Every year since my daughters were little I have been a bit defiant about school photos. In other words, I just wasn't diggin' 'em. The fake backdrop of ugly grey or blue just didn't interest me. The bright flash, the sweating palms, the pretend setting… I have never been into them and knew we could always do better.
Take "alternative" school photos at your favorite Virginia State Park
In the old days (yeah I guess that means I am old when I can reminisce) you rarely had photos of anyone, except the school photos, so they were important. Parents paid a ton of money to get a whole set printed from the photographer who came to the school, and then mailed them out to the relatives. It was something we all did; just like Christmas cards (we may have even put them INSIDE the Christmas card).
Today most of us have digital cameras, or cell phone cameras etc, so the minute we take it we can send it off to friends and relatives. But schools still take school photos and some take class photos so they can all be in the class picture or year-book. I bet they get plenty more variety of photos than our old year-books! Anyway, they still want photos of kids with blase backgrounds. But do we have to give those to our friends and family? No! We can take some great photos ourselves.
So now to the meat of this article, I want to declare that:
VIRGINIA STATE PARKS ARE THE PERFECT SETTING FOR SCHOOL PHOTOS!
Our youngest daughter is a junior this year. When we passed a beautiful field of wildflowers at James River State Park we decided that we had found the perfect spot to capture the perfect shot!
We could have taken a photo in a kayak or along the river, sitting on a boulder or log, but the flowers beckoned us! She is at the retro stage of her life, where she loves throwback styles, peace signs and tie-dyes. So this fit in with that "flower power" kind of groove. (Besides, girls look pretty in flowers! Shhh don't tell her I said that though). She is in marching band, and the photos of her in her uniform, well…they all look uniform.
Wildflowers at James River State Park
The perfect backdrop for the perfect school photo – at a Virginia State Park
The look was from the bees, the ticks, the heat and the hurry up Mom!
While I had the camera, I decided a photo of our two girls together would be wonderful
I am here to remind you, when you camp or cabin, or day-visit your favorite Virginia State Park this summer, take as many photos as you can. Yes, everyone is running around, having a blast and it is difficult to get anyone to sit still long enough to take a nice school photo. But trust me, later on, when you get home you would have wished you did! So bring a couple extra shirts or something plain that won't distract from the amazing natural setting. Especially for younger kids, let them do their thing and pose you may be surprised at some super cute opportunities when they can share a little bit of their personality with the camera.
Then I hope you will tell the rel's and the friends where it was taken, encourage them to get outside too!
If you take any cool school photos at a Facebook page? We would love to see them. Have a great summer!
This will look nice in my wallet
YOU HAVE 36 VIRGINIA STATE PARKS TO CHOOSE FROM, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?