his job, and his only job, for the two to three hours your senior is in front of him. Angi stays close to your senior, reads the energy, demonstrates poses, adjusts outfits, manages the lights, and keeps things moving so Mike can stay focused on the shot. A nervous 17-year-old walks into the session with two people already working for them — neither of whom is distracted by the other's job.
They've also raised three kids of their own through this exact phase. They know how to be around teenagers, and teenagers can tell the difference. After fifteen years of doing it this way, they wouldn't run a session any other way.
What Families Tell Us.
Here's what some of the Houston families we've worked with have said about their experience.
“When I first mentioned senior portraits, my son wanted nothing to do with it. He didn’t think he’d enjoy it or that the photos would even look good. After working with Mike and Angi, he came home talking about pursuing professional modeling.”
“He really got to know her and what she likes and brought that out in her pictures. They all turned out so well I couldn’t decide — I ended up buying at least one of each pose.”
“They have the ability to get photo-shy folks to relax for great photos. Extremely creative, come up with out-of-the-box ideas — and most of all, so very responsive and responsible.”
The Regrets We Hear Most
Over the years, we've heard the same regrets come up around senior portraits. We bring them up because we'd rather you not have them.
"We thought school photos would be enough."
A year later, your daughter is at college and the photo on the wall is a yearbook headshot in front of a blue backdrop. School photos are designed to make every senior look consistent on the same yearbook page — capturing what makes each one of them specifically them isn't part of the job. You know exactly which photo we mean. It's not the one you wanted to land on.
"We did the senior session through the school photographer."
The school photography company often has your senior's name senior year even starts — schools hand over the senior list, and the marketing starts months before yearbook photos are ever taken. It feels like a natural next step — familiar name, early outreach, easy yes. But these are usually large corporate operations: a photographer you know nothing about, a standard shot list, the same studio backdrops every other senior in the district sat in front of. The family spent significant money. The senior came home and said it was fine. So spending again on something better feels like you’ve wasted that money, and your budget doesn’t have room for another shoot. Some of the families we work with came to us after exactly that — and we're glad they made the call anyway.
"We went with the lower-price option and ended up disappointed."
This one is almost never about the money. It's about the photos that ended up in a drawer. The session that felt rushed. Images that technically captured her face but missed everything that made her her.
"We waited too long."
Senior year flies by, and before you know it photographers are booked up. Fall semester is the best time for these sessions — the best weather, the best light, and enough time before graduation for products to be ready. We do shoot Senior portraits in the Spring, but the calendar gets tight, and there's almost no room for a weather reschedule. Mid-April is the practical deadline if you want prints ready by graduation, since the products themselves take roughly a month after the ordering appointment. A lot of people think that they will have more time in the Spring, but that’s usually not true.
Here's What Working With Us Actually Looks Like.
The Consultation
We sit down with you before anything is scheduled, and it's free with no commitment attached. You and your senior look through images from each of our locations together, pick where you want to shoot, and we talk through how many outfits to bring. We cover our products and packages too, so nothing at the ordering appointment catches you off guard. You won't be asked to decide about a package at this meeting. If everything feels right, you book the date and lock it in. If not, that's fine too. The consultation exists so we know enough about your senior, and you know enough about us, that everyone walks into the actual session ready.
The Session
The session runs two to three hours, on location, in the places your senior chose. Mike takes the photos, directing every pose, reading the light, thinking through every shot. Angi manages the lights, keeps the energy moving, and pays attention to anything Mike can't see from behind the camera. There's no fixed shot list and no rigid sequence. We move with whatever the session gives us. The senior who walks in nervous usually loosens up within the first twenty minutes.
There's always a parent on the shoot, and often more of the family. The shoot itself is for your senior, but the people who matter most are usually there for it, and that energy makes a difference.
After the Session
About a week to ten days later, we sit down together to look at your images. They're shown large, the way they're meant to be seen. We will be there to help you select the images you love. You see each image the way it will actually live in your home.
This is where the order is placed. Everyone with a say in what gets purchased should plan to be there. It's the meeting where the decisions get made. Most families spend an hour to ninety minutes with us. They leave with their order placed and a clear picture of what's coming.
Once the order is in, every image you've purchased gets the full retouch: skin, distractions, color, done with care so the final image looks like your senior and not a filtered version of someone else.
Products include wall art, albums, digital files, and graduation announcements. Most families spend around $2,000 in total. We'd rather you know that now than find out later.
Where We Shoot.
