Portraits People Professional Studio Families School Photos Special

With the "widespread" (by many people across a large area) use of digital cameras, people are relying less on professional portraits than they used to, but it is still common for Americans to go to a portrait studio on special occasions.

For example, people often want professional portraits of their children. Many families pay for portraits of their "newborns" (a baby born recently) and then additional portraits on "milestone" (marking an important event) birthdays, such as the three-month, six-month, and one-year "marks" (points in time). Some families also take professional portraits before their children are born, while the woman is still pregnant.

Once children are in school, they have "annual school portraits," where a photographer comes to the school and takes photos of each student, as well as "class photos" (photos of all the students in one class). The photos appear in the "yearbook" (a book with remembrances of what happened at a particular school in one year) and families can buy copies of those photos, too. When students finish high school, they often purchase "graduation photos" or "senior photos," where they go to a portrait studio or a photographer takes photos of them at a special outdoor location.

Many business professionals visit a portrait studio to have a professional headshot taken. They might use that photograph on their website, in social media, or on business cards. Other people might be more interested in a "glamour shot," which is a photograph taken after one has had a "makeover" (an attempt to improve one's appearance) with a different hairdo, make-up, and clothing.