My 3 Go-To Senior Picture Prompts

Senior pictures are one of my favorite things to photograph. I think this time in a young person’s life, their senior year, is such a precious time. One minute, I can see hints of my clients childlike selves and then next I see them as a grown woman/man. Seniors are on the cusp of starting the rest of their lives and I just love to capture it.

It can be difficult sometimes if my senior isn’t exactly comfortable in front of the camera, very few are. So I have a whole list of things I do to loosen them up and give me different looks. Here are my Top 3 Prompts to do at senior sessions

1.Would you Rather?

I love playing would you rather questions with my seniors. My crazy questions usually elicit a fun look or a genuine smile. My favorite would you rather question? Would you rather Poop Chocolate or Pee pop….suuuuuuuper gross but also really funny to talk about after, ha!

2.Walk on your Toes

Movement provides very interesting pictures, compositions, and looks. I always have my seniors on the move. I even tell them to skip their workout because we’ll both be sweating by the end of our session! One of my favorite things to have them do is to walk up on their toes. This provides a fun, bouncy walk that makes them feel light and airy as well as a bit goofy once again eliciting more of a genuine smile. I almost never include a full body shot of them looking like ballerinas on their toes, ha! I deliver 3/4 portraits most of the time with this prompt.

3.Have mom tell you about their Senior as a Baby

9 times out of 10, my senior has their mom at their senior picture session. My next prompt may be my favorite for those hard to reach smiler’s. Especially my boy seniors, if I get their mom, or dad, to talk about them and how they were as a baby, it usually always makes my senior smile. Most love to hear about this time in their life they almost probably never hear about. I ask mom, if their senior was a big baby, small baby, good sleeper, up all night sleeper, were they a happy, bossy, sweet or sassy baby. How about a cuddler and do they still cuddle? My seniors just love to hear about it and it gets mom involved and drums up some great memories and emotions for all.

Those are my top 3 senior prompts I will do at nearly all my sessions. Many photographers I’ve heard loathe senior pictures because there is no one in the frame for them to interact with and this is maybe why I love senior pictures the most. The focus is just on them, it’s their time to shine and I just love getting to know my seniors and letting their personalities come out in these fun prompts.

I book senior pictures every month of the year! Even in bad weather I we have options I love exploring. Feel free to reach out at hollywoodsphotog@gmail.com if you’d like to get on my calendar!