How can I take good senior photos for my daughter. I have a Nikon D3300?

How can I take good senior photos for my daughter. I have a Nikon D3300?

Umm… By learning to be a GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER. Sadly, too many people today think all they have to do is own a DSLR and it magically happens automatically. We can't teach you the skills and knowledge and experience of a photographer in this little box. Your question is like asking, "How do I cook an exotic gourmet meal, I have a really nice pan".

But just a few quick tips:

Do not use the wide angle focal length of your lens or the face will be distorted. If all you have is the kit 18 - 55 lens, then set it to 55 and LEAVE IT THERE.

Be sure you adjust the focus point so the eye nearest the camera is the focus target. Do not let the camera decide where IT want's to focus.

Do not shoot under direct sunlight. That is the WORSE light there's. At least get in some shade.

Set the camera white balance to match conditions. If is shade, then set the white balance to shade. That at least should help to eliminate blue skin tones. If in shade, use the pop up flash set to negative 1 EV for a touch of fill light.

If shooting indoors, do not use the horrid pop up flash. Get some directional light on her face from another source, use a tripod, and do a custom white balance procedure for accurate skin tones. Window light is always a nice light source, especially if you convert to black and white.

That is scratching the surface, and frankly, if you do not fully understand those most basic of principles, you need to hire a real photographer if you actually want "good" photos.

Final point. There are endless amounts of totally clueless people on places like Facebook who call themselves "photographers" but they are mediocre at best, and many times downright terrible. Search and find a REAL pro who has experience and a body of work to demonstrate his / her knowledge and skill. It will NOT be cheap, but quality never is. If you hire some cheap "fauxtographer" from someplace like Facebook or Craigslist, … Well, you will get what you pay for, and many times not even that.

Either you study photography (too long before you get good results) or get lucky with Auto mode.