Update: We no longer schedule outside siblings at schools. However, we do have a makeup day each fall and spring in our Sterling, VA studio where families are welcome to sign up outside siblings! If you would like to be notified of these makeup days, please join my newsletter. The dates are always announced there first!
Preschoolers are some of my favorite subjects to photograph. I mean, who else is going to help me find names for my pet monkey? They can look pensive, silly, excited, and joyful all within the span of a few seconds. I’ve been so surprised when I start to photograph a child who seems super serious, and then he breaks out in a huge silly face. With preschoolers, they just have to be themselves, and they are adorable. I had so much fun with this preschool in Reston and some of the families have allowed me to share their children’s photos!
My version of school portraits is not really a new take. It’s going back to my parents and grandparents’ generation, when portraits were simple, clean, and focused on the person and not the background.
Each child gets at least 2-5 different poses in their gallery. Often there are many more images, in addition to black and white versions of each image. If a smile is just a bit wider in one similar pose than another, I want a parent to be able to decide which one they like better.
When one pose that is close up looks like another pose at a wider angle, again I put both in there for the parents to choose from. If there is a look that just might be something that this child does all the time, I leave that in. And then if the parents are like me, and always want them all, I offer all the digital files of their child for one heavily discounted price.
Although fall picture day comes just in time for holiday photos, spring picture day has its own major benefit. By the spring, many preschoolers are settled in and comfortable with school. They have learned to trust their teachers and in turn, the people their teachers trust to come in and take their photos.
One of the best parts about photographing in preschools is when there are siblings involved. Sometimes they are all students in the preschool. However, parents often will bring in younger and older children from outside the school. Each school administrator decides if they want to allow sibling photos. Each child gets their own photo gallery, but then there is a whole set of photos for the siblings too. Even if they don’t normally get this close to each other, when the photographer tells them to squeeze close, they usually do…and have fun!
One family brought in all four of their girls, even though only one attends the preschool. As one of four girls too, I was so excited! Mom really put a lot of thought into their outfits, and I appreciated that they wore coordinating but not completely matching outfits. It didn’t hurt that they were all super cute and great in front of the camera.
This school was absolutely delightful, from the administration to the students to the parents. Would you like to bring classic, beautiful, fine art portraits to your school? See more information on my School Photography page and fill out the form there to get started!
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