The Guys Are Graduating Too: Senior Pictures for Guys That Actually Feel Like Them | Southern Indiana Senior Photographer
When we talk about senior pictures, there tends to be a LOT of attention on the girlies.
The dresses. The flowers. The fields. The outfits. The Pinterest boards.
But can we talk about the guys for a minute?
They are graduating too!
And their senior portraits deserve to be more than thirty minutes of standing awkwardly against a brick wall because Mom said they need a picture for the yearbook.
As a Southern Indiana senior photographer, one of my favorite parts of photographing seniors is figuring out what makes them who they are- and then building their session around it.
Sometimes, that means a beautiful field at golden hour.
Sometimes it means sports.
Sometimes it means bringing their truck,, guitar, hunting hear, or something else they love.
And sometimes?
It means photographing a senior in the salvage yard where he worked throughout high school.
(I'm STILL obsessed with how this session turned out.)
Senior Pictures for Guys Don't Have to Feel Awkward
One of the biggest concerns I hear when it comes to senior pictures for guys is some variation of :
"He's really not into pictures."
Parents, I hear you. But here's the thing: he doesn't have to be!
A senior session doesn't have to involve complicated poses, fancy outfits, or asking him to suddenly become someone completely different in front of my camera.
In fact, I would rather do the exact opposite.
I want to photograph him somewhere he feels comfortable, wearing something that feels like him, surrounded by pieces of his actual life.
That is where the magic happens.
Because senior portraits aren't really about creating a picture of what your senior looks like.
They are about documenting who he was at this exact point in his life.
A Salvage Yard Senior Session in Southern Indiana
This particular senior worked at a salvage yard in Austin Indiana during high school, which made it an incredible location for his senior pictures. Instead of trying to make his personality fit into a traditional senior portrait location, we made the location fit him.
Rows of old cars became our backdrop.
Stacks of tire rims created natural framing for portraits.
Rust, metal, machinery and old vehicle parts gave the photographs texture and character.
We climbed around cars, photographed between stacks of wheels, incorporated vehicles and explored the property looking for whatever caught my eye.
And THAT is exactly the kind of senior session I love creating.
There are certainly some classic smiling-at-the-camera portraits in his gallery- the ones Mom and Grandma are going to want framed.
But there are also images that feel cinematic.
A little gritty.
A little editorial.
And completely different from what everyone else in his graduating class was doing.
Your Senior's Location Doesn't Have to Be "Pretty"
This Session is also the perfect example of something I tell my senior clients all the time:
A meaningful location doesn't have to be traditionally beautiful to make incredible photographs.
Give me the junkyard.
Give me Grandpa's garage.
Give me the family farm.
Give me the football field you have spent four years playing on.
Give me the workshop where you've spent countless evenings rebuilding an old truck with your dad.
Give me downtown streets, an old gas station, a parking garage, a barn, a record store or the place you've worked after school.
If it is a part of your story, I want to hear about it.
As a photographer, I am looking at these places differently. I am looking for light, texture, color, leading lines, reflections, layers and little pockets that can become something incredible through my camera.
A location that seems completely ordinary to you, may give us some of the most interesting senior portraits in your entire gallery.
Bring the Things That Tell Your Story
Another way to make senior portraits for guys feel more personal is incorporating the things they are actually interest in.
For this session, we didn't limit ourselves to one version of him.
Cars were part of the story.
His job was part of the story.
Archery was part of the story.
His everyday style was part of the story.
And that is exactly how I want senior sessions to feel.
Your senior year is this weird little in-between chapter. You are still connected to the kid you have been for the last eighteen years, but you are also standing right on the edge of whatever comes next.
A year from now, life could and likely will, look completely different.
That's why these seemingly little details matter.
Your first truck matters.
The boots you wore everywhere matter.
Your baseball glove matters.
Your welding helmet matters.
Your guitar matters.
The bow you have spent years shooting matters.
The uniform from the job you worked after school matters.
Twenty years from now, those details may be the exact things that make these photographs priceless.
"But My Son Hates Having His Picture Taken."
Perfect.
Seriously.
He doesn't need to know how to pose.
That is my job.
Some of my favorite senior photographs happen when we aren't doing a traditional "pose " at all. I'll have you lean against your vehicle, walk toward me, sit somewhere, look away, adjust something, put your hands in your pockets or interact with whatever we have brought into the session.
We will get the portrait where you're looking at the camera and smiling.
Mom, I promise we will get that one!
But then we are going to create the photographs that actually have some personality.
The goal isn't to turn every senior guy into a model for a half an hour.
The goal is for him to look at his gallery afterward and think:
Yeah. That's me.
Senior Portraits Should Document More Than What You Looked Like
When I photograph seniors throughout Southern Indiana, I want these sessions to fee like the closing pages of one chapter before the next one begins.
Because senior year is bigger than graduation day.
It's Friday night football games.
It's driving around with your friends.
It's working your first real job.
It's hobbies you have spent years getting good at.
It's the vehicle you've poured way too much money into.
It's deciding what comes next- even if you don't completely know yet.
It's one of the last seasons before life changes dramatically.
And THAT deserves to be documented. Not just for your parents. For you, too.
Looking for a Southern Indiana Senior Photographer?
If you are searching for a Southern Indiana senior photographer because you something a little different, you are in the right place.
I photograph seniors throughout Southern Indiana and the surrounding Kentuckiana area, and I love creating sessions that are built around the person in front of my camera.
You don't have to come knowing exactly what you want.
Tell me what you are into.
Tell me what kinds of things you do after school.
Tell me about your sport.
Your car.
Your job.
Your hobby.
The place you practically grew up.
The thing that everyone associates with you.
We will build from there.
Whether that means photographing you surrounded by fall foliage, walking through downtown, standing beside your truck, handing out on the family farm- or crawling around a salvage yard surrounded by old cars- I want your senior portraits to tell your story.
Class of 2027: Now Is the Time to Book Your Senior Pictures
And if you are part of the class of 2027, don't wait until fall is already here to start thinking about senior pictures.
Fall is one of the most requested seasons for senior portraits in Sothern Indiana, and there are only so many evenings and weekends when that gorgeous fall color is at its best.
If you already know you want those warm autumn colors, NOW is the time to get onto my calendar.
And guys?
You're graduating too.
Let's make you some senior pictures actually worth showing off.
Interested in this location?
5C Auto in Austin Indiana: photos at this location by PERMISSION ONLY!
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