High school senior sports are a great way to capture senior pictures. Taking sports senior pictures can be super fun and unique.
As senior photographers, of course it’s our job to take great portraits of our seniors. We’ve got a ton of tips on what to wear for senior pictures to how to take senior pictures! Parents, grandparents and family all love senior pictures and will use them as a way to freeze their son or daughter in time, and remember what he or she looked like…especially since the days of cute little baby faces are over!
But what about remembering what their senior was involved in, doing, playing, or enjoying? Some parents would love to be able to look back on a photo and remember how excited their son was about football…or maybe that one photo can take them back to remembering their daughter’s cello concert or how well she did on her piano recital.
I personally LOVE it when my seniors incorporate a sport or hobby into their session! And seniors love it when you let them. Not to mention it’s a great way for the senior guys and girls to relax for pictures!
Sports Senior Pictures
Often times, seniors will not move on to play college sports. So during their high school years it’s mandatory to capture this season of sports and hobbies. Making it even more crucial to capture those moments in time for parents to remember their child’s glory days! Same goes for music…the concerts and band competitions and dance numbers may come to an end.
1 Encourage: Encourage seniors to showcase their interests, sports, talents, hobbies and passions! One way to successfully include these into your senior pictures is by having a phone consultation or in person consultation prior to the photo session. If you are the photographer talk to your client, if you are the senior talk to your photographer!
Ask them questions around their interests, their extra-curricular activities and life passions. Often times you might hear stories around what they’d like to incorporate and this only makes for even more personal senior picture ideas.
2 Show them: Show them how fun sessions can be when you incorporate their passions and hobbies into their portrait session. Often times when they see you have done this with many other seniors they realize how “cool” it really is! Not to mention how fun! There are so many ideas you can include:
- Volleyball Senior Pictures
- Baseball Portrait Poses
- Football Senior Pictures
- Basketball Senior Pictures
- Softball Senior Pictures
- ________________________
- and the list goes on!!!!!!!
3 Pin with them: (especially for the senior girls!) Direct them to your Pinterest where you have pinned photos to a specific board made uniquely for sports senior pictures. Allow them to pin as well. Always encourage them to be as involved as they can in the planning of their senior sessions. You also might want to add a disclaimer to the idea that their entire session will not look like the Pinterest board the two of you create, rather it’s an inspiration for you as the photographer to include their hobby as well as for them to have a vision of their session.
No matter what you do, just be sure to let your seniors know that you support them and promote their interests in sports and hobbies:) Now get out there and showcase your seniors’ best! As Looks Like Film says –” Look for their personality!” Below are ways I have incorporated hobbies into senior sessions.
Senior Picture Ideas for Girls
I definitely shoot more senior girls, and I have found that the ladies tend to less often include a sport or hobby. However, I have had the opportunity to shoot various sports and hobby interests. Cheerleaders, dancers, softball players, volleyball players, guitar players, and yes, even a cello player! Two of my recent shoots included the senior’s jeep! And another included bow hunting and her truck!
Sport Senior Picture Ideas for Guys
I have had the opportunity to work with several senior guys who included sports and hobbies into their sessions. It’s always fun seeing the guys light up about senior photos when they know they get to show off something that they love! Football, baseball, hunting…and even dirt bike racing!
This photo below definitely has an amazing story. Austin and his Dad actually mounted all of those deer heads and antlers to the side of a barn on their farm!! It was quite the amazing display…and something that Austin and his Dad can look back on and remember spending time creating that wall of trophies together!
Last year I got to work with a senior guy who’s sport was dirt bike racing. We set up all of his trophies, ribbons, and plaques. It was something he loved, so he definitely enjoyed these photos!
Bring your game face or simply show your love of the game by showcasing your sport, hobby and interest! Above all else have fun!!!
Megan Bryant says
Thanks for having me! 🙂
Alicia Haskew says
These are great tips! I love incorporating hobbies into the session, but it is hard to get them to really think about what they would like at the consultation, sometimes! I think that having a brochure that showcases peoples different hobbies is a great idea. This way it will start the creative process right away. Thanks for sharing!
Pascha says
Great post. I have a volleyball player and an athlete. Some of these I haven’t thought of, thanks for sharing!
Tiffany Khyla says
Wow! These are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I was good at taking pictures. I feel like it’d be such a fun job! I love that first photo and the photos with the instruments, but all of them are so beautiful.
Mrsteelovelifelaughter says
What fun, unique and even subtle ways to give a knod to your child’s hobbies. I wish we would have thought of this for my son’s Senior Photos. It was in a studio with his Trombone but I love the outdoor scenery so much better.
Susan Mahlburg says
When I was a senior in high school, we did the “show up in the auditorium, smile with the blocks that said SENIOR” shoot. It’s such a let down that those photos don’t stand out against all the other bad school photos you can find hidden in the photo books.
Karon Clark Warren says
I love how these tips bring more of the individual’s personality to the images! These are how I want my kids remembered!
Jeanette Ford says
This is fantastic! I am a newbie to photography and I will have a senior next year. Any ideas on how to incorporate the fact that she is an artist? She mostly does drawings and pottery.
Jessica says
Great post!! Thank you so much for these wonderful tips and such beautiful pictures!
Emerald says
What lovely pictures. I am a photography student and I hope to one day create a session just like this.