Among the least important effects of the pandemic of the school year was the dislodging of school picture day from its traditional slot on the fall calendar. William’s school, Booksin Elementary, actually gave up on it entirely: they sent a message out to parents asking them to take pictures of their kids for the yearbook, perhaps fearing that they wouldn’t be able to get them on campus for professional portraits. Julia and Joe’s school, University Preparatory Academy, has, for better or for worse, more freedom to make (and change) decisions on the fly, and they decided to simply delay picture day indefinitely in the hope that they could pull something together in the spring, and their bet paid off. Hence, Julia and Joe have professionally lit and composted portraits this year, and William… does not.
In truth, I was happy and excited about the opportunity to take William’s picture. I’m always grateful for an excuse to pull out my camera and try something a little different, even if the camera itself is hardly top of the line: there are high school graduates younger than my camera. Of course, you can tell at a glance that William’s portrait was taken by an amateur: there are shadows on his face that no professional photographer would accept; the backdrop is overly distracting; and it took an ungodly number of shots to for me to be confident that the focus was correct. That said, I thought it turned out reasonably well for a first effort, and was making mental plans to improve and streamline the process for Julia and Joe’s pictures.
Alas, it was not meant to be. When UPA announced their plans to reopen this spring, they also announced their plans for school pictures, which included separate days for kids in each of the cohorts that were to split time on campus, as well as distinct days for kids, like Julia, in cohort C, who had opted to stay home full-time. In truth, I was a little disappointed, even if it did save me from buying a couple hundred dollars’ worth of lights, and the results were better than I could have produced even given an unlimited budget.
The versions embedded in this post are small, low-resolution copies of the kids’ portraits. To view and download the full size versions, you can check their dedicated galleries.
Occasional Dispatches from San Jose 