Let’s talk about the thing every single mom says to me at some point during our first phone call.

“Okay but I have to warn you… my kid is SO awkward in photos.”

Dude. I hear this probably three times a week. And every single time, I say the same thing back.

There is no such thing as an unphotogenic teenager. Camera shy senior pictures are not a problem with your kid’s face, their smile, or what they do with their hands. They are a problem with whoever is holding the camera. A photographer who actually knows how to direct will get a real expression out of a nervous seventeen-year-old every time, because the directing is the job.

I promise, I’m not just saying that to make you feel better before you book. I’ve been doing this a very long time (yeah, I just aged myself). I started in my parents basement darkroom in Seattle, obsessing over 90s supermodel magazine spreads, trying to figure out how those photographers made regular humans look like that. Twenty five years later, I still think about it the exact same way. It’s not about finding kids who are naturally photogenic. It’s about knowing how to make ANY kid look like the most confident version of themselves.

Here’s what’s actually happening when a senior feels “awkward”

It’s not their face. It’s not their smile. It’s not some unfixable thing about the way they’re built.

It’s that somebody handed them a camera-shaped anxiety spiral and said “okay, just be natural!” which, if you think about it, might be the single worst instruction a human being has ever received. Nobody is natural when they’re being told to be natural. I’m not natural when someone tells me to be natural, and I’ve been doing this literally my whole career.

So instead of that, we do this. We give your kid something to actually do. Walk toward me. Look at that light over there. Laugh at the dumb thing I just said (I have a lot of dumb things prepared, don’t worry). We give them movement, direction, and honestly, usually a little bit of music and chaos, because that’s when the real stuff shows up. Not the “say cheese” face. The actual face. The one you as their mom would recognize instantly because it’s the one you fell in love with sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years ago.

Every other article about this tells your kid to go fix it herself

I read a stack of them before I sat down to write this. Practice your smile in the mirror. Figure out your best angle. Learn what to do with your hands. Pick outfits that make you feel confident. Understand why you’re camera shy.

I have a problem with every bit of that.

You’re asking a seventeen-year-old who already feels weird about how she looks to go do homework on how she looks. That’s not preparation. That’s more pressure wearing a helpful outfit.

Here’s the entire list of what I need from your kid on session day. Show up. Wear something they don’t hate. That’s it, that’s the list.

Everything else is mine. Where they stand, where the light is, what their hands do, when to shoot and when to shut up and wait. If a photographer needs your kid to arrive already knowing how to pose, what exactly are you paying them for?

I’m not going to name names, but this happens constantly

She warns me in the first ten minutes. Says it like she’s doing me a favor. “I should probably tell you now, I’m really bad at this.”

I’ve heard that exact sentence on a rooftop in Downtown LA. I’ve heard it on a side street in Newhall. I’ve heard it in Malibu with the light going gold and a girl standing in a dress she picked out three weeks ago like she’s waiting on a dentist appointment.

Boys do it differently. They don’t warn me. They just go quiet and stand there like a fence post, hands buried in their pockets, waiting for this to be over.

So we don’t take a picture. Not yet. We walk. I ask about the sport, or the school, or literally anything other than the thing they’re dreading. They roll their eyes at something I said, and I shoot that. Somewhere around the twenty minute mark they stop asking me if it looked okay and start telling me where we should go next.

Every single time. Different kid, different city, same twenty minutes. (FYI- The reviews say it better than I can. )

And that’s not a personality transplant. They were always like that. Nobody had just gotten out of the way long enough to photograph it.

This is YOUR moment too, by the way

I want to say something to the moms specifically, because I am one, and I just went through this with my own girls.

This session is not just about getting a good photo for the announcement or the yearbook or the wall. It’s a milestone. It’s a marker. It’s you looking at your kid, who is somehow simultaneously five years old and about to leave for college, and getting to see them exactly as they are right now, at this age, in this chapter that’s closing faster than any of us are ready for.

You are allowed to want that captured beautifully. You are allowed to invest in it. Nobody thinks it’s ridiculous. If anything, twenty years from now when that portrait is still hanging on your wall, you’re going to be really glad you didn’t talk yourself out of it.

FAQ

How do I get my teen to relax during senior photos?

Honestly, it’s less about them relaxing and more about me giving them something to do instead of just standing there feeling watched. Movement, a little music, some genuinely ridiculous jokes on my end. The awkwardness melts once they stop thinking about the camera.

What if my kid says they’re not photogenic?

That’s most of my clients, no joke. “Not photogenic” usually just means nobody’s ever photographed them the right way. Give me an hour and I’ll change their mind.

How long does a senior portrait session take?

It varies depending on locations and outfit changes, but plan for a couple hours so we’re not rushing. The best shots usually happen once everyone’s loosened up, which takes a little time.

Do you photograph guys too, or mostly senior girls?

Both, and I love shooting guys’ sessions. Editorial and fashion-forward, not stiff and corny. It’s a whole different energy and I’m here for it.

So if your kid is “the awkward one”

Send them my way. Every senior who’s ever walked into a session convinced they were going to be the exception has walked out asking when we can do it again. Camera shy senior pictures are the ones I like best, because the before and after is so obvious that even the kid can see it.

You’re not awkward on camera. You just haven’t had me yet.

Class of 2027, tell me about your kid. Not their good side, not what they think their good side is. Just tell me who they actually are, what they’re into and I’ll do the rest!

Ready to book a shoot or learn more? Let’s get started!!