home > high school senior portraits >  20 tips for high shcool senior  photos

1. Plan to bring several outfits.                                                

You should arrange to bring several outfits to your high school senior photo session in a variety of colors, not just your favorite. Be sure and include different styles, such as "smart" casual, outdoors or sports. It is also a good idea to bring accessories for all outfits, from scarves, hats,  and footwear to jewelry, hair accents and hobby or sports props.

Check your clothing ahead of time to make sure it isn’t spotted or faded, and transport your outfits on hangers to prevent wrinkles.

2. Keep your clothing visually simple.

Try and stay away from stripes and bright patterns as they compete with you and the background and can make your senior picture look too “busy”.

3. Give consideration to color.

Solid colors are recommended for most or all outfits, but simple plaids and country style tweeds also look great. Colors that go well with a medium or dark background for close-ups include medium or dark tones of green, brown, rust, wine or blue. 

Darker shades tend to make people look slimmer. Try not to wear flesh-tone or neutral colors such as white, beige, tan, pale peach or pink as these can make your skin looked washed out. However, light colors under a dark sweater or blazer are fine.

For outside pictures, spring and summer colors of sky blue, pale green, mauve and even grey work to complement the outdoor setting. For fall, consider wearing red, dark olive green, navy blue and even black.

4. Use clothing to accentuate your best features.

Girls may want to forego short sleeves or spaghetti straps if their arms are heavy, since these styles will only accentuate that feature.

5. Go easy on the jewelry.

Avoid wearing attention-grabbing jewelry unless that is “you”, in which case we would do several senior pictures with your jewelry and several with a more minimal look. Again, the photograph should accentuate your face, eyes and personality, not draw unwarranted attention to your jewelry. 

6. Girls: Apply makeup normally or use a professional make up artist.

I recommend Splendid Chaos in Woodstock.

Apply your makeup as you normally look on a day-to-day basis, but bring your makeup with you and let me know you have it. 

If I feel you need a touch more blush or eyeshadow, I’ll let you know. 

Please avoid glitter or sparkly anything (powder, eye shadow, blush) – it tends to reflect the flash and leaves white spots. 

Also avoid too much lip gloss. It can also leave white spots from the flash.

7. Bring powder.

If you have it, bring along some translucent powder. While in real life, a bit of shine to the face gives you that “dewy glow,” it unfortunately can look like “too much glow” in photos. 

I’ll let you know if you need to dab some powder on your forehead or nose during out portrait session.

8. Go with practiced hair styles.

When it comes to long hair, personally, I love it natural and down, not really styled and then at some point during the photo session we’ll tie it back or put it up in a “messy bun”.  

In general, friends and family prefer to remember you in your senior portraits as you looked most of your senior year, not just during the period when you had your pictures taken.

Girls having their hair styled for a formal picture can, of course, wait until the photo session day to get their hair done, but they should practice with their hair stylist beforehand so there are no surprises on picture day.

9. Don’t worry about blemishes.

Don’t worry about a blemish or bruise. There are several retouching options to get the most attractive portrait possible, but please keep in mind that digital retouching and air brushing is expensive.

10. Don’t worry about braces.

Your braces are a part of the high-school “you” and shouldn’t be avoided or hidden. 

11. Stay away from tans.

Don’t overdo the tanned look. For one thing, it looks unnatural. For another, your pictures could reveal peeling skin or a cherry-red nose.

12. Help your glasses avoid glare.

There is no way to avoid glare in your glasses, even the non-glare coated ones. Whether from the sun or the off camera lights, there will most likely be glare reflected in your glasses. If at all possible buy or borrow a pair of suitable frames without lenses to prevent glare and reflections from the glass. 

Or you can ask your optician to remove the lenses from your frames for the photo session. Most will do this for you at no charge, but give them plenty of notice so there is no rush.

Reflections can be photoshopped out, but again this is an added expense and trying to set up the photos to avoid reflection takes away from the natural flow of the session and the portraits will begin to look stiff and forced.

13. Make sure your hands are presentable.

Hands will show up in some of your favorite poses, so be sure to take the time to make them presentable – guys should trim their nails, and girls might need to touch up their manicure.

14. Practice your facial expressions.

Before you go to the photo shoot, practice your facial expressions in front of a mirror at home. You can try various smiles, serious but relaxed looks, and animated expressions for action shots (with sports gear, for example).

15. Work on your poses.

Although I will arrange a lot of your standing and sitting positions for a variety of shots, you can try out different stances and positions at home, in front of a mirror, or by asking for feedback from a friend or family member. 

The overall goal is to appear natural and upbeat.

Popular high school senior poses include a seated shot that highlights your face. A recent adaptation to this style is to depict the face as half in light and half in shadow.

16. Personalize your photos with props.

Please do bring your favorite props to the shoot, such as sports equipment if you are a team player or fan, musical instruments, or hobby items. You can even bring a favorite portable piece of furniture, such as a lightweight chair or stool. Equestrians are welcome to inquire about a photo session with your horse and dogs are always welcome here at Featherstone.

17. Bring someone with you.

I always welcome my students to bring a friend if that person can help make you relax and take a natural picture.

 That person can also help with clothing changes and “double check” you while you’re being photographed to make sure your clothing hasn’t taken a turn for the worse or that your hair hasn’t come all undone.

18. Feel free to check out Pinterest.

I welcome my students to send me a limited number of Pinterest senior photos that they love. This helps me understand their preference in styling and posing and can be great take off points for further poses.

19. Don’t be shy

Don’t be shy about asking questions, even during the actual shoot. If you don’t feel comfortable with a certain pose, say so.

20. Only take the photo if you’re feeling your best.

When the big day comes, if you’re not feeling your best due to a bad cold or too little sleep, call and reschedule your photo appointment. I completely understand how important it is to look your best and will simply set up a follow-up time.