As the school year comes to end, the now senior-less hallways have been filled with juniors ready for their own senior year to start. In these last few days of school, juniors have already started taking advantage of the coveted senior perks, such as parking spots and sitting in the commons, and have begun preparing for some of the challenging tasks that senior year entails. One of the most widely known events of the year–aside from applying to colleges,of course–is getting a senior portrait taken. Current juniors will be taking these photos in the upcoming months.

Every photo is taken courtesy of Visual Image Photography. However, despite the consistency of photographers, senior portraits always stand out for their classy and polished style with a black and white finish. It is the year where students’ yearbook pictures are a few centimeters bigger than the rest of the student body and because of this, an extra effort is always added when planning what to wear.

As years pass at Lake Forest High School and countless numbers of senior portraits are taken, one can’t help but notice the same trends that occur with each graduating class: their outfits. Even as style comes and goes, it seems at LFHS there is an unspoken tradition of what to wear when getting your photo taken. A vast majority of girls wear either a black dress or black blouse with a (pearl) necklace while boys go for a more clean-cut and simple sport coat and tie look. There is no rule that says students must dress in any specific attire, as long as it’s appropriate, but students continue to opt for a more professional look year after year. Why does this trend still occur?

Senior portraits are photos everyone looks forward to seeing; happy smiles and stylish outfits fill the pages. Each photo shows a different personality and captures the qualities that make up a student as they are placed next to their senior quote and a list of their involvement at the high school. Students like the idea of an original and classic look although there is no rule stating that they must wear a particular outfit. Senior portraits are an opportunity for students to dress more formal than previous yearbook photos and showcase a more professional quality in their photograph.

Every year there are students who break off from this so-called “trend” with stunning pictures and they still manage to maintain the same signature senior portrait look with a personal flair of their own. Regardless of the color or style of the formal attire worn, all students present quality photos and are true to themselves, which is exactly what the process is designed to represent. Every senior should have the ability to present their own look, whether that’s a variation of the traditional outfit or not, and make their own statement in their senior portrait.

While many students naturally wear similar things and are a fan of cohesive and accepted clothing lines and styles, it shouldn’t change what students are expected to wear, or put an underlying pressure to stick with the same styles. Since the photos are in black and white anyway, whether the student wears a deep red or bright yellow, the colors come out on grayscale in the yearbook, keeping everyone in the same color scheme. Students should wear a bold pattern if that’s the outfit they desire for their own senior picture. Even with the love for simplistic styles in senior portraits growing by the year, no student has ever been enforced by rule to follow the classic look or felt hatred for those who don’t.

Students recognize that a senior picture comes once in your high school career, and what you choose to wear is up to you. Many people will still continue on trends set forth by their predecessors because they’ve always looked forward to having the same, signature look for their senior picture and liked the uniformity in style. Others, however, use the senior portrait as a platform to highlight the unique and original nature of their personal style. This summer, as students go on to take their senior pictures, wear what suits yourself and, who knows, maybe this is the a new tradition is developed.