Nine times out of 10, when I have parents come to me seeking photos for their high school senior, they’ll say something like this
And inside, I’m like AWESOME.
Because that means I’m getting a kid who is down to earth, who just wants to be themselves, and who isn’t looking for someone to turn them into the cover of Teen Vogue.
They want senior photos, but they feel a little awkward. GOOD NEWS – that’s normal.
I also believe that feeling confident, celebrated, and worthy should come with showing up as the best version of yourself.
Not a super hyped-up version of yourself that is so glamorous that no one actually recognizes you.
Bring a friend.
These girls are the perfect example of my ideal down-to-earth seniors – they, and their parents, wanted photos that were authentic, celebrated their athletic interests and achievements, and just let their joyful spirits shine through.
The huge benefit to bringing a friend is that you’re able to cheer each other on, make each other laugh, and just enjoy the time even more in the company of someone you’re really familiar with.
Most of my seniors don’t want their parents following along behind us at the shoot, so having a friend there gives them someone else to help break the ice and gets us into a familiar place for authentic photos way quicker.
Logistically, they each purchased 30-minute petite sessions with me, but instead of doing them separately, we combined them into one 1-hour shoot and just alternated between the two of them. It worked magically and each girl had final galleries of at least 50 images because I simply could not narrow them down any more!
For this session, we met at a local park in Charlottesville with lots of variety for fields and water as their natural backdrop. These two have known each other since they were literal infants so the bond was real.
We even got some photos of them together at the end which made for a bittersweet connection to capture as they start off on their new adventures at different schools in a few short months.
A natural approach to senior photos