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Post by elaine on Jun 22, 2017 20:25:57 GMT
These fancy high school senior portrait photo sessions are new to me.
The two outfits, multiple poses, etc., seem to make more sense for girls to me, but I'm rolling with it and will bring in a second outfit for my son to change into.
What were your experiences with high school senior portraits for your boys? What clothing did they wear? Were there full body shots or only chest up, like typical school photos?
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Post by mom on Jun 22, 2017 20:29:38 GMT
My oldest could care less about photos, but he went along with me wanting Sr photos.
For the first set of photos, he wore jeans, and a nice shirt. Basically clothes I forced his to wear. For the second set, I let him pick his outfit. He ended up with khaki shorts, a Texas t-shirt with a short sleeve plaid shirt over the top. For shoes he wore his royal blue converse.
I was so against what he picked at first - but looking at the photos, the ones in that outfit are 'so him'.
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Post by chaosisapony on Jun 22, 2017 20:38:55 GMT
Not a mom of a boy but a photographer that does lots of seniors. In general, most of the boys are really not into the pictures and put forth minimal effort into the session. There are exceptions to this of course but it's what is most common for me. Because of that I have certain things I like to do to get them to open up! Usually I have them bring one casual outfit, which tends to wind up being jeans and their favorite t shirt. Often the shirt will have a logo or band name on it. I start with this outfit because it is what they are going to be most comfortable in even though it's not usually what the parents want. From there, if they brought more clothes, they will change into a nicer look. Jeans and a button up shirt. After that if they want a formal look, the suit or tux they brought. For boys that are into sports I will do several poses with their lettermen's (I have no idea how to spell that) jacket, class ring, and/or sporting equipment. I've had some guys bring guitars and their cars too. This is my favorite part of the shoot because having stuff that they are excited about in the photos really helps them open up to the whole experience and gets great, unique shots. I do some full body shots and some closer up ones too. There will be some sitting, some standing, some laying down. I even had one guy that did a full blown shoot in various poses with his motorcycle. Hopefully that will give you some ideas.  |
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Post by elaine on Jun 22, 2017 20:56:29 GMT
Not a mom of a boy but a photographer that does lots of seniors. In general, most of the boys are really not into the pictures and put forth minimal effort into the session. There are exceptions to this of course but it's what is most common for me. Because of that I have certain things I like to do to get them to open up! Usually I have them bring one casual outfit, which tends to wind up being jeans and their favorite t shirt. Often the shirt will have a logo or band name on it. I start with this outfit because it is what they are going to be most comfortable in even though it's not usually what the parents want. From there, if they brought more clothes, they will change into a nicer look. Jeans and a button up shirt. After that if they want a formal look, the suit or tux they brought. For boys that are into sports I will do several poses with their lettermen's (I have no idea how to spell that) jacket, class ring, and/or sporting equipment. I've had some guys bring guitars and their cars too. This is my favorite part of the shoot because having stuff that they are excited about in the photos really helps them open up to the whole experience and gets great, unique shots. I do some full body shots and some closer up ones too. There will be some sitting, some standing, some laying down. I even had one guy that did a full blown shoot in various poses with his motorcycle. Hopefully that will give you some ideas. Thank you! That helps a lot. He is very much a t-shirt and shorts guy - hence my needing to go buy dockers and polo shirts. He does have a button up shirt and a tie, but it isn't him - I was ambivalent about forcing him to wear them, now I won't. I'll him bring in his laptop as a prop. He is a computer guy! |
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Post by ro on Jun 22, 2017 21:12:56 GMT
My eldest is graduating next week -- this concept is so new to me. We don't do senior photos, outside of grad photos, here in Canada. If it is done, it must be a regional thing.
If we did do them, I'd go with who they really are rather than dressing them in clothes they'd only wear that one time.
I really like the idea of including the laptop!
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Post by MichyM on Jun 22, 2017 21:37:46 GMT
My son graduated 9 years ago. He knew how important photos are to me, and knew at least a year beforehand that they were a non negotiable. I don't ask for much, but this was one thing that was going to happen come hell or high water.
I selected the photographer, he agreed he liked her style (urban, little edgy, and very commercial) and we were good to go. He had probably 3-4 clothing changes (mostly tops and jackets), spend a good bit of time with her both in her studio and in the oldest part of our downtown area. I ended up buying quite a few prints (didn't buy the digital files), from headshots to full body, and everything in between.
He also had a quick session at the photographer the school uses for his yearbook picture. I didn't purchase any of those prints/files.
To this day, even though I rarely look at them, I have no regrets about the cost or anything else associated with it.
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Post by mikewozowski on Jun 22, 2017 21:39:44 GMT
boy are ok with photos in their college tshirt, their letter jacket, holding a ball or with their car. it is not the same as a girls shoot, but you can get some nice photos.
