Class of 2027, it’s YOUR year! 🎓 You’ve worked so hard, learned so much, and made so many memories along the way. As you begin preparing for your senior photo session, I hope you take a second to look back at everything that brought you here. Believe it or not, your senior photos can be about so much more than having a nice picture for the yearbook.

I’m a sentimental person by nature, and that carries over into the way I approach senior photography. Ultimately, my goal is for you to walk away with beautiful portraits, but I also want your senior photos to remind you of who you are during this season of your life. Maybe you’re the band kid who spent more hours in the music room than you can count. Or maybe you’re the aspiring artist. The soccer player. The theater kid who knows every word to Hamilton. An academic. Maybe there’s something completely different that has defined these last four years for you.

Whatever it is, bring it with you.

When you’re 26 like me and looking back at these photos, I want the memories of practicing, performing, creating, competing, laughing with your friends and dreaming about what comes next to come flooding back.

So, if you’re planning your senior photos in St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln County, or anywhere nearby, here are five ways to make the most out of your senior photo session experience.

1. Bring something to your senior photo session that tells your story

First and foremost, one of the easiest ways to personalize your senior photos is to bring something that means something to you. For example, if you play an instrument, bring it along with you! Have book you’ve read a hundred times? Let’s incorporate it. Do you want to include your letterman jacket? Your art supplies? Whatever it is, let’s incorporate it into your senior photo session. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something traditionally “photo-worthy.” That’s kind of the point.

For one senior photo session in Wentzville, Missouri, my senior loved music, so she brought along her record player and some of her favorite records. Instead of simply taking portraits with them, we incorporated something she genuinely loved into her photos.

Another senior played the guitar, so of course we included it in her session.

And don’t overlook the sentimental stuff, either. Bring a baby photo or something you’ve held onto since childhood. Your younger self would be SO proud of the person you’ve become.

2. Choose a location that means something to you

Secondly, I’d encourage you to put some thought into your location for your senior photo session. You don’t have to choose a location just because it’s pretty.

Think about the places that have been part of this era.

For instance, maybe it’s your high school. Or maybe it’s the park where you spent summers with your friends. Similarly, maybe you want to take senior photos at your favorite coffee shop, on the football field, or at your family’s property. Maybe, you have a place that is somewhere completely unexpected.

For me, one of those places was Defiance, Missouri. I used to take scenic drives through the area with the windows down and music blaring, feeling like my whole future was ahead of me. Another was the area near the Lewis & Clark Boathouse in Historic Main Street St. Charles. When life felt heavy, I’d walk along the river, journal, and ponder about what the next chapter of my life would look like. Coincidentally, it’s also where I took some of my own senior photos.

Years from now, you aren’t just looking at a pretty backdrop. You’re remembering what it felt like to be there. And that’s what a meaningful location can do.

3. Turn your senior photo session into something you actually love doing

Here’s your permission slip to think beyond standing in a field and smiling at the camera. When preparing for your senior photo session, it’s important to ask yourself, “What did I actually do during high school?”

Maybe you spent countless nights studying at Panera or Starbucks. Maybe Friday nights meant football games. Perhaps you practically lived on the softball field, at track meets, in the art room, or backstage preparing for your next production. (Former theater kid here. I get it. 😂)

Those things deserve a place in your senior photos, too.

Grab a coffee. Bring your guitar. Walk around your favorite bookstore. Put on your uniform. Visit the theater. Go somewhere you and your friends always hang out.

Some of my favorite photographs happen when you’re doing something instead of thinking about having your picture taken.

And as your senior photographer, I get to document you doing something that helped make these years yours.

4. Include the people who helped get you here

It really does take a village. Yes, you did the heavy lifting. You studied, practiced, showed up, learned, grew and made it through.

But there are probably a few people standing behind you who are ridiculously proud of you, too. Your parents. Siblings. Grandparents. Best friend. Favorite teacher. Coach. Or whoever has been there through it all.

I love incorporating a few photographs with the people who come along to senior sessions. They don’t have to become the focus of your gallery. Sometimes one photo together is enough. Because years from now, that might end up being one of the photos that means the most.

5. Stay true to yourself

This might be the most important one.

You do not have to become a different version of yourself just because you’re having professional photos taken.

If you’ve never worn a dress in your life, you don’t suddenly need one for senior pictures.

Don’t like heels? Ditch them.

Never wear much makeup? You don’t need a full glam look because Pinterest told you that’s what senior photos are supposed to look like. Wear the clothes that make you feel confident. Bring the things you actually love. Choose somewhere that makes sense for you. And give yourself permission to have fun with it. Because the goal isn’t to look like someone else’s senior photos.

The goal is to look back and recognize yourself.

Your senior photos should tell the story of who YOU are.

Senior year goes ridiculously fast. Before you know it, you’ll walk across that stage, turn the tassel, hug the people who helped get you there and start figuring out whatever comes next. Your senior photos give you the chance to hold onto a little piece of who you were before that next adventure begins.

So make them personal. Make them a little weird. Bring the childhood stuffed animal. Play the instrument. Visit the place you’ve spent a hundred Friday nights. Bring Mom into a photo. Wear the shoes you’ve practically lived in.

Make them yours.

And if you’re still looking for a St. Louis senior photographer, St. Charles senior photographer, or senior photographer serving Lincoln County and the surrounding areas, I’d love to help you create a senior session that’s about more than getting a few pretty pictures.

We’ll plan something that actually feels like you.

CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT YOUR SENIOR PHOTO SESSION

Congratulations, Class of 2027. 🤍

You’ve made it this far. Now go enjoy your year.