More than Senior Pictures : Inside the Raleigh Senior Team Experience

Why the Senior Team Is About So Much More Than Pictures

If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you probably know that I talk about my Raleigh Senior Team a LOT. 😂 And there’s a reason for that.

Yes, we take a LOT of pictures. Your senior will end up with a lot of senior portraits, visit beautiful places, try new things, and have some pretty amazing sessions along the way.

But honestly? The pictures aren’t even my favorite part.

It’s everything that happens around them.

With applications for my 2028 Senior Team opening October 1st, I wanted to share a little more about what makes this experience different from simply booking a senior session. So I asked my current seniors what they think makes being on the team so special.

I didn’t give them any answers or tell them what I wanted to hear. I just asked them.

And their responses honestly made me a little emotional because they said exactly what I hope this experience will be.

Friendships That Go Beyond the Team

One of my favorite things about my Raleigh Senior Team is watching a bunch of girls who don’t know each other show up at the beginning of the year and slowly become friends. They make friends they probably never would have met otherwise, and I love watching those friendships grow throughout the year.

They go to different schools and have completely different personalities and friend groups, but somehow, they end up laughing together at game night, riding together on trips, making inside jokes, and hanging out long after the cameras are put away.

Ava told me the most pleasantly unexpected part of being on the team was how quickly she made so many great friends.

Chloe said her favorite part so far has been meeting everyone and making new friends.

And Avery said:

“You get the opportunity to get close to so many great girls (and Jenn!) and it makes the overall experience so much more fun and memorable.”

That’s what I want.

I don’t want them to just know each other’s names because they’re on the same photography team. I want them to actually know each other. I want them to leave the Senior Team with friendships and memories that go way beyond the pictures we took together.

The Memories That Happen Along the Way

Some of their favorite memories aren’t even pictures.

Noelle’s answer made me laugh because she picked two very specific memories from the beach trip. One was beating everyone at Taboo with Ava, and the other was everyone spamming meme stickers under my TikTok after our sunset session. 😂

Claire said her favorite memory was beach game night because everyone was laughing, joking, and having a great time. Charlie also picked game night — laughing, hanging out, and having fun with everyone.

(Although he did feel the need to mention that I was cheating during the games. I would like the record to show that this is a completely false accusation.)

But this is exactly what I mean.

Years from now, they probably won’t remember exactly what pose they did during a certain picture.

They’ll remember sitting around a table at the beach laughing until they couldn’t breathe.

They’ll remember the inside jokes, the trip, and the people they were with.

Those are the memories I’m trying to create.

The pictures just happen to be there to help them remember all of it.

More Than Just Their Photographer

They get to know me, too, and this one is really important to me.

I don’t want to be the photographer they spend two hours with and then never see again. I want to know these kids, and I want them to know me. I want us to be comfortable enough to laugh together, talk about life, and be completely ourselves.

Rylee said:

“What makes the senior team different from regular senior pictures is you get an actual bond.”

She talked about how we’ve gotten to know each other and even mentioned one of our very first inside jokes involving bananas and wet eggs.

Yes. Bananas and wet eggs. Don’t ask. 😂

But that’s exactly the kind of thing that happens when you spend an entire year together instead of showing up for one two-hour session. She said she loves that she feels comfortable with me and that we can laugh together instead of worrying about awkward silence.

And honestly, that’s one of the biggest compliments a senior can give me.

I don’t want my seniors thinking about whether they’re posing correctly. I want them laughing and talking and eventually forgetting the camera is even there.

And when they do feel awkward, I want to know them well enough to know exactly what to say to make them laugh again.

When the Camera Comes Out, We Already Know Each Other

By the time we get to their senior sessions, we’re not strangers.

Lydia said being on the Senior Team makes a huge difference because I’ve gotten to know her and know how she likes her pictures taken. She doesn’t have to show up at her session and spend the first hour figuring me out. We’ve already done that.

