Awkward smiles. Tilting heads. Long lines. These are all hallmarks of one of the most stressful days the average high schooler experiences — Picture Day.  This year’s event was held on Sept. 28 at North Atlanta. While some dread getting their pictures taken, others don’t mind dressing up for the occasion, or in some cases, dressing a bit on the wack side.

For seniors, their picture day photographs are only used for their school IDs and their more serious pose is their senior formal photo which is not photographed on Picture Day. So since so few will the senior photos taken on Picture Day, it’s become a North Atlanta tradition that seniors go all out and sometimes make their ID photo as zany as possible. Senior Emily Mears sported pigtails and a fake moustache for her picture, but some of the even zanier outfits included even more props, like wigs, puppets and funky scarves.

In contrast to the light-heartedness of the ID photo, senior know there’s no kidding around with senior portraits, a rite of passage that in some ways is the ultimate sign of senior status. “Getting senior portraits was such a cool experience because we didn’t have that at my old school,” said Mears.

Even though the seniors don’t have to worry about their Picture Day photographs, the rest of the school does. While most people eventually lose interest in dressing to the nines, some students still put plenty of effort into their on-camera look. “I was confident. My outfit was on point. I looked like Kanye,” said senior Arham Bhimani said.

For others, picture day isn’t serious at all. For example, sophomore Brian Bird definitely did not take the traditional approach — rather he sported a money chain, headgear, bulky glasses, a butt cut and a popped collar.

Regardless of the effort individuals put into their presentation, whether to look fashionable or wacky, many people agree that Picture Day was made out to be a bigger deal in elementary school. Junior Tylen Shelton remembers that pictures took up the entire school day, and everyone had to wear a uniform.

Like it or not, Picture Day is an age-old school tradition. Only time will tell how everyone’s pictures turned out. But whether good, bad, wacky or nice, it’s always fun to see your photo in the yearbook. And if you don’t like the way you look, there’s always next year, right?