When it comes to grads photography, the most beautiful images of senior girls are the ones where the subjects are relaxed and comfortable, because this is where their personalities and spirits will shine.
CLG grad and family photographer Kellee Kromarek Hann is a master at senior photography, with a seemingly endless list of girl poses that are both flattering, and help her subjects relax into it. So we asked her to share her go-to female poses and prompts that make taking gorgeous high school senior girl portraits easy!
Related: Prompts & Poses for Guys
Senior girl grad photography sessions are some of my very favourite sessions to shoot, as the girls are all so unique. I’m always quite impressed and inspired by the way my models carry themselves… so much more confident than I ever remember feeling at that age!
With all my seniors, regardless of gender, I’m very proactive in showing them images on the back of my camera every once in a while. This helps ease any anxiety around being photographed, and ensures their personality and uniqueness shine through.
Posing, of course, is huge when it comes to this. When you use poses that flatter, but are also relaxed, you’ll help your girl model to feel comfortable, her personality will shine, and you’ll create stunning and natural portraits. So today I’m sharing a handful of easy posing ideas that tick all of those boxes and pave the way for loads of variety in each instance without needing to move your subject.
Leaning is a great way to relax a senior girl during the photo shoot, as it gives her something to do with her body. So if she’s a little nervous when she first arrives for her grads photography session, it’s a great pose to start with. Walls are the perfect place to lean, and create powerful images by ensuring they have great texture, colour or views.
There are multiple variations on both sitting and standing whilst leaning against a wall that you can try:
Side on to the wall, leaning with your shoulder, shoot down the wall.
Sometimes your location offers nothing to lean on, or you might just want to bring some variety to your grads photography session. However standing when there is nothing to lean against can be awkward for any person.
All you need to do is give her something to do with her hands. Try these standing girl poses and take a variation of frames of each one:
The walking shot is a classic in grads photography. Try these natural girl poses for variety:
Sitting offers lots of opportunity for really casual poses, which in turn helps your senior girl relax into it. Try these great posing guides which all give her something natural to do with her hands:
Get variation by moving around and shooting from behind, prompting her to look back at you and smile, or look back and down at the ground.
Don’t forget to get in close when your model is sitting for a quick and classic headshot. Combined with a wide aperture, this foliage behind her makes for a beautiful, dense backdrop creating great separation.
Related: Blurred Backgrounds (even with a kit lens!)
Use low walls for casual seating, especially in urban areas. Note it’s made much more dynamic simply by having the girl lean back on her hand and crossing one leg, which creates interesting lines.
Sitting side on with legs outstretched, one knee bent is a more natural sitting position. It also gives your senior girl somewhere to rest one of her hands, and adds pleasing lines.
Prompt her to face a low wall and lean on it with hands outstretched wider than her body and look back at you. Note the one bent knee gives a more natural pose than if both legs with straight.
This is one of my go to girl poses for grads photography. Usually I have them kneel with one knee up and one down, and this pose is most flattering when shot side on. Try these prompts for variation:
Doorways and stairwells are a great way to frame your subject and provide a huge variety of options for girl poses:
In this image, the small act of placing the feet on different steps makes a big difference to the overall look. Her bent knee adds interesting lines and her body turned slightly away from the camera is a flattering silhouette for a senior girl.
Give your senior girl something to do with that loose hand by prompting her to put it in her pocket.
I have a few favourite poses for portrait photography that frame the girl’s face in a more arty way than the classic headshot:
Bring some art to your grads photography head shots by prompting her to bring her hands up to her face!
Twirling is one of my favourite girl poses. If they have a dress or some type of kimono or wrap, I love to catch the movement, so I’ll ask them to twirl like they are six years old.
Use a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion, and slow it down if you want to capture some movement.
Related: Shooting in Manual Mode; How to Freeze Motion
Have them swish their skirt back and forth in a figure eight to really catch that motion.
Including props or any sports they are into will help their personalities shine through, whilst also giving you a great variety of images.
Bring something personal to your grads photography by incorporate her favourite sport or hobby
Look for opportunities to add strong shapes, leading lines, and ways to frame your subject using architecture or the natural environment.
The strong horizontal lines convey a sense of stability, whilst the subject provides an interruption to the pattern which is naturally appealing to the human eye.
You can also create shapes through posing… note that in most of my images, I’m always creating interesting, diagonal lines with a bent knee, elbow, or by leaning my subject.
Incorporating reflections in your images adds depth, interest and another perspective of your subject.
Prompts are a great way to get natural expressions from girls, and most of these can be used with all the poses mentioned throughout this post. The idea behind prompts is to elicit natural smiles and laughter through their response, rather than saying “smile, laugh, say cheese!”.
In every single girl pose I’ve suggested here, you can get loads of varied images without needing to move your subject. Simply make small changes through the prompts mentioned throughout and above, by moving yourself, and by taking multiple different frames.
Take half body shots, full body, head and shoulders, head, and full wide shots. Incorporate some negative space. If shooting in an urban environment, highlight that through the inclusion of surrounding buildings, the skyline, gritty walls, traffic, street lights and fences.
Move yourself around your subject to shoot front on, side on, up a little higher, and down at eye level.
Try different focal lengths as well… focal length is not all about changing the distance between your camera and your subject – it actually affects the look of your shot.
Related: Lens Distortion & Portrait Photography
Fences are fun to play with, in that you can have them hold onto it with one hand and sway back in the opposite direction.
If you’re shooting in a natural environment, showcase the beauty.
When shooting grads photography, just like any other session…remember to have FUN! Your senior girl will be just as nervous as you are and probably more! I like to joke around with them about their parents being AWESOME because they hired the “Most amazing photographer EVER!” which is usually good for some genuine laughs and smiles.
Kellee Kromarek Hann is a portrait and family photographer who works both on location and in a studio, based in Fargo, ND. If you want to see more of her photo collections and discover more photography tips, check her out at Soul Tree Photography Studio.
We hope you enjoyed this poses and prompts guide for shooting senior girls, and if you try some of the tips, we’d love to see your work! Share on Instagram and tag #clicklovegrow so we can find you!
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This is an excellent article. Posing can be difficult and this blog is full of great suggestions and advice. Thanks so much for sharing. Your photos are beautiful!