School Photo - Bird-child - Photographers
Being a School Photographer is no easy job. One would think that taking school photos of birds would be a fun and easy profession.
Not so much.
It takes several shots and several minutes of constant coaching to hopefully capture THE SHOT you want the kids to take home to their families. You really WANT the parents to WANT to buy the school photo that you took of their child!
For those of you who have wondered how a typical bird school photo session works, I have provided a sample featuring one of the recent school photo sessions I filmed at the Robin Redbreast Elementary School in Newark, Delaware. The child in the photograph's name is Forrest.
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The first thing you do when you get to the school, is set up your school picture, photo prop area. Always make sure that there is a stool for the child to sit on so that it is CLEAR and evident where the bird-child should sit.
Here is how the session with Forrest went...
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“Forrest…please go BEHIND the prop and sit on the little stool for me OK?”
“I don’t wanna. The stool looks yucky.”
“The stool is FINE Forrest. Please just hop up on it and have a seat OK buddy?!”
“I don’t wanna! I don’t like stools. I WANNA CHAIR!”
“OK Forrest…how about this?!...IF you get up on the stool, I'LL GIVE YOU ...a nice FAT WORM! – How about THAT my little bird friend?”
“There is bird poop on this stool and it’s NOT mine! I’m going to get down!”
“No Forrest, hold on, just stay there! … I'll tell you what... I’m giving you a worm, (it will be just like you get at the doctor's office when you're good) only THIS time,...I'll give you the worm BEFORE we even take your photo!!! Now isn’t that nice of your school photographer?”
“Sluuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrp!”
“Ok now Forrest, as soon as you finish swallowing that worm. you just lift your head up, and look straight at the nice photographer OK?”
“You got any more worms back there?”
“If you look straight at the camera Forrest…there COULD BE another little something in it for you, OK?!”
“OK…how’s THIS?”
And THAT is how I get ... "An ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!"
school photo every time!