Senior pictures have some seniors stressed, and some submitting.

The culture of senior pictures takes over a girl’s Instagram feed from the beginning of their junior year. For boys, senior pictures are just checking off a box. In some cases, it can be the most stressful part for seniors next to college applications.

It is seen as a tradition amongst most seniors to take professional pictures. During their junior year, public and private school students alike start thinking about their senior photos. Where they will take them, what they will wear, who they will book to take the pictures. Since the late 1800s, it has been a tradition to do so.

Most students at Williston take senior pictures. Girls, perhaps unsurprisingly, put more thought into it than the boys.

Nina Coffee, senior from Old Lyme, Conn., enjoyed her senior photo experience.

“I wanted to take senior pictures,” she said. “I feel like it’s the final hurrah, so it’s nice to have something to look back on when you’re older.”

Finn Carswell, senior from Northampton, Mass., likes the idea but didn’t have a lot of direction at first.

“I am doing them because I want to do them, but the idea would not have come to me on my own unless my mom told me,” Finn told The Willistonian. “If I didn’t have someone explain it to me, I would not have seen the importance of it.”

Morgan Dulude, from Holyoke, Mass., wanted to keep the memory in photo form.

“I did want to take senior pictures because I think it’s fun to compare them to other milestone photos like first day of school ones,” Morgan said.

Most students here at Williston take their senior photos at home during the summer and submit them to the school. Some students take their senior photos here at Williston, some with their own photographer, some with a photographer hired by the school.

Novella Photography is hired by Williston to take senior portraits. To take a sitting portrait it costs $30, for a 60-90 minute session it costs a flat fee of $450. Most students that take their pictures on campus take them in and around the Academic Quad.

The usual stereotype is that boys only take pictures because their moms want them to.

Dean Ruksnaitis, senior from Paxton, Mass., is just trying to please his mom.

“I did it because it was gonna make my mom happy, but I didn’t really want to dress up and get real photos.”

Nina agrees with the stereotype.

“I feel like guys don’t really want to take photos for the most part,” she said. “It’s more like their parents are making them take their senior photos or like they’re doing it because they have to.”

Jayme Cerasuolo, senior from Hampden, Mass., unlike most girls, thought senior pictures are pointless.

“I did not want to get senior pictures done because I think it’s a big pain,” she said.

Dean thinks it is all just an Instagram stunt.

“Girls always post it on Instagram and dudes never do that,” Dean said.