Help! My kid won’t wear something decent for their Senior portraits
,FYI these two are some of our favorite clients, and we absolutely loved what they wore to the photoshoot.
We have heard it so many times, “Hey I want to book senior portraits, but my teenager won’t wear the outfit I want them to”. We get it though, parents are spending quite a bit on senior portraits and they want something that they can send out on graduation announcements, frame a photo for grandma or even do a large format print to hang. They want their kid to be in a “presentable” outfit for all of these. Trust us when we tell you though, forcing an emo or alternative kid to wear khakis and a blue shirt will backfire so spectacularly.
Seniors seriously look forward to senior portraits, but they are excited for a totally different reason than parents. You want to get great photos of your baby, print and send them to everyone. Your senior wants to post these photos on social media and send them to friends. They are looking for a certain “cool” factor in the shots and want to impress their peers with them. They don’t want to look “presentable” to grandma. They want to look “cool” to their classmates. These differing approaches to the shoot can cause some arguments around outfits.
It’s incredibly important to let teenagers express their personal style, though. What we choose to wear for clothes is how we want the world to see us. Teenagers are at a pivotal moment for figuring out who they want to be in life, and the style they cultivate can be experimental while they figure this out. Above all else judge your teens outfits on how they make them feel not how you think they look. Saying outfits look sloppy, trashy, weird, or anything along these lines, just cuts down their confidence and no one wins.
Lucky for you both though, we have seen this so many times and we know the perfect solution for senior portrait outfits: COMPROMISE.
We have two great options for making sure everyone gets the photos they want and cooperates on the day of the shoot. You will get the shots to send to family and your teen will get shots to post to social media and look “cool”. Everyone wins and your teen gets to express themselves while boosting their confidence.
Option 1: You each pick 1 outfit
This is a great option for parents and kids who have totally different visions for their senior portrait shoot. If you’re hoping for a long flowy dress in nature but your teen wants a Charli XCX Brat inspired look you’re not going to easily co-create any outfit that matches both of those aesthetics. In this case it’s best to each pick and outfit.
Senior portrait shoots with Lorikeet Weddings (the people writing this article) are 2 hrs long and offer multiple locations. We will do one hour in the parent choice outfit and one hour in the teen choice outfit. We can change locations if necessary in between to match aesthetics. Most photographers will be willing to do this breakdown for a shoot if you’re working with someone else too.
Your final products will be one set of shots for you to hang, put on graduation announcements and send to grandma and one set of shots for your teen to post to social media and share with friends. Everyone gets what they want.
Option 2: You Co-create outfits
This is a wonderful option if you and your teen are share the same general vision for shoot but just want some personal touches. You’re still going to have multiple outfits for the shoot but each outfit has elements for both of you.
Here’s how it works: for each outfit one of you gets to pick the general type of outfit. Think jeans and a button down shirt for example. Then the other one gets to pick the colors and accessories. You can do this for multiple looks and trade off on who picks what elements each time.
Example outfit ideas:
Parent picks general outfit type:
Jeans and a button down.
Teen picks colors and accessories:
Outfit is black jeans and a button down with a skater pattern on it. The teen also wants to wear their favorite checkered black vans for it.
Or
Teen picks general outfit:
Hoodie with jeans
Parent picks colors and accessories
Parent finds a hoodie with nicer fabric than most and pairs it with classic blue jeans and nicer sneakers.
Your final product will be a set of shots covering a few different co-created outfits that serve both of your needs. You’ll both be using and sharing the same shots and everyone is happy.
In the end, the best thing you can do when picking out senior portrait outfits is compromise instead of fight over it.
Both teens and parents look forward to senior portraits, even if its for different reasons. Tackling outfit choices by using these approaches will ensure everyone walks away happy and is cooperative on the day of the shoot (no stank faces when your teen has to wear khakis against their will).
If you’re looking for senior portraits in Colorado and want a photographer who will make everyone happy with the shoot reach out to, fill out one of our inquiry forms! We would love to work with you.
And for more tips on senior, family, and wedding photography follow Lorikeet Weddings across social media.