We’ve already laughed together and talked, and I’ve already learned what makes her comfortable and what doesn’t. And she knows me too.

That’s something you just can’t create in a single session.

Kate said it perfectly:

“It’s really special getting to capture your senior year while also making friendships and memories along the way!”

That’s the part I love. We’re not just taking pictures of their senior year. We’re actually getting to experience some of it with them.

The Trips Become Part of the Experience

And then there are the trips.

Charleston came up a LOT when I asked the girls about their favorite experiences. Ansley said her favorite memory so far has been the Charleston trip and the people she got to know. Peyton said she loved traveling with the team and getting closer to everyone, while Helena said she loves getting to take pictures in different places, try new things, and just have fun with everyone.

And that’s another thing that makes this different.

Your senior isn’t just showing up at a studio or meeting me at a location for a couple of hours.

We’re going places.

We’re doing things.

We’re making a whole bunch of memories along the way.

And sometimes the best part of a trip isn’t even the actual photo session. It’s what happens before or after — sitting around together at dinner, laughing in the car, playing games at the beach, or realizing that the people who were strangers a few months ago are now the people you’re texting all the time.

A Senior-Year Experience, Not Just a Photo Experience

They get an entire senior-year experience.

Dakota’s response might be one of my favorites because she said something I hear over and over from seniors after they join. She didn’t expect to have so much time and so many memories with the team, and she said she would tell a friend to join because it brings you joy, memories, and the feeling of being loved.

That last part got me.

Because yes.

That’s what I want.

I want these seniors to feel loved and celebrated. I want them to know that somebody is cheering them on.

Senior year can be exciting, but it can also be a LOT. There are college decisions, school, friends, activities, graduation, and all the pressure of trying to figure out what comes next.

In the middle of all of that, I want the Senior Team to be one of those things they look forward to — a place where they can show up, be themselves, laugh with their friends, and just have fun.

What Makes the Senior Team Different?

So yes, there are a LOT of pictures, and they’re going to be really amazing pictures. 😉

But if you’re looking at the Raleigh Senior Team and thinking, “Is this really different from just booking senior pictures?”

Yes.

It’s multiple sessions instead of one, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s getting to know your photographer instead of meeting her for the first time on picture day. It’s making friends with seniors from different schools, going on beach trips, visiting Charleston, hanging out at team sessions, playing games, making inside jokes, and laughing until your stomach hurts.

It’s getting comfortable in front of the camera because you’ve had plenty of time to figure out that there’s absolutely nothing to be nervous about. It’s having a photographer who knows you and a group of people to experience your senior year with.

Fabi said it best:

“You automatically get a big friend group to travel and do senior year with!”

Yep. That’s it.

That’s what I want this to be.

Not just a photography team. Not just a bunch of girls who get together to take pictures. Not just another senior session.

I want them to look back at their senior year and remember the people, the places, the laughs, the trips, the ridiculous inside jokes, and all the little moments in between.

And hopefully, when they look through their senior portraits years from now, they’ll remember exactly how they felt when those pictures were taken.

That’s why the Senior Team will always be about so much more than pictures to me.

2028 Senior Team Applications Open October 1st

If you’re a 2028 senior and you’re looking for more of an experience for your senior year instead of just one senior session, I’d love for you to check it out.

And moms — if you’re reading this thinking, “This sounds like something my daughter would love,” you’re probably right. 😉

I’m a Raleigh senior photographer who has been doing this for years, and the Senior Team has become one of my absolute favorite parts of what I do.

I also serve families looking for a Cary senior photographer, and seniors from all over the Triangle and beyond are welcome.

If you’re looking for NC senior portraits but want the experience surrounding those pictures to mean just as much as the pictures themselves, the Senior Team might be exactly what you’re looking for.

2028 Senior Team applications open October 1st.

The Priority Access List is already open if you want to get a head start.

I can’t wait to see who joins us. 💕