The following are some suggestions I took from my own experience and hearing from other photographers for shooting older children.

1. Regardless of your preferences, make sure you get at least one great conservative photograph. While this may not be your preferred image at the moment, mothers will often be interested in purchasing such a photograph.
2. For any senior, boy or girl, use ProSelect to create a design proof sheet or pages the customer can order from. While seniors like to shake things up, by showing them a layout of their images, with a pre-designed proof sheet, they have a starting point from which they can begin their customization.
3. Before presenting your images to your client, narrow down the images to the best images. You want to present some great options to your senior. If you provide too many options, you may find yourself overwhelmed by all the options.
4. Record various backgrounds and different styles. Portraits of older people are an emotional element for many. If he sees several great images of different settings, he (or more likely his mom) will likely buy a few of each style, which of course adds to the total purchase price.
5. Provide at least one free image with your copyright and post it on your client’s Facebook account. All the friends of the eldest will be able to see the image. This is great marketing and exposure for your business.
6. Before you can use any of the tips above, you need to get the elders in the door. As with weddings, where it is often the bride rather than the groom who spends the most time and resources on the photos, it is generally the moms, not the kids, who are most motivated to make photography a priority. . To trade around this resistance, offer a half hour session at $100. If you think you will be in and out fairly quickly, you are more likely to time the session. However, do not roll back these sessions consecutively. Often his mom will talk him into staying longer.

Older boys are both a challenge and an opportunity for a professional photographer. While they are sometimes reluctant to book and often require more grooming than their female counterparts, in many areas of the country this is an underserved market that is used effectively by a photographer.