School Photos Don't Have to Look Like School Photos

About 6 years ago I decided to pursue a career as a portrait photographer. And one of the avenues I took involved school photography. I did so because I saw a need for a change. We have been accepting school photos as they have been for as long as I could remember. My children's photos were looking no different from mine, which were taken nearly 30 years prior. It just didn't feel right, nor did I have any desire to put them on display. They were merely a record of a child's development and growth.

So I set out to change that. At the time a rather large, nationwide chain of studios was doing well with the ever popular white background photography. I couldn't help but think how well that would work with school portraits.

To me the photo still needs to remain a record of a child's growth and development but it should also have an element of fun and freedom. The white background leaves the image free from distractions, and the space in my compositions gives the child space to be free and just be. It does exactly what I want it to do. Its relaxed and fun, as children should be.

Our school portraits are continueing to be successful and we are growing this aspect of our business each year. We don't wish to be solely school photographers so it is not an aspect of our business we are pushing at full speed. Variety is the spice in my life which is why we are maintaining this side to our business even though our our new studio is really taking off.

Anyway, I am very proud of our school portraits. It is important to me that quality be the common thread amongst all my work, regardless of whether or not the portraits are taken in my studio or in a school or nursery. So I thought I would share some examples of my school portraits so those who don't have children at one of my schools can see that they aren't the typical or average school portrait. I hope you can see that they are so much more than that.

If your children attend a school with photos you are not happy with and would like to see photos like the ones displayed here please get in touch and we can provide a sample pack for taking into your school to show the staff. I can't gaurantee it will make any difference but it doesn't hurt to try.

Comments

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work.

In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below.

(It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain)
I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me seemed somewha…

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog.

Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vanity F…

4 Merits, 3 Finalists, 2 Awards and a Masters!

This past week at the Societies of Photographers Convention in London was just about perfect in every way. As always I look forward to this event with mixed emotions. As a judge and speaker anxiety levels can be high. And I always know that through both working and socialising it can be an exhausting experience that is often hard to get through. However the high I finish on is simply incredible and worth all the sleepless nights and hard work, in large part due to the incredible people with whom I get to spend this week.

(Photo Credit: Mike McNamee - Sitting on a panel)
(Photo Credit: Mike McNamee - The entire judging team including print handlers)
Being amongst the judging team just gets better and better each year. It is very intimidating sitting on that panel and being resposible for assigning a score and then often providing a critique to substantiate it however the rewarding feeling when doing it well is immense. I know I am still a relatively new judge but hope I can improve each…

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before.

When I first heard that Phoebe was transi…

A Most Wonderful Portrait Session with 3 Lovely Ladies

This was a dream session for me. Not only did I have 3 beautiful young ladies, but they also brought with them a fantastic wardrobe and their very own hair stylist too (mum owns her own salon). So all the elements for beautiful portraits were there. And I was thrilled to get this opportunity.

Its easy to think of having portraits when you have a new baby or when you get married or have a special family occasion where you get the entire family portrait done. But its less often that people think of having their growing children photographed. After all I suppose, they are photographed at school. I even do some of those school photographs. However, those portraits are made in less than a minute per child and they are assembly line style portraits while they are wearing their school uniform. They are never going to be as special as what can be created with unlimited time and outfit changes in the comfort of a private studio.

Its in this environment that I can take the time to talk to the …

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog