My number 1 tip to make senior photos more fun

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

“She’s really laid back and isn’t into taking a ton of photos”

“He’s kind of shy and doesn’t really want to make a big deal about 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.

My goal with senior photos is threefold:

Make them feel confident, celebrated, and worthy
Create a fun experience that’s authentic to who they actually are
Deliver photos they feel excited to share with their family and friends

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.

And what’s one of the best ways to create a fun session experience for someone who doesn’t love being in front of the camera?

Bring a friend.

Session feature : Isabelle and Ella

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.

Why combine your session with a friend?

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.