Category: Senior Portraits

Seniors often change SO much over the course of their senior year. I love it with our senior models who have sessions sprinkled throughout the year we really get to watch them make the transition from childhood into young adults. But even without those sessions we have the option to schedule spring sessions to finish out a client’s senior session experience. In Collin’s case, it’s not something we had planned but he was hard at work this year lifting and working out and the change was just too much not to circle back around to a new session to finish out his senior year.

These images are from that last session which we worked into his final album to combine both early/late senior year for him!

Hey seniors! Your senior session is, of course, all about YOU (your style, your interests, your talents, etc) and we talk about highlighting all that a LOT. So today, I wanted to take a second to talk about some other folks that we think are super important parts of your senior (and high school) years… your FRIENDS!

I’m lucky enough to still be BFFs with a first grade friend and to be married to my high school sweetheart so while these friendships can and do last, sometimes life and distance can take you far away from those that are most important to you right now. But that doesn’t make them any less a part of your story and that’s why a few years ago I started BFF sessions (free for all our senior models, and a super inexpensive add on for any senior EVEN if we didn’t create your senior portraits!!!).

One of the most asked questions I get for these sessions though is ‘what do we wear or bring?!?!’ … and I totally get it. Choosing outfits for your own session is easy. You just wear what you love most (and we have more tips for that too!). But when you’re dressing a GROUP of people there are a lot of things to think about so here are my top tips for your BFF session wardrobe.

• THEME it… ok this is not as cheesy as it sounds. But it can be much easier to coordinate your look if you think in terms of a theme or style instead of trying to ‘match.’ Examples of some themes are: Little Black Dress (give everyone a chance to style their dress their own way), Boho (natural textures and colors with lots of layers), Champagne and Glitter (think new years eve, glitz and sparkle with soft blushes and creams), Summer Fun (get BRIGHT and BOLD with the colors and throw in some fun with balloons or cotton candy), etc.

• Coordinate DON’T match… You guys don’t all walk around wearing the exact same thing so while that can be a really easy solution to a BFF wardrobe it’s not as authentic to who you each are and can end up making one or more of you not quite as comfortable/confident in rocking the wardrobe that might not be their style. Even in themes like ‘Little Black Dress’ where the idea is for everyone to rock the black cocktail dress, giving everyone the freedom to choose their own dress lets them choose a cut and style that they feel great in AND they might even choose a romper, jumpsuit or pants that still works great with the overall look.

• Accessorize! Bring it all guys and help each other out. We can totally mix and match your accessories while on shoot so if you’ve got extra bling for a Champagne and Glitter style bring it for your friends. Plus, prop it up if you want. Want to all toast some ‘bubbly’ (sparkling grape juice ya’ll) bring it! How about balloons, glitter (we can add this in later too), bubbles, donuts (Morgan’s crew rocked the donuts last year!), fun hats, unique shoes, flower crowns ^^^

• Don’t stress… I know it can feel like a lot to coordinate especially if you’re bringing together a large group of friends but the point here is FUN. So communicate a few guidelines to your friends and then let them have fun styling their look and don’t worry too much about perfection. Simple guidelines might sound like this: ‘We’re doing a natural boho style so anything you have that you love in colors like creams/naturals with earth tones and subtle color is perfect. Adding layers and natural materials like leather and woven accents are perfect. This is a pretty casual theme so sandals or even barefoot works great!”

** Bonus tip for you senior guys thinking this looks and sounds a bit girly… we know you are more DOers so we suggest doing something with your friends for your BFF shoot. Let’s toss the football/baseball, go mudding in your truck or four wheeler, take your dogs for a run, do a jam sesh in your garage….

• And my last tip…. Pinterest it! No joke, this will help you and your friends visualize the look. A simple ‘bff photo shoot’ is a good place to start but things like ‘boho style’ or ‘boho bff session’ can get you even further. Play around with your searches until you fall in love with a look and forward that on to your friends (and your photographer) for some visual help in capturing the look you love.

Today I get to share Clayton’s session with you! Comically, we’ve had one senior guy as part of our model team every year since we started (we’d take more, but that’s just how it’s always worked out) and for the class of 2019 Clayton is repping for the dudes.

Clayton’s senior sessions were so fun because we had so many aspects of his personality, interests and talents to show off… football, wrestling, firefighting, his truck, his dog #allthethings!