I remember my junior year in high school, my friends and I would talk for lengthy periods of time about where we are going to get our senior pictures, what we were going to wear and what time of the summer we should get them taken. Hours would be spent looking at past seniors on Instagram or Facebook trying to decide which photography company we liked best. Many of us chose the expensive route and ended up spending an absurd amount of money on pictures that didn’t even precisely capture our true selves. If I would have known back then, what I know now - I would have done things much differently.
This article is in no way intending to bash my photographer; she was wonderful, and always found a way to make me laugh mid-session. However, paying a ridiculous amount for senior pictures is completely unnecessary. It was something hard for my high school self to understand, because I thought I needed to have almost every edited picture of myself that was taken. Because of course, these were the best pictures I have ever had of myself.
I had to get the serious looks, the laughing looks and the smiling looks. I thought I was going to need 200 wallets, because I simply had so many people to give them out too. I thought I should get the 10-page book, because who doesn’t want a book of a bunch of pretty pictures of themselves. My mom then factored in the framed photos she wanted to put on the wall at our home; not surprisingly, these are the only pictures that got their full use. Who would've thought? Moms are so smart.
Now looking back not only was it a tad conceited that I wanted a 10-page book of pictures only including myself, it was such a waste of money. I have opened that 10-page photo book maybe two times. Friends and family were more captivated by the photos my mom had display on the wall, rather than flipping through a book. I gave out around 50 wallet pictures, and had an extra 150 remaining. I guess my assumption of 200 may have been a little skewed. Although, if my mom was interested in making a collage of wallet pictures solely consisting of myself - she would be 100 percent set.
Not only is the quantity something I wish I had been more aware of, the quality is too. I got too caught up in the superficial idea of senior portraits. I didn’t even capture photos of the sports and activities I was involved in throughout high school. The things that reflected myself the most were virtually absent from my pictures. I got lost in the idea of needing to “look my best.” I don’t wear bracelets, I never have, so why did I find the need to wear one in my senior pictures? That’s not me. When I look back on my photos, I know I am going to ask myself, “Wow, were my eyes really that green in high school?” No they were not that green at all, my teeth were not that white either. My eyes look just fine without serious editing, and my teeth are more than okay too. If only my high school self would have figured this out sooner.
So, my advice would be, don’t fall prey to the “social norms” of senior photos. As you are pondering where to go, and what to buy, I promise you won't need the 200 wallets or the book of pictures of yourself. The smartest thing you can do is listen to your parent(s). If you love soccer, chess or horses - capture those photos. The clothes you felt the most comfortable in, the hairstyle you rocked most often and the smile you have when you catch yourself giggling over a funny text from a friend.
Those are the photos that will resemble you and what you did or loved in high school. Be who you are, embrace who you are, capture who you are and I guarantee you will feel much more satisfied looking back on those portraits in the years to come!