Location sets the tone for the entire session. We have nine spots in the Houston and Galveston areas we commonly shoot at, and each one has its own feel. If your senior already has a vision, we'll try to match it. If they don't, we'll help find it during the consultation.
We're also open to shooting somewhere specific that matters to your senior: a record store, a family property, somewhere with personal meaning. The main thing is that the location either needs enough variety to work for a two-plus-hour session on its own, or needs to be close enough to one of our regular spots that we can continue the shoot there.
Downtown Houston / Main Street
Downtown Houston is cinematic and urban: city architecture, dramatic light, strong editorial energy. We typically shoot one outfit in the city and pair it with Eleanor Tinsley as part of the same session.
Eleanor Tinsley Park
Eleanor Tinsley gives you the Houston skyline. Open green space, a sunset city backdrop, and looks that work equally well in casual and dramatic outfits. One of our most-requested locations, and the natural pairing with Downtown.
Hermann Park
Hermann Park is bold and architectural: reflecting pools, large-scale scenery, and strong lines. It works across a wide range of styles and personalities.
The Galveston Strand
The Strand is color and architecture: painted storefronts, historic columns, steps, and walls that don't exist anywhere else on this list. The editorial density here is unlike any other location we shoot. Almost always paired with the Beach as part of the same Galveston trip.
The Beach
The Beach is the most dramatic natural location we shoot: sunset light, wide open sky, and the most theatrical images in our portfolio. It pairs with the Strand as part of a single Galveston session.
Brazos Bend State Park
Brazos Bend is natural and organic: tall grasses, Spanish moss, and open water. It's the right choice for the senior who wants something grounded and real rather than architectural.
The Castle
The Castle is the most distinctive location we shoot. Dramatic stone architecture, striking interiors, and a backdrop that holds up to fantasy, editorial, and fine-art concepts. Nothing else in the Houston area looks like it.
Heritage Park
Rolling lawns, a lake, bridges, and weathered wood structures set in a landscape that feels unhurried and genuinely Texan. A strong choice for seniors who want something that feels personal rather than urban.
Oyster Creek Park
Oyster Creek brings water features, lush greenery, and deep natural backdrops to every session. The setting works for dramatic gowns, casual outfits, and cap and gown equally well.
How We Work.
The questions we get asked the most.
What does a session cost? The session fee is $199 — that's what books your date and covers the shoot itself. Packages start at $1,200 and are chosen at the ordering appointment. Most families invest around $2,000.
How long is the session? Sessions run two to three hours, on location.
Who's there during the session? Both Mike and Angi are on every session. A parent is always there, and sometimes other family members. The shoot is for your senior, but the session is fun and a great memory to share with the senior.
How many outfits should we bring? Plan for around seven options: we'll work through five. That gives your senior variety without the session feeling like a wardrobe change marathon. Things like cap and gown or letter jacket don't count as a full outfit; we layer those onto an existing look for a few shots.
Can we use a custom location? Sometimes. If it's large enough to fill a session on its own, or close enough to one of our regular locations that we can combine the two, we can usually make it work. We've shot a senior at a vintage soda shop and then moved straight to a city location in the same session — that's the kind of thing we can build around.
When should we book? The strongest path is a summer consultation followed by an early-to-mid-fall shoot. That gives us the best weather, the best light, and the most room to reschedule if we need to. Spring sessions are possible but limited: the calendar gets tight, and there's no margin for a rain day. If graduation delivery matters, mid-April is the practical last-shoot window, because products take roughly a month after the ordering appointment.
What happens after the session? About a week to ten days out, we meet for the ordering appointment. Images are shown full-size in person, not sent as a link, and the order is placed in that meeting. If you want the full walkthrough of how it works, see the process section above.
When do we get the final images? Every image purchased at the ordering appointment gets a full retouch after the order is placed. Products typically arrive about a month after the appointment.
Is there an online gallery? Yes, but it comes after the order, not before. All ordering happens in person at the ordering appointment. Most packages include gift prints in smaller sizes. Once your order is placed and the images are retouched, we create a private gallery so you can choose which images you'd like in those sizes. You can share that link with grandparents or anyone else who'd like to pick a print.
What is the consultation? A free meeting before anything is booked. You and your senior look through images from each location and pick where you want to shoot. We talk through outfits and walk through our packages so you know what to expect before the session ever happens. If it's a good fit, you book the date.
Let's Talk About Your Senior.
The consultation is a real conversation — a chance to talk through what you're hoping for, see whether we're the right studio for your senior, and answer anything still on your mind. No pressure. No commitment. Just time to talk.