The Angsty Teenager and Family Photos.

This teen was an absolute pleasure to work with during this newborn session in Spokane, Wa.

This is a great question that I was recently asked by one of my instagram followers. I believe there are so many ways to approach teenage angst at photoshoots, much of which should be handled on the front end before the photo shoot happens. I have quite a bit of experience with teen photos, when I began my photography business I photographed a lot of senior photos and now occasionally take photos of teens at schools in the Spokane area. Here is what I have found to help immensely.

Have a conversation with your teen

First off, I encourage parents have a conversation with the teen prior to the session just talking to them about why the photos are important, what the significance is, and that they are so glad the teen is participating. Higher sense of meaning goes far. So for example, maternity photos are celebrating the new life we're welcoming into the family and one last memory of just the three of us. That sort of approach.

Tell me about your teen

I send out a questionnaire to those who book with me, asking about each family member, so that I know a little about the teen. Basic interests, sensitivities, personality that sort of thing. I'm mindful of not being an overly touchy photographer because it makes teens uncomfortable, I always try to exhaust all of my words before I touch a teen. This is something I learned as a yoga instructor as a way to work with those who have trauma, particularly body and touch traumas.

Let them have choices in what to wear

I recommend allowing the teen have some say in what they wear. Choose a color pallet that compliments what your teen likes to wear. So for example, if your teen refuses to wear anything that isn’t black. Allow her to pick from a couple of options of black dresses, then compliment with creams, whites, tans and grays, then add a couple black accents to other family members outfits. Going shopping together helps. Just try to get the level of formality to match best you can.

Let me encourage the posing

I ask parents to let me be the "bad" guy asking the teen to pose. I will never be mean or disrespectful, so I use to term “bad guy” loosely. I'd rather the angst be toward me than the parents, and usually the opposite happens and the teens are more willing to go along with what I ask of them. I like to prompt more than I pose that way they feel like they are in control of their own body. I never force anyone to smile, usually I can get it to happen organically.

Choose a private location

I try to choose more private locations when teens are involved and I’ve been warned about angst or low levels of self confidence, because they don't like having more eyes on them when having photos done and bystanders tend to stare. I also try to be extra cognizant of what I say, and to be sure to compliment the teen a little extra to help ensure they’re feeling good.

Focus on connection

I focus heavily on connection between parents and child in every session regardless of age. So that the teen is able to just be with the parents and not feel like the attention is all on them. I find there's two types of teens out there, those that ham it up for the camera and those who are extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera. So I do offer to the teen a solo photo that they can use for social media if that's their thing- sometimes it helps. I call out the awkward things I may ask of a teen and often it makes the teen feel seen and connected with and sometimes gets me a smile.