When I say I want your senior session to feel like you, I really mean it.

I don’t want every senior session to look the same. I don’t want you showing up, standing in a field, doing the same five poses you’ve seen on Pinterest, and calling it a day.

Your senior photos should tell a story.

They should show off the things you love, the places that mean something to you, the different sides of your personality, and all the little details that make you you.

Taylor’s senior session was the perfect example of exactly why I love creating unique, custom senior sessions for Kansas City high school seniors.

Her session included a classic Kansas City diner, gritty Crossroads streets, graffiti, ballet, flowers, childhood keepsakes, theater, and a whole lot of personality. And because Taylor chose my Icon Senior Experience, we were able to spread her session across multiple days and really tell the whole story.

Let’s just say we had some fun with this one.

Starting with an Iconic Kansas City Diner

We kicked things off at one of Kansas City’s most recognizable spots: Town Topic in the Crossroads.

If you’re looking for a Kansas City senior photographer who loves incorporating the city into your senior pictures, the Crossroads is one of my favorite places to play.

Town Topic gave Taylor a completely different vibe right from the start. We photographed inside the diner, outside with the classic signage and urban surroundings, and leaned into that fun, nostalgic diner feeling.

It was a little retro. A little quirky. Very Kansas City.

And most importantly, it felt like Taylor.

That’s one of my favorite things about using locations like this for senior photography in Kansas City. Your location doesn’t have to simply be a pretty backdrop. It can become part of the story.

From Diner Girl to Urban Editorial

After an outfit change, we stayed in the Crossroads but completely changed the feel.

We moved toward the ivy-covered walls, brick, and architecture throughout the neighborhood for a more textured, editorial look.

This is one of the reasons I love the Crossroads for Kansas City senior pictures. You can walk a few blocks and completely change the mood of your photos.

Brick.

Ivy.

Concrete.

Old buildings.

Industrial textures.

It gives us so many opportunities to create images that don’t look like every other senior portrait you’ve seen.

And that’s exactly what I want.

Then We Took It to the Graffiti

Next up: graffiti alley.

Taylor changed into another outfit, and suddenly the session had an entirely different energy.

This is where we really leaned into the contrast between her different interests and sides of her personality.

And then came the ballet shoes.

Taylor brought her old pointe shoes and ballet shoes from childhood, and we incorporated them into the session in a way that felt much more unexpected than a traditional ballet portrait.

Instead of putting her in a classic dance studio and calling it done, we paired ballet with the gritty, urban feel of the Crossroads.

Pointe shoes + graffiti + brick + an urban Kansas City setting?

Yes, please.

I love creating senior portraits that take something meaningful to a senior and put it somewhere unexpected.

A Softer Side at Kauffman Legacy Park

From the gritty streets of the Crossroads, we shifted gears completely.

Our final location of the evening was Kauffman Legacy Park, where we moved into a much softer, floral, feminine look.

Taylor brought along some of her childhood stuffed animals, which added an incredibly sweet and nostalgic element to the photos.

We also photographed her with her childhood ballet shoes and pointe shoes.

And this is where her session became about more than just creating pretty pictures.

These details represented pieces of who Taylor was growing up and who she is becoming now.

That’s one of my favorite things about senior photography. Senior year is such a weird little in-between moment. You’re still connected to your childhood while simultaneously getting ready to step into something completely new.

Sometimes the things you bring to your senior session help tell that story better than anything else could.

Whatever it is, bring it.

I will find a way to make it part of the story.

And Then We Added Theater

Because apparently one evening of senior pictures wasn’t enough for Taylor. 😉

One of the biggest perks of choosing an Icon Senior Experience is that we don’t have to cram every single idea into one session.

We were able to come back another day and photograph Taylor at her high school.

And this time, we focused on another huge part of her life: theater.

We photographed throughout the auditorium, on the stage, and in the dressing rooms, creating images that felt completely different from everything we had photographed during her Crossroads session.

We also worked in a few more ballet photos.

And because Taylor’s friend Isabelle was also an Icon senior, they were able to do some photos together, too.

That is something I absolutely love about senior sessions.

Your senior photos don’t have to be one outfit, one location, and one version of you.

You can have the glamorous photos.

The weird photos.

The nostalgic photos.

The city photos.

The childhood photos.

The photos with your best friend.

The photos that show what you love doing after school.

The photos that make your parents cry a little.

The photos that make your friends say, “THAT IS SO YOU.”

You can have all of it.

Your Senior Pictures Should Look Like You

Taylor’s session is exactly why I love photographing Kansas City high school seniors.

There wasn’t one single aesthetic.

There wasn’t one specific “look.”

Instead, we created a session around her.

That’s what I mean when I say your senior session can be completely custom.

If you have an idea that feels a little weird, a little random, or completely different from what you’ve seen other seniors do, tell me about it.

I want to hear it.

Because some of my favorite senior sessions start with a senior saying, “Okay, this might sound crazy, but…”

And my answer is usually, “Okay, let’s figure out how to make it happen.”

If you’re a Kansas City high school senior looking for senior pictures that are fun, unique, personal, and completely different from everyone else’s, I’d love to create something with you.

Your senior year only happens once.

Let’s make photos that actually feel like your story.