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Post by Zee on Jun 22, 2017 21:45:14 GMT
Do you mean the one for the school yearbook, with extra shots? DS did that. He only wore one shirt and I'm lucky it wasn't a wife beater or an "ironic" tshirt, which makes up 99% of his wardrobe. Somehow, the photographer got in his good graces and convinced him to actually smile, sullen as he was about the whole thing. I was actually quite pleased with the photos. Just to be funny, though, we took a pic (meaning me, with my cell phone, on a different day) on the train tracks (because this is the Peas, I must clarify that these are ABANDONED train tracks) with a man bun and a wife beater making a "peace out" sign and used that as his grad announcement photo. It's been on the fridge for 1.5 years and we still get a laugh out of it. |
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Post by elaine on Jun 22, 2017 21:51:18 GMT
boy are ok with photos in their college tshirt, their letter jacket, holding a ball or with their car. it is not the same as a girls shoot, but you can get some nice photos. We won't know what college he'll be going to - the application process hasn't started yet. He has Autism with severe motor issues, so no letter jacket or ball and he doesn't drive.  But, he does have mad computer skills. He got behind the elementary school firewall when he was in kindergarten and sent email to his speech language pathologist.  My son graduated 9 years ago. He knew how important photos are to me, and knew at least a year beforehand that they were a non negotiable. I don't ask for much, but this was one thing that was going to happen come hell or high water. I selected the photographer, he agreed he liked her style (urban, little edgy, and very commercial) and we were good to go. He had probably 3-4 clothing changes (mostly tops and jackets), spend a good bit of time with her both in her studio and in the oldest part of our downtown area. I ended up buying quite a few prints (didn't buy the digital files), from headshots to full body, and everything in between. He also had a quick session at the photographer the school uses for his yearbook picture. I didn't purchase any of those prints/files. To this day, even though I rarely look at them, I have no regrets about the cost or anything else associated with it. . Good for you! I'm glad that you made the investment.  It isn't the norm to hire outside photographers here for senior portraits, but the school-hired photographer company seems to have an elaborate set up. We also have some recent great pics from our cruise in April and the Prom a couple of weeks ago, so I am hoping we have this year covered. |
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Post by elaine on Jun 22, 2017 21:55:11 GMT
Do you mean the one for the school yearbook, with extra shots? DS did that. He only wore one shirt and I'm lucky it wasn't a wife beater or an "ironic" tshirt, which makes up 99% of his wardrobe. Somehow, the photographer got in his good graces and convinced him to actually smile, sullen as he was about the whole thing. I was actually quite pleased with the photos. Just to be funny, though, we took a pic (meaning me, with my cell phone, on a different day) on the train tracks (because this is the Peas, I must clarify that these are ABANDONED train tracks) with a man bun and a wife beater making a "peace out" sign and used that as his grad announcement photo. It's been on the fridge for 1.5 years and we still get a laugh out of it. Yes, here you actually set up an appointment with the school photographer and then pay ahead of time, choosing from a variety of packages with varying amounts of outfits (starting at 2) and number of poses (some outrageous number for my son). The $50 fee doesn't even include any actual prints. The payment for that comes later. Your son's pic sounds AWESOME! I'd treasure something like that. |
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Post by stampinbetsy on Jun 22, 2017 21:57:13 GMT
We did one pair of pants, but several shirts. Our photo shoot was outdoors, so the backgrounds vary. It was easy. He chose some things and I chose some things. I told him he had to humor me.
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MsKnit
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Post by MsKnit on Jun 22, 2017 22:07:32 GMT
The first pictures were in a suit/formal, because that is mandatory for the yearbook photo.
Then, two other changes of clothes were done. For my son, one was in his band uniform.
The good shots were from the shorts & Pokemon t-shirt. Some of those included his saxophone. I was hesitant about his choice. But, they truly displayed his personality better than suit & tie and the band uniform.
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Post by littlemama on Jun 22, 2017 22:18:59 GMT
The yearbook photo was a suit and tie picture, but none of the rest of the pictures were. Our photographer did the yearbook pics at a later date. For the main photo shoot, we had a few different sets of clothes. He had a red Henley with khakis- those were my least favorite. Then, he wore one of his baseball jerseys with jeans and had his bat and glove in various poses, then he switched to a T shirt that I grabbed at the last minute and we ended up loving. Finally, he had a navy t-shirt with a plaid button up over top.
The single most important thing is to look at the photographers pictures and make sure do well with boys. There are a ton of senior photographers out there, but not many that are good with boys. Ours was amazing, but I had paid careful attention to her skill with photographing boys before I hired her.
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jacquesym
Shy Member
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Post by jacquesym on Jun 22, 2017 22:51:24 GMT
DS graduated in 2012. Senior portraits are a big deal in my area. DS went along with the whole thing because he knew how much they meant to me and his Nana.
We had multiple poses in a suit and tie, jeans and his favorite hoodie, and outside shots in jeans and a polo. It is also a popular thing in our area for kids to bring in all the "stuff" they did in school in the portraits. DS had poses with his trumpet, soccer ball and varsity jacket. The studio we went with is very popular in our area and really does a great job capturing the kids personality.
They are a little cheesy, but I still love those pics. I spent way to much money on a big package since all the proofs were so nice. Except for the photo of him in his Dress Blues (he joined the Marines) and when he gets married one day, I'll probably never get formal photos of him, again.
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 22, 2017 23:31:04 GMT
My boys both wore jeans (against their will) and a polo for one outfit and a t-shirt (of the same damn color) for the "change." I thought it was kind of funny. I remember having to be all dressed up and fru fru for mine. My boys took both full body and head shots (for the year book). We had them taken in the mountains and in a really cool tourist town just outside of our city. It had great backgrounds. I would go with whatever you sons want to do and maybe 10% your influence. They will be much happier.
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
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Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jun 22, 2017 23:31:12 GMT
My son just graduated last month. We wanted the pictures to reflect who he is. He loves Doctor Who, so we let him do a subtle cosplay of the Doctor. He combined pieces in his outfit from the last three Doctors. I'm sure the average person would never know that's what he was doing. But he knew and that's all that mattered. He wore a blue dress shirt, red bow tie and suspenders.
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Post by workingclassdog on Jun 22, 2017 23:46:23 GMT
My friend who is not a professional photographer but is really good took our pictures for free. One day we went to an air show (because son likes planes and was going to join the AF.. which he really did..lol)... we took a bunch of pictures there but they just didn't turn out like we wanted... so 2nd time we went out and did some basic pictures, one outfit (he was NOT going to change and I didn't expect him to).. we got some good shots next to a lake and stone wall and called it good. They turned out fantastic. Didn't cost me anymore other than to get a bunch printed at Target for family/friends and I think I got her a gift card to a restaurant. The end. Less that 3 months later it doesn't even matter.. he went off to the Air Force and continued on life. IMO paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a picture is silly.. but that is just me. We did the same for DD.. different friend but got fantastic shots.. we went downtown and did some scenery pictures.. there was three outfits.. cause of course that is what she wanted |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jun 23, 2017 0:22:25 GMT
My son is only a sophomore. But he wears all black and dyes his shaggy hair black too. It is going to be difficult to get him to cooperate for pictures. He knows I'll expect them. But I want them to be of him. So I am completely allowing him to choose his clothes.
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Post by freecharlie on Jun 23, 2017 0:27:17 GMT
I was looking at this about a month ago. I'll link to the thread. I will let DS pick one or two outfits, but then he is also going to get some in something I choose.
He will probably also get some with his letterman's jacket.
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Post by Memo on Jun 23, 2017 2:15:15 GMT
Our middle son just graduated about a month ago. We took pictures that reflected what he was most involved with for the four years, which were marching band and steel drums. I worked with the uniform supervisor, so it was easy to borrow his uniform, get his instrument and we were even able to borrow the steel drums for our photo shoot. I was really happy with the pictures and used most of them for his open house announcement. I took the main picture with my cell phone because his cap/gown pics from the photo shoot were so serious, didn't really reflect him. Overall, very happy!   |
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jun 23, 2017 2:20:06 GMT
DS graduated in 2004 but the idea is still the same. He wasn't interested in changing outfits but did have one pose taken with his clarinet since he was in band for 8 years.
ETA: for clarity, the boys at his school all had pictures with tuxedo's on so the picture with his clarinet is also with the tux on.
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Post by refugeepea on Jun 23, 2017 2:22:24 GMT
I have no other way to say it, but he's being a giant ass. He's graduating early and doesn't see the point because he's not doing the traditional stuff. I thought we had at least came to an agreement that it will be in one location and a few poses, with zero changes of clothing. We shall see. I have a photographer in mind, but if he doesn't comply there will be hell to pay.
ETA: It was a thing for boys and girls when I went to high school and all I did was a head shot at a studio. I truly did not care to take a long time on photos. My mom was fine with that, so I don't feel like it's asking him too much.
