I need the senior girlies and the moms currently six tabs deep in ‘senior pic ideas’ to gather around for a moment.

Senior photos have somehow become one of those things people think need to look a certain way (read: like a carbon copy of everyone else’s).

A rogue tree to lean uncomfortably against even though you’ve never stood like that in your life. A sundress purchased under pressure. A smile that reads, “I am trying my best in these conditions.” Photos so TikTok-trendy that they could belong to any girl in any town in Minnesota in any year.

Senior photos disguise themselves as a kind of annoying necessity for the yearbook and the open house invites, when they’re actually sneaky, important, and crazy sentimental.

Get this: senior photos happen when you’re still you as you’ve always known you… but not for much longer. Soon it’s graduation. After that, moving, college, jobs, different friends, different routines. And then to top it all off: versions of yourself you haven’t met yet.

So no, I’m not all that interested in making you look like a trend. I’m interested in documenting you—who you were in this tiny, already-nostalgic sliver of life where you’re old enough to be on the edge of everything, but still young enough that your mom knows where your retainer is.

And if you’re one of the following types of girlies, you’re going to LOVE this senior photo inspiration from some of my own Minnesota senior girlies.

Check out ‘A Guide to Senior Photos in Minneapolis (From Someone Who Hated Hers)’ for more of my unsolicited thoughts (and personal experience) on the subject.

The Hockey Girlie

The hockey girlie is never just one thing.

She’s grit and gloss. She’s freezing cold at 6 a.m. and somehow still has great hair by first period homeroom. She can carry a gear bag roughly the size of a loveseat in one hand and still text back “be there soon” with the other.

She knows discipline, pressure, teamwork, and how to function before sunrise (teach me your ways). She is stronger than people assume and funnier than people expect.

And then everyone acts surprised when she looks stunning with her hair down on top of it. Please.

That’s why these senior photos hit so hard. We get the jersey and the skates, but we get the softer side too—the curls, the confidence, and the city backdrop.

There’s a reason they say to get you a girlie that can do both.

The Horse Girlie

The horse girlie was made for wide, open spaces.

She knows responsibility in a way most people don’t at seventeen. She knows early mornings and how to love something through consistency. She is capable, grounded, and tough—and her senior photos should reflect that.

These senior photos already come with built-in story: the boots and the barn, the dust and the denim, the horse who is absolutely under the impression this entire thing is about them.

Horse girl sessions are some of my favorite because, in addition to being full of complimentary narrative, they capture the version of life that girlie is so used to living, she basically forgets I’m even there.

The Soft + Feminine Girlie

The soft and feminine girlie notices details.

She appreciates good lip gloss, flattering light, dresses that sway in the breeze, and might have opinions about ribbon without realizing how niche of her that really is.

For this girlie, we go with full-on movement and glow. We’re talking sidewalk strolls, the Minneapolis skyline, flowers, sunshine, laughing halfway through a sentence, turning her head at the exact moment the breeze decides to collaborate.

The goal is never to make the soft and feminine girlie look like someone playing dress-up for her senior photos, but to make her look like herself on an exceptionally good day.

And this girlie makes that look all too easy.

The Artistic Girlie

The artistic girlie can feel when something is generic from a mile away.

She does not want the same session everyone else is doing, and honestly, thank God for that.

Maybe she thrifts. Maybe she paints. Maybe she has elite music taste and a Notes app full of half-finished poems. Maybe she just knows, deep in her bones, that leaning on a tree in a random field is not going to represent her correctly.

These sessions are less about perfection and more about point of view.

Specific girls deserve specific photos.

The Chill Girlie

The chill girlie is severely underrated.

She’s not trying to do the most. She doesn’t need twelve outfit changes or a dramatic production with six different locations.

She would actually prefer everyone please calm down. (Lucky for her, ‘calm’ is what I do best.)

She’s easygoing, funny once she warms up, and usually cooler than the people trying hardest to seem cool. Sometimes she’s a little nervous about senior photos, simply because being perceived for an hour sounds exhausting. (Again: fair.)

For the chill girlie, the magic is in removing pressure. We’ll find a quiet path or a cute neighborhood street in the Twin Cities (AKA, somewhere without fifty strangers walking by). We’ll walk, talk, laugh, and keep it moving until the walls come down, and her personality comes through.

What Every Girlie Has In Common

No matter which girlie you are (or if you identify has a different brand of girlie altogether!), the best senior photos happen the second it feels like you.

That’s why I put so much energy into helping you choose the right location in Minnesota, collaborating on outfits, debriefing on your own senior pic ideas, and keeping the whole experience low-pressure.

When a girl feels at ease, it shows immediately.

(And moms, you always know when that shift happens like the back of your hand, too. It’s usually the photo you end up loving most.)

Want more where this came from? Give my senior photography page on Insta (@lizzyannphotography.seniors) a follow!

Parting Words From a Minneapolis Photographer Who Gets Weirdly Sentimental About Senior Photos

These aren’t just pictures for announcements and your mom’s Facebook. They’re proof of who you were before everything changed. And that deserves better than a copy-and-paste trend and a forced, semi-painful smile in a field.

(And as someone who hated her own senior photos, I think I know a thing or two about a thing or two…)

So if you want senior photos in Minnesota that feel like hanging out with one of the (hype) girlies and leaves you with photos that actually look like you— you know where to find me.