When searching for inspiration before a senior photo shoot, there is a ton for girls.  But not a lot for the guys!  But this session below by Amy Conner of Amy Conner Photography, gives you tons of Senior Guy Inspiration!  Read what Amy had to say about this session and a few tips from her on photographing the guys!  Thanks Amy!

What was your inspiration for this photo shoot?
His charming personality, musical talent, and our wonderful downtown Music City USA (Nashville, TN)

Where did this photo shoot take place?
Downtown Nashville, TN

Did you collaborate with this senior to come up with the clothing and/or concept for this shoot?
a little

What camera, lens or other equipment was used for this shoot?
Canon 5D Mark 2
Canon 70-200mm (2.8) EF Lens 
Canon 85mm (1.8) EF lens

What time of day were these taken?
about 2.5 hrs before sunset

Can you share any post-processing techniques used when editing this session?

Only used a few actions on a couple of images; other than that, I had to tweak a few images to get the color and contrast a little up… we had some overcast part of the shoot.

What is your favorite thing about this session?
Just the simplicity of Tyler and his guitar and his long board (2 things he loves) against these wonderful city/urban backdrops of downtown Nashville.. has a nice rugged feel to some of it.

What do you want this session to convey about this senior and about your senior photography style?
I love to get to know my clients and what they want their Sr. photos to say about them as a person and this time of their life. I love to custom design my Sr Sessions to really articulate who they are and what they enjoy.

What is one tip you can share with other photographers regarding photographing seniors?
Don’t make it your first goal to get cool images.  Make your sessions about serving your client first and working with them to get images that really represent them. Capture who they are and don’t get TOO caught up in props and posing. If your goal is to serve people well, you’ll get them images that hopefully exceed their expectation as well as images you’ll be proud to post and share.

What do you think is the difference between photographing senior guys and senior girls?  I would say one of the major differences I see between photographing senior guys vs senior girls is getting them comfortable in front of the camera.  If a girl has had her make-up and hair done and brings some cute outfits that she feels really good in, then it doesn’t take long for conversations to spark up about how good she looks and it builds her confidence which shows in her photographs.  With guys, I take a different approach…it’s more about discussing their likes and interest and making conversation that applies to them so that I’m taking their mind off of “I’m being photographed”.   Usually once we’ve gotten into some good conversation and I make some jokes and just make it really chill, then the ice breaks quick and we’re on own way to success!

What is one posing tip for senior guys that you can share with other photographers?  My big thing is making sure they look as relaxed and natural as possible.  I’m making sure I am coaching them on guy poses so not tilting their hips, no crossing their legs, no hand on hip, etc.   I may have them cross their arms and lean slightly up against something facing me almost square on, where as with a girl, I would have her drop one shoulder a little, tilt the hip a little, etc. I just think of posing that accents the male body body build and work with that. 
 Often I will demonstrate for a guy exactly what I want him to do while giving him instructions and then I let him create his own version of it. Once he’s in the position, I may have to coach him a little  on the details like hand placement, head turn/tilt, leaning more or less, etc but more often than not, they will find their own natural relaxed version of the pose just with some demonstration and a little coaching.  I want to capture them and their personality so if I’m posing them and it just doesn’t seem to be working for them, I have no problem scratching it and trying something different.  Keeping conversation flowing really helps them stay relaxed and comfortable so I try to mingle that in between posing, along with positive feedback and that seems to get us great results.