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Post by elaine on Jun 23, 2017 2:29:14 GMT
I have no other way to say it, but he's being a giant ass. He's graduating early and doesn't see the point because he's not doing the traditional stuff. I thought we had at least came to an agreement that it will be in one location and a few poses, with zero changes of clothing. We shall see. I have a photographer in mind, but if he doesn't comply there will be hell to pay. ETA: It was a thing for boys and girls when I went to high school and all I did was a head shot at a studio. I truly did not care to take a long time on photos. My mom was fine with that, so I don't feel like it's asking him too much. I'm sorry. I hope he concedes a bit in the end.  I think I'm also not quite ready yet. His junior year ends at 10 am tomorrow morning (why they have them go to school for 2 hours only on the last day is beyond me) and then they scheduled his senior portrait shoot for 2:45 the same afternoon. Nothing like rushing into his senior year! |
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Post by Memo on Jun 23, 2017 2:31:58 GMT
Wow, elaine, talk about a quick turnaround. We were able to schedule senior yearbook portraits during the summer. We did our personal photo shoot in early April. I waited till the last minute for that! |
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Post by holly on Jun 23, 2017 3:46:46 GMT
My DS knew pics were non-negotiable. My SIL is a fantastic photographer (it's her day job now). So when we went to visit colleges in AZ she did his pics for us even though we live in WA. I let him pick between a desert location or urban. Then I picked out a few outfits (bought a couple new shirts that were his style) and let him choose what he wanted to wear. He had shorts and jeans and like 3 different shirts. One of our favorite shots was him walking down a street at sunset with jeans and a plain white t shirt. The urban shots had graffiti backgrounds and he really liked that. Overall I was very happy with them and he was glad in the end that he did them. He let me pick out all the ones I wanted to get he didn't care about that. I did make him pick the yearbook pic as I didn't want to get the blame for that, lol. He didn't do any formal pics.
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Post by freecharlie on Jun 23, 2017 3:50:46 GMT
I love that our yearbook photos don't have to be done by the school or in a certain outfit. They get to choose what they want within parameters (it has to be in portrait, not landscape).
Most kids will do their senior pictures starting the spring of junior through summer between the years as photos have to be turned in by October something.
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Post by mom2samlibby on Jun 23, 2017 4:13:27 GMT
My son just had his taken in May. He had 5 outfit changes. One was very casual -- jeans and long sleeve tshirt. The next outfit was dressy. It was dress pants/vest/tie. The photographer had recommended a dressy outfit. Those turned out ok, but they just didn't look as much like him.
Our son competed for 4 years with FIRST FTC robotics, so that was his third outfit. He wore his tshirt and hat and had his robot and trophies in the picture.
For the 4th and 5th outfits, he wore two different plaid shirts and jeans. He had brought along a grey jacket and they had him wear it for a few of the shots.
They did indoor and outdoor shots. Full body, three quarter body, and head shots. He also had brought his car and they took several with his car.
They all turned out amazingly well. I was so happy with them and had a hard time choosing which ones to order. I ended up spending more than I had planned, but I'm glad I got some great pictures of my son.
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Post by jlynnbarth on Jun 23, 2017 5:33:57 GMT
We used a photographer that was recommended to us by some friends, who's speciality is really weddings. She'd done quite a few girl's senior photos, but not boys. My son had 3 outfit changes. He picked them all. They were all in jeans and athletic shoes, and his shirt choices were a black button up shirt with a white tshirt underneath, a plaid casual button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and then his letterman jacket. We went to a park near the river and got shots in the park by the trees and with the mountains in the background, some were on the rocks with the river in the background and some were near a concrete bridge that had graffiti on it. They all turned out awesome! He's a big outdoors guy and the setting fits him perfectly. When we went to preview the photos, she asked us if she could use some of the photos as her advertising photos the next year at the schools around town since they turned out so great. Of course we said yes and she threw in some extra photos to our package for free! We used her for my daughter's senior photos the next year too, and they also turned out beautiful. |
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Post by Scrapbrat on Jun 23, 2017 11:25:39 GMT
We did two outfits, a suit and tie for the yearbook photo (and of course some other poses), and then a polo shirt/shorts outfit that he picked out for outside shots and casual poses. We got a nice variety of poses, and I unexpectedly loved a full body shot of him in the suit and tie! I don't generally love poses like that, but the photographer had him sit backward in a folding chair (suit coat off, but tie on), with his arms draped over the back of the chair. It was slightly casual, yet really different than the truly casual shots in the polo shirt.
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scrappert
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Post by scrappert on Jun 23, 2017 14:25:39 GMT
He choose what he wanted to wear and what he wanted to do. His uncle had the car, we just found a place to park and take pictures. He did not have a change of clothes, just took off the sweater in some. LOL We did chest only, full body. Some in front of water, bridge and brick walls. Some on stairs. We did it all, but it was only about an hours time. Attachments:
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But, he does have mad computer skills. He got behind the elementary school firewall when he was in kindergarten and sent email to his speech language pathologist. 
It isn't the norm to hire outside photographers here for senior portraits, but the school-hired photographer company seems to have an elaborate set up. We also have some recent great pics from our cruise in April and the Prom a couple of weeks ago, so I am hoping we have this year covered. 
