There are a lot of difficult decisions to make in the final years of high school. Count among them the senior yearbook picture.

“Sixty to seventy percent of families are stressed out,’’ said photographer Greg Nikas of Sweethaven Studio in Newburyport. “Everybody has a perception of what they look like or what they want their kids to look like.’’

Nikas, who specializes in portrait photography, wants to ease the process.

“It’s a collaboration [involving students and parents, usually mothers],’’ he said. “When a dad comes in, I know I have a rare person.’’

Many schools have agreements with large studios for senior pictures, but Nikas said, “I get the people who don’t want to use who the school recommends. People should have an option.’’

He shoots in his studio and outdoors, often at the beach or local spots like Maudslay State Park in Newburyport.

We talked with Nikas, 66, of Newburyport, a former commercial and corporate photographer.

Q. Timing?

A.Between now and October. The deadline [for schools] is late November or December for submitting yearbook portraits.

Q. Options?

A. A studio session or outdoors, or half and half. I give kids a choice. It’s all about them. They have to be happy with these photos they will live with the rest of their lives.

Q. Process?

A. I tell them to bring in headphones and listen to music, and bring friends. It puts them at ease. In the studio, the camera is attached to a computer so the images can be shown on a screen and people can have input. It becomes very fluid and is a lot of fun. That’s when the good pictures come.

Q. Outdoors?

A. I like shooting outside for spontaneity. We are creating images that speak to who they are.

Q. Other options?

A. I do conceptual composites; photographing the person in the studio with a white background, then going on location and shooting the background.

Q. Quantity?

A.I shoot between 800 to 1,000 images because I want to make sure I’ve gotten it. If I don’t get that exact facial expression, they don’t buy it. Often, the one they choose for the yearbook is the last one I show them.

Q. Cost?

A. $250 in studio; $300 on location, both up to three hours. Prints vary.

Q. Irony?

A. My parents bought me a camera for high school graduation.?

Wendy Killeen can be reached at wdkilleen@gmail.com.