Here at GotPhoto, we have the privilege of seeing inspiring work from our photographers, who live all over the world. Today, we would like to show you the work of three of these school photographers and let them tell you in their own words what makes their work so special.
United States: Erica Morrow, Slow Road Photo
I want all the focus to be on the kids- their sparkly eyes, their mischievous smiles and their sweet, chubby fingers. I love creating what feels like a fine art portrait, not a school photo.
These little ones grow up to be photographed more than any other generation of children, but we won’t have much proof of it because we rarely print the photos. School portraits are consistently one type of picture parents print. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be as artistic and beautiful as the photos they would buy from a professional session with a photographer. I’m trying to create a similar experience in their school.
My secret? I keep it simple. I don’t like props or gimmicks, and my background and style are consistent from year to year to keep things classic. I just talk to the kids. I try to get them to speak honestly about their lives, whether it’s a favourite game or a new sibling. That authentic conversation and connection create authentic faces. I never ask a child to say cheese or force a smile. Real is always best, whether it’s a big toothy grin or a pensive face with eyes to the ground. It’s all beautiful as long as it’s real.
Check out Slow Road Photo for more inspiration.
United Kingdom: Steve Mussell, NiceSmile
We believe our photos are unique because we have evolved a number of techniques such as using a super small depth of field. We also have designated ‘entertainers’ to enable photos to be taken of children looking in various directions, and not just at the camera.
Creative posing also helps plus we have techniques that enable us to get difficult children to behave. However, if I were to tell you what these techniques are I would have to kill you – just kidding. We don’t use many props nowadays but maybe we should return to using them. We use a little bit of vignetting in order to add a certain ‘je ne sais quoi”.
On our ‘natural’ shoots we recreate daylight to avoid the inconsistency that comes with using real daylight. We use about four lights on high-speed sync to kill the ambient light and add some hair and background light.
Dominic Bryant