It’s that time of the year here in Australia. The uniforms are purchased, the new shoes are all shiny, the booklist is complete and books are covered with that pesky contact that seems to always have bubbles and creases in it no matter how hard we try. Yep it’s back to school time!
My girls are all grown up now and school is just a distant memory for them and me. If I’m truly honest though I do miss the stationery shopping and school book covering. Back in my day it was brown paper, magazine clippings and clear plastic that covered our books, much easier than contact. Oh and those book labels that came free with The Woman’s Weekly with the likes of Leif Garrett and David Cassidy on them…..sigh…..ok I digress.
What I’m really here to talk about are the school photos the kids dread at the beginning of the year and which I invariably forgot to take until about day 3. I’m here to remind you firstly to take them and secondly to give you a few ideas about how to make them a little more creative.
Firstly some general tips:
- Make sure your camera/phone battery is fully charged the night before.
- Leave plenty of time in the morning to get the shots and let your kids know ahead of time that you will be taking some photos to record these new beginnings and precious memories. Bribe the older ones if you need to!
- Full shade is your friend. Avoid full sun, you don’t want your kids squinting.
- When taking individual photos, ask your child a question about how they feel about the start of a new school year. Most kids will think about it before answering, be sure to capture this, the facial expressions can be priceless!
- Photograph from a high point, a balcony, small step ladder (remember safety) or use a selfie stick, this will eliminate busy backgrounds and isolate your child against the paving or grass.OK so here comes from creative ideas for you now…….
If you have some blank wall space around your home, capture your child off centre and leave some space around them. You can always write straight on the photo after you have it printed or add some text digitally about the Year they are in and what they are excited about. Another version of this would be to use chalk on your sidewalk and make your child lay down……just like this one.
Photo Credit Paging Fun Mums
Do you have a chalk board you can get your child to write something on? Or one of these Lightboxes?
Lightbox available at Typo stores
Then put something appropriate on it and include it in your photos.
Don’t forget the details, maybe get a shot of their lunch box, school bag contents, brushing their teeth, the time of the day you leave home.
Try and get in the shot yourself by using the self timer on your phone or camera. If your kids are up for it maybe take a photo of yourself jumping for joy (try not to celebrate too much) and your kids looking miserable that the Summer holidays are over.
If you walk your kids to school then photograph them from behind, particularly if they are older and pretend to be embarrassed by all the attention.
Lay their books out in front of them as a number of the Year they will be in.
Get close….yep even closer…..try and capture the emotions of your child on their first day.
If your child is driving to school, then perhaps get a photo of them behind the wheel or standing in front of their car with their books in their arms with the car keys.
AND
When it’s all over, make sure you put your feet up and have a well deserved cuppa!
I’m looking forward to seeing YOUR photos of your kids First Day of School for 2016 on Social Media, be sure to share the memories!
Sharon x
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