So….. you think your son doesn’t want senior pictures? He told you no. Or maybe he didn’t even say that much. Maybe he just shrugged and walked out of the room and you stood there holding your phone with a photographer’s Instagram open, wondering if this is even worth the fight.
I hear this from moms every single week. “My son doesn’t want senior pictures.” And after 25 years of photographing seniors and raising a kid of my own through this exact stage, I can tell you: he’s not being difficult. He’s telling you something specific. You just have to know how to hear it.
Here’s what’s actually happening. Your son doesn’t want to stand somewhere and smile while someone tells him to tilt his head. He doesn’t want to look soft. He doesn’t want to feel stupid. He’s seen senior pictures that look like they belong on a dentist’s office wall. He wants no part of it. That’s not him being a pain. That’s him having taste.
The good news? He’s not wrong. Those pictures would be terrible. That’s just not how I shoot.
Your Son Doesn’t Want Senior Pictures? Look at What He Thinks They’ll Be.
Every guy who has ever walked into one of my sessions convinced he was going to hate it had the same picture in his head: standing in a field, arms crossed, fake smile, looking like someone else’s idea of a senior portrait.
That’s fair. That is a lot of what’s out there.
But when I show a mom my guys’ portfolio and she shows it to her son, something shifts. Suddenly he’s looking at a dude on a rooftop in Downtown LA who actually wants to be there. The guy’s wearing his own sneakers and a hoodie, not a costume. The photos look like him, not like a version of him that got dressed up for picture day.
That’s usually when the “no” gets a lot quieter.
The Real Problem Isn’t the Camera. It’s the Direction.
Here’s what most people don’t realize: guys don’t struggle in front of the camera because they’re awkward. They struggle because nobody has ever directed them well.
A photographer who doesn’t know how to work with guys will say “just be natural” and then wonder why he looks stiff. That’s not direction. That’s abandonment.
I’ve been doing this for over 25 years. I know what to say to a 17-year-old guy to get him out of his head. When to crack a joke. When to shut up and let the music play. When to show him the back of the camera so he can see that yeah, he actually looks really good. By the halfway point of most sessions, I can’t get them to stop. They’re into it. They’re asking to try things. Their mom is standing behind me in awe.
That’s not an exaggeration. That happens all the time.
What a Guys’ Session Actually Looks Like
We’re not standing in a park with our hands in our pockets for an hour. Here’s what actually happens.
We shoot in real places. Downtown LA is my go-to for guys because the energy matches. Rooftops, alleyways, graffiti walls, concrete and glass. It looks editorial and cool, not precious. Your son isn’t going to feel like he’s at a photo shoot. Instead, he’s going to feel like he’s in a magazine and didn’t even try.
He wears his own stuff. His favorite sneakers. The jacket he actually likes. I’ll help with styling before the session so everything photographs well. But the goal is simple: he should look at these pictures in ten years and say “that was me” instead of “who dressed me.”
I direct the entire time. He never has to wonder what to do with his hands or where to look. I handle all of it in a way that feels like hanging out with someone who happens to be taking really good pictures of him.
And here’s the part nobody tells you. Most guys’ sessions end with him asking when he can see the photos. Not “is it over yet.” When can I see them.
This Is Really About You, Mom
I’m going to be honest with you for a second. Your son is going to be fine. He might grumble on the way there, but he’s going to have a good time and he’s going to look incredible.
The person I’m actually talking to right now is you.
Because this is your kid. And he’s about to leave. You’re watching him become this whole person and you are so proud of him. You want something that shows who he is at this exact moment. Not a yearbook photo with a fake backdrop. Something real.
You deserve that. And he deserves to see himself the way you see him.
I’m a mom. I get it. I’ve stood exactly where you’re standing and I promise you, this is worth the fight.
You’re Not Awkward on Camera. You Just Haven’t Had Me Yet.
Class of 2027, my calendar is open and guys’ sessions are my favorite thing to shoot. If your son is convinced he’s going to hate it, that’s actually my favorite starting point.
Not sure where to start? Check out what to wear for guys’ senior pictures and Oscar’s Downtown LA session so he can see what this actually looks like when it’s done right.
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