Thinking about some senior pictures to commemorate your senior year? That’s awesome! I love getting to create a shoot that really captures this pivotal moment in your life, and come up with something that feels like you. But first, I’m here to help you figure out the perfect senior picture outfit ideas!
What Is a Senior Picture?
A senior picture is just a fun portrait session to capture the essence of a senior in high school, likely gearing up for college and leaving home. It’s a fun exercise to showcase their interests, personality, hobbies, humor – a real snapshot into who they are at this moment in time. This isn’t the same as a yearbook photo. It’s more freestyle and contemporary.
Senior Picture Outfit Ideas
There’s a lot that goes into some winning senior picture outfit ideas. You want to capture yourself in a natural setting and style while still standing out in the pictures. So how do you balance the two?
We’re going to cover several things you need to keep in mind when determining the right look for your senior picture outfit ideas:
- Multiple looks
- The vibe of the shoot
- The season
- The location
Multiple Looks
Don’t think that you’re only on the hook for one outfit idea. You’re going to need multiple senior picture outfit ideas! Take a look at this photoshoot I did for Madie, and notice how many looks she’s giving in one photoshoot. We start off with a classic dress and heels before moving on to a casual pair of jeans and a flowing shirt.
All this before ending off with a beautiful short black dress. Every time we changed locations, the look changed right along with it. This meant that the shoot was dynamic and stayed fresh, giving her multiple options to choose from. It also meant that she could show off different sides of herself – which is exactly the point of good senior picture outfit ideas.
The Vibe of The Shoot
When we talk about the vibe of the photoshoot, we’re really talking about your personality and persona. Are you looking to have fun? Be more serious? Somewhat artsy? Maybe a classy shoot? Call back to your high school days? The ball is in your court, and how you want to look for your photos is entirely up to you.
You want to showcase who you are as a person and what you enjoy wearing. There are so many different ways you can achieve this and look exceptional at the same time. This goes back to having multiple outfits for one photoshoot: it means you get to play around with your style and maybe do things you wouldn’t normally do. By having a formal look, a look that’s more casual and normal for your day-to-day, and a riskier or bolder outfit, you’ve got a lineup of senior picture outfit ideas that really encapsulate your style.
Let’s get into some more practicals here:
Season
The season is going to make a difference in how you approach your senior picture outfit ideas. Here are some senior picture outfit ideas for each of the four seasons:
Spring
The blooming flowers and the greener grass means you’re in a season of color, and you can play into this. Think about striking colors and floral patterns. If the weather’s nice, we could think about an outdoor location – so think about layers.
This can be incorporated into anything. Dresses, button-downs, colorful jeans. You can also work a lot with solid colors that are more neutral to fit in with a session out in nature.
Summer
With sunny weather and the warm air, you’ll have a lot of great options to incorporate into your senior picture outfit ideas. For example:
- Summer dress and sandals for the girls
- Jeans and a t-shirt (white jeans look especially good in the summer)
- Button-down, shorts, and sandals
These are just a few basic ideas. There are so many different ways you can play with color and keep your look vibrant. I did an awesome photoshoot with Emma, where she chose a casual summer look wearing a killer romper, a hat, and the best boots I’ve ever seen. It was a look that worked on every level. Her other looks included short jeans and a plain white top with white shoes: it was simple, and it worked!
Fall
For the fall season, you want to stick to a lot of neutral colors. Blue jeans with boots, striped jerseys, beige jackets, and plain white button-up shirts. Maybe you can even throw in a scarf. While you might hear the word neutral and think that it’s going to be boring, you’d be sorely mistaken.
There are so many exciting things you can do, especially when it comes to locations. The falling leaves and turning trees will really add a nice touch to your pictures.
Winter
Not many seniors take their senior pictures during the winter, but there’s no reason to avoid it! If you get decent snowfall, why not take advantage of that and get some incredible pictures?
Winter is a colder season so expect to wear some stylish jackets, jeans, boots, and more neutral colors. Even more neutral than fall! The best look is some well-fitting jeans, a belt, a loose-fitting shirt, and an oversized jacket or stylish trench coat.
Location
The location can really make all the difference in what you end up coming up with for your senior picture outfit ideas. Consider the location and think about what you’d wear there, in general, to look good and feel comfortable. You want your outfit to make sense in the setting.
For example, when I worked with Macie on her senior photos, we went to a meadow, lake, rooftop, and to a very colorful part of the city. It worked out perfectly because no location looked the same. They were all completely different but complemented her outfit choices perfectly! She chose to keep it simple and subtle with a black flowing top, white jean shorts, a black dress, and a floral dress, all of which looked beautiful.
Conclusion
There’s no right or wrong look for senior picture outfit ideas. You want to stay true to yourself while looking good. But, at the end of the day, how you define looking good is entirely up to you. I recommend getting help from some friends and family to make the decision-making process easier, and to look for ideas you like in other seniors’ pictures.
If you’re looking for a photographer to take some beautiful photos for your senior year, then look no further. I’ve worked with a lot of seniors bringing their ideas to life and making them look fabulous for a photo that speaks a thousand words. So get in touch, and let’s make some magic!
