What to Wear for Senior Pictures: A Style Guide for Guys
Senior pictures should look like you!
While choosing the right outfits can make a huge difference in how your final images look, your senior session isn't about dressing like someone you're not. It's about documenting who you are during this season of your life: your personality, your interests, your style, and all of the things that have been part of your high school years.
Whether your everyday style is jeans and a T-shirt, button-downs and khakis, work boots and flannels, or athletic gear, we'll build your session around you.
Here are some tips for choosing what to wear and what else you might want to bring along.
One of the easiest ways to add variety to your senior gallery is to bring a couple of different looks.
I usually recommend choosing outfits that feel different from one another rather than bringing several versions of essentially the same thing.
For example:
- A more polished outfit: chinos or dark jeans with a button-down, polo, sweater, or jacket
- A casual outfit: jeans or shorts with a favorite T-shirt, henley, flannel, or sweatshirt
- An outfit connected to something you love: a uniform, jersey, letterman jacket, workwear, or something else that represents you
You don't have to be overly dressed up for your senior pictures. In fact, if you never wear a suit or button-down shirt, there's no reason your entire gallery needs to look that way.
The goal is for your photos to still feel like you years from now.
Fit matters more than brand or price.
Clothing that is extremely oversized can sometimes hide your shape, while clothing that's too tight may pull or bunch in photographs. Look for pieces that fit comfortably through the shoulders, chest, waist, and legs and allow you to move naturally.
We'll be walking, sitting, leaning, and moving throughout your session, so you want to feel comfortable.
And yes: please try everything on before your session!
An outfit can look completely different on than it does hanging in your closet.
Layers photograph incredibly well and make it easy to create several different looks without doing a complete outfit change.
Try adding:
- An unbuttoned flannel
- A denim jacket
- A bomber jacket
- A sweater
- A quarter-zip
- A sport coat
- A letterman jacket
- A hoodie
- A vest
Something as simple as photographing a few images with a jacket on and then removing it can make the images feel completely different.
Solid colors and subtle patterns tend to photograph beautifully because you remain the focus of the image. Neutrals are always a great starting point: navy, charcoal, cream, tan, brown, olive, denim, black, gray, and white all work well. That doesn't mean you need to avoid color. If there's a color you love or one that looks particularly good on you, bring it!
For patterns, smaller and more subtle usually works best. Very large logos, extremely busy graphics, or tiny high-contrast patterns can sometimes become distracting on camera. There are exceptions, though. If a particular band T-shirt, graphic tee, or sweatshirt is something you genuinely love and wear all the time, bring it.
Your senior photos are allowed to have personality.
Shoes are part of the outfit, and they will show in many of your photographs.
Depending on your style, you might bring sneakers, boots, loafers, dress shoes, Converse, Vans, or whatever you normally wear. Give them a quick clean before your session and make sure the shoes work with each outfit you've chosen. If we're photographing somewhere outdoors, it's also perfectly fine to bring an extra pair of shoes for walking between locations.
This is one of my favorite parts of senior sessions.
Your senior portraits don't have to be just you standing somewhere looking at the camera.
Bring the things you love.
Think about what you've spent your high school years doing, what you're proud of, what makes you happy, or what someone who knows you would immediately associate with you.
If you play a sport, bring your gear.
Football, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, golf, wrestling, track, cross-country: whatever your sport is, we can incorporate it into your session. Bring your jersey, uniform, letterman jacket, ball, stick, bat, glove, helmet, medals, or other equipment.
If you're a musician, bring your instrument.
Guitar, trumpet, saxophone, violin, drums: whatever you play. Instruments can make incredible senior portraits while documenting something that has been an important part of your life.
And it doesn't have to be sports or music.
Maybe you love fishing.
Maybe you've spent years working on a truck or restoring a car.
Maybe you skateboard, ski, snowboard, surf, hike, hunt, paint, build things, or spend every possible second outdoors.
Maybe your dog has been beside you throughout your entire childhood.
Maybe there's a family vehicle, boat, motorcycle, piece of equipment, or location that means something to you.
Bring it. Tell me about it.
Some of the most meaningful photographs happen when we stop thinking about what a senior portrait is "supposed" to look like and start photographing what actually matters to you.
Yes, Your Car or Truck Can Be a Prop
Absolutely.
If you've worked hard for your vehicle, rebuilt it with someone you love, or it's simply become part of your high school experience, let's photograph it. Cars and trucks can give us opportunities for completely different poses and compositions, especially when paired with the right location.
The same applies to motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs, boats, tractors, or other meaningful vehicles and equipment: just let me know ahead of time so we can choose a location where we can safely and appropriately incorporate them.
You don't need to choose between traditional senior portraits and sports portraits.
We can do both. Bring your regular outfits and your uniform or jersey. We can create the photographs parents and grandparents will want framed and the images that feel completely like you.
That's the beauty of having an entire senior session rather than trying to fit everything into one look.
Don't forget the smaller details.
A favorite watch, chain, hat, class ring, sunglasses, belt, boots, bracelet, or sentimental item can help finish an outfit or add personality.
Bring options. We don't necessarily have to use everything.
I'd rather have something available and decide we don't need it than think of the perfect photograph halfway through the session and realize we left it at home.
There aren't many hard rules, because every senior is different.
However, I generally recommend avoiding clothing that is badly wrinkled, stained, uncomfortable, or something you already know you don't feel confident wearing.
Be careful with extremely large logos or wording unless they're intentional and meaningful to you.
And don't choose an outfit simply because someone told you it's what you're "supposed" to wear for senior pictures.
If you feel uncomfortable in it, that will often show.
The night before your session, lay everything out.
Check your outfits from head to toe: including shoes, socks, belts, accessories, and anything that needs to go underneath a jacket or uniform. Iron or steam anything that needs it. Gather your props, sports equipment, instruments, uniforms, and accessories in one place. That way, you're not searching for your baseball glove or favorite belt ten minutes before you're supposed to leave.
Your senior year is a milestone.
These photographs are going to outlive social-media trends, clothing trends, hairstyles, and whatever happens to be popular right now.
Someday, you'll look back at them and remember who you were at this exact point in your life.
So bring the nice outfit.
Bring the jeans you practically live in.
Bring the football.
Bring the guitar.
Bring the truck you've spent countless hours working on.
Bring your dog.
Bring the things that make your parents say, "Yep. That's him."
Because the best senior portraits aren't just photographs of what you looked like during senior year.
Ready to book your senior session?
