Senior photo season is just around the corner in Minnesota (typically June through September), so now is the perfect time to start planning your senior photo session. Whether you’re a soon-to-be senior or a parent helping plan, this is an exciting milestone, and it doesn’t have to feel overwhelming.
This is Part 2 of the Your Senior Photo Experience series, a four-part guide designed to walk you through everything you need to know, from choosing the right photographer to planning your session to knowing precisely what to expect on photo day (and beyond). If this is your first time navigating senior photos, you’re in the right place.
First Things First: You’re Not Doing This Alone
While there are a few things I’ll ask you to consider, such as outfits you love and personal details that matter to you, you don’t need to know how to pose, where to stand, or how to make everything look good together.
As a Minnesota senior photographer, I guide you through the entire process. From locations and lighting to prompts and pacing, I handle the details so you can relax and enjoy the experience.
What “Planning” Really Means for Senior Photos
When I talk about planning your senior session, I don’t mean handing you a checklist and sending you on your way. Planning is about pre-visualizing your images together, so when the session day arrives, you don’t have to think about what to do or how to look.
Your outfits, location, props, and overall vibe all work together to create images that feel authentic to who you are right now. Since many of my senior sessions take place at our farm near Audubon, MN, a natural, rustic feel is often built into the setting. From there, we tailor everything to you, whether that leans more country, modern, sporty, or somewhere in between.
My job as a Detroit Lakes, MN senior photographer is to take what you share: your style, interests, and personality, and turn it into a session that feels natural, confident, and completely you.
Using Pinterest for Inspiration (Without Overthinking It)
Pinterest is a helpful tool, but it’s never required. If inspiration boards stress you out, you can skip this step entirely. I’ll still guide you every step of the way.
Think of your Pinterest board as a visual starting point, not a checklist. We’re not trying to recreate someone else’s photos; we’re pulling inspiration to help shape your own session.
Here’s how to make Pinterest work for you:
- Keep it focused: Aim for 15–30 pins to maintain a clear, cohesive vision.
- Use pin captions: Add short notes about what you love: the outfit, the lighting, the pose, or the overall mood.
- Follow along for inspiration: I regularly pin senior-session ideas that may spark ideas for your own shoot. You can find it on my High School Senior Photography Inspiration board.
Your Pinterest board provides a visual starting point. From there, I translate that inspiration into poses, locations, and prompts that work beautifully in real life.
Your Senior Questionnaire: Where It All Comes Together
After you book your senior session, I’ll send over a short questionnaire. This is one of the most essential parts of the planning process.
You don’t need to know how your interests will show up in your photos; that’s my job. Your answers help me plan the session flow, select prompts that feel natural, and create images that look effortless.
I’ll ask about your interests, activities, personality, and what you want your photos to feel like. This helps me plan locations, prompts, and details that reflect you. So your images don’t feel generic or forced.
Think of it as your chance to say, “This is who I am,” and let me translate that into photos. This planning process is part of what makes my Minnesota senior photo sessions feel relaxed instead of rushed.
Real Seniors, Real Style
In every one of these sessions, the senior didn’t need to know how to pose or plan the details. I guided them through the entire experience so they could show up and be themselves.
Here are just a few ways past seniors have personalized their sessions:
- Molly brought her horse and styled her shoot with a country-chic vibe at her family’s farm.
- Emily rocked her FFA jacket and posed in front of a classic red barn to highlight her love for agriculture.
- Grace is a basketball star, so we incorporated her sport into both posed and action shots.
- Leah is happiest on the water, so we made sure to include lakefront shots in her session.
- Sheyenne included her show animals in her session (yes, even her pig made an appearance!).
- Aubrey showcased her love for dance with a stunning, movement-filled session.
- Derek loves fishing, so we captured him out on the water doing what he loves.
- Holly is a traveler at heart, so we incorporated a globe, maps, and vintage suitcases into her shoot.
Your senior photos are about more than smiling at the camera; they’re about capturing this season of life in a way that feels true to you.
Ready to Start Visualizing Your Session?
You don’t need to have everything figured out to book your senior photos. If you can choose outfits you love and show up ready to have fun, I’ll take care of the rest.
Now is the time to start thinking about outfits, locations, and the personal details that matter most to you. If you haven’t already, be sure to read PART 1: Choosing a Senior Photographer, where we talk about finding the right fit for your senior experience.
Up next in the series: what happens on session day itself, and exactly what you can expect once you arrive.
Let’s make this an experience you’ll never forget.
Dates for high school senior sessions are dropped in the spring of each year. Be sure to learn more about the Amber Langerud Photography senior experience and hop on the waiting list here.
