This is my son Levi. And this is pretty much how he felt about the idea of taking senior photos. 😂
I could not believe I had a senior in my house — my son!
I was definitely not ready for him to grow up, move away to college, or any of it. The whole thing still makes me emotional. But as his mom and a photographer, I knew I wanted to create something really special for his senior photos.
Levi, however, had zero interest in the photoshoot part of this plan.
He was willing to suffer through it because he knew I probably wasn’t going to give him a way out. 😂 But I didn’t want his senior pictures to feel like something he had to survive for his mother.
So I made it my mission to turn the whole thing into a fun night and a memory he would actually want to look back on.
Senior Photos Are Better With Friends
I asked Levi to invite some of his closest high school friends, and suddenly he was much more interested.
And these boys understood the assignment.
They showed up in suits, looking amazing, and we spent the evening walking around some of my favorite spots on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.
I guided them into doing ridiculous things — which is honestly one of my favorite ways to get real laughter — and then mostly let them be themselves. We walked, played around, explored, talked and took photos along the way.
I also loved getting to know his friends better and watching all their different personalities come out. As his mom, that part was pretty special for me too.
And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like a photoshoot.
The boys relaxed because they were together and, hopefully, because I made it very clear that this was not that serious.
At each location I would grab one boy for a few individual portraits without making a big production out of it, and then send him right back to his friends. We mixed those individual senior portraits with group photos, walking shots, laughing, leaning against the architecture, messing around and just letting them be themselves.
Senior Pictures for Boys Who Don’t Want Senior Pictures
Photographing my own son reconfirmed something I already knew: the experience matters just as much as the photographs.
A teenage boy may not be thrilled about spending an hour posing alone while someone tells him where to put his hands.
But give him his friends, a great location and room to move around and be himself? Completely different experience.
Because everyone was joking around together, I didn’t have to force expressions or constantly ask for smiles. The real ones were already happening.
And those are always my favorite photographs.
Walking Worth Avenue in Palm Beach
Worth Avenue is one of my favorite places for senior photos because there is so much variety within a pretty small area.
You have elegant Palm Beach architecture, storefronts, streets, greenery, fountains, interesting doors, tucked-away courtyards and beautiful little backgrounds everywhere you turn.
We could photograph one boy in a more polished, classic setting, walk a few minutes and create something completely different for the next one.
That’s also why I love it for teenagers. We aren’t stuck standing in one location posing over and over. We can walk, explore and keep the session moving.
And Then There Was Pizza
We finished the evening exactly the way a senior boys’ photoshoot in Palm Beach probably should end:
with pizza at Al Fresco.
By then the boys had spent the evening hanging out together, I had the portraits I wanted, and we had documented this little piece of their senior year that ended up meaning much more than I expected.
Especially to the parents.
Because these photos aren’t only senior pictures. They’re a record of these friendships right before everyone starts heading in different directions after graduation.
And now that I’m writing this with Levi away at college, that part hits very differently.
I kid you not — I look at his senior photos at least once a week because I miss him terribly.
I’m so glad I pushed for the session. And I’m even more glad we did it in a way that actually felt like him.
Have a Senior Boy Who Doesn’t Want Photos?
Don’t worry. We don’t have to make it feel like a traditional senior photoshoot.
Bring a friend. Bring a few friends.
We’ll choose a place they actually like, keep things relaxed, get the individual portraits Mom wants, and make the rest of the experience feel more like hanging out than posing for a camera.
I photograph seniors throughout Palm Beach and Wellington, Florida, and I’d love to help you plan senior photos your teenager might actually admit were fun.