The Easiest Way to Get Great Photos of Preteens and Teens

As a mom of two preteens, with friends and clients who I met when their kids were babies and are now full-fledged teenagers, trust me when I say that I know this age well. Yes, some kids still want their photos taken, but the WAY they want them taken is totally different. That’s if, of course, they’ll even agree, which they may not. I’ve completely blown up my old way of thinking when it comes to photographing preteens and teens and now I know the easiest way to get great photos of teenagers.

Let them be in the driver’s seat!

I wrote an article about how to prepare this special age for photos, but it’s been over a year and as my own kids and my clients’ kids barrel towards high school, I’ve acquired even more tips and pushed it even further. This session is the perfect example of why you should push through and structure your session around your teens, instead of saying, hey, it’s too hard to get them to want to do this, so I’m just going to skip it this year.

Real personality beats forced smiles every time.

I know, I know, you want that real, genuine smile out of your kids for just one freaking picture. I KNOW! But, they are so much more than just one forced smile. Your kid may be quirky and fun and make the silliest faces. They may be stoic and understated. They may want to be cool and edgy more than anything right now. Whatever it is, let’s build it into the session. Having buy in from kids this age is the easiest way to get great photos of preteens and teens. For this session, we had a teen daughter who is bright and bubbly but a little shy. I made sure to tell her how amazing she was doing and laughed and played along with her. I also gave her a say on whether she wanted bright, happy light or if she wanted more dramatic moody light and she chose bright! Her preteen brother is a more stoic kiddo and those genuine smiles are hard to come by, so I didn’t force them. I put him in cool poses and let him give whatever mug he wanted for the camera and then put a strategic joke or two in there to get him to bust up into that real smile for a few, too. If it helps, kids can save Pinterest images on their phone of poses they like or, if they are in my Sausalito studio like these are, lighting set-ups that they feel fit them best. If you do go this route, please let me know ahead of time so I can make sure the set-ups and vibes are right for your session.

Let them chose their clothes.

If there is one thing you take from this, let it be to let them chose their clothing. Yes, you can have a color palette to work with, or a general style (summery, cozy, etc), but a teen who feels like their clothes are lame is absolutely not going to feel confident in front of the camera. I have had so many families tell me their kids only wear sweats or basketball shorts, which is why this session was born! Lean into it! Matching sets for the whole family and no stuffy shoes! I am so obsessed with how this session turned out that I want one with my own kids, because this is who they are! This is what they wear! Sure, you can make sure the socks are clean and the sweats don’t have holes like their pairs they wear to school, but I promise this is going to make getting great photos of your teenagers way easier.

Embrace them as they are.

This stage in childhood as fleeting, which, if you have a teenager, you know well because they were JUST babies! It may seem scary to pay for a photoshoot where they are wearing what they want and the goal is not smiling and looking every time, but that’s not who they are right now! I promise that letting them take the reigns and control some of the aspects of the shoot will get them to give us real smiles, real personalities and have them leaving without hating you for it. Don’t worry, they won’t control the session, that’s on me, but their input is critical.

This formula for making photos with teenagers easier has so many of my clients’ kids actually wanting their prints framed on their walls. The ones that have social media post them with pride and legitimately are glad they got them. Plus, you’ll look back and remember this time fondly, just as they are.

P.S. If you have a kiddo this age, opt for a shorter session like a simple session outdoors or in-home, or a studio session. These kiddos can follow direction and short and sweet is the name of the game!