Let Me School You!

When I was little girl I remember it well. My mom would do my hair special that day. Sometimes it was a braid, other times I got to have the hot rollers and hairspray. My most perfect outfit laid out the night before including all matching accessories. We had to be careful not to spill our breakfast or step into a puddle. Don't you dare be late to wake up people, it was PICTURE DAY!

We would line up with our class and step up to the big brown cardboard box of disposable one-time use black hair combs. “How do I look?” you’d ask your best friend. “Pretty!”

Angela? Turn your head, lift your chin, now lower your chin look left. I had practiced my “picture day smile” all morning!

Weeks would pass and the teacher would finally come around and pass out those giant white envelopes with the loud clear plastic on the front. There was just enough viewing room to see your face in 8 wallets peeking through. With great anticipation and excitement I would look, only to find oatmeal on the side of my mouth. No joke. My kindergarten picture is complete with me in an adorable bow, and colorful plastic necklace my mom let me pick out to wear and a chunk of quaker oatmeal stuck to the side of my mouth. Insert disappointment eye roll here.

I forgive this high volume school photographer and chalk it up to back in the day film processing and the fact they were paid hourly or contracted from a large company lacking care and attention to detail.

Now, here we are 2019. The fantastic digital world gives us the ability to look at the back of the camera and avoid closed eyes, hair out of place and disheveled clothing. WHY OH WHY do we STILL have school pictures of our most precious people come back with closed eyes! It’s mind boggling!

My son is wrapping up his first year in Kindergarten. I waited, hopeful, that perhaps his underwhelming preschool pictures were just a fluke. Big fat nope.

Is my son the light of my life and any picture of him cute? Yes, however, when you know better you do better. As a Fine Art School Photographer, I know better.

I have been studying for over a year and investing in mentorships from experienced photographers who have built their career around school photography. After learning from the best I am ready to give more to schools.

I am giving you more than a couple of the same poses, more interaction to illicit genuine looks and NO more stiff forced smiles.

Some families don’t have the budget for professional photography and school photos are the only chance they get to have real portraits of their kids. I deliver that for schools with competitive pricing and an easy ordering system.

As a parent I wanted to have options for other parents. I deliver 3-5 images to choose from with both print and digital purchase options.

The other unique offering I incorporated is siblings. The option to have siblings together is such a special opportunity. Sometimes we capture them being silly together and sometimes they are serious. These images are so special and make a great keepsake to send to grandparents and family.

I also have the option of boutique products like canvases. Some families simply prefer to order the digitals and post to social media and email to grandparents to save on mailing. The choice is yours. If you don’t fall madly in love with any of the images there is no advanced purchase or any for that matter required.

My passion stems from my infatuation with the miracle of children. The best part is unlike adults who have grown uncomfortable with their photo taken, children smile bigger and squeal with delight when I show them the back of my camera!

My favorite part is when they want to take even more photos after they see how they turn out.

Our children are not average, why should their school photos be?

xoxo

Angela