How I Photographed The First Day of School

September 2022

First day of school photos are a classic family rite. Our boys went back to school two weeks a go and I took the last First Day of School pic of my son Alexander. He’s a senior this year.  (Of course there will be off-to-college pics next year, but that’s a whole different thing—and a different kind of photo.)

And, truth be told, I sort of botched the shot. As a professional photographer it clearly wasn’t my best effort, but here’s what I got:

First Day of School 2022: Alexander is a SENIOR! And Teddy starts high school—9th grade.

Botched because we didn’t allow enough time to get my big boy camera out, or even get the boys posed appropriately. (Gotta love Alexander who, in either an obligatory or genuine big brother way instinctively puts his arm around his little brother—sometimes it works (you’ll see the 2013 version below) but in this case with Teddy oblivious and unmoving, not so much. And the glaring light and flare is distracting and the photo quality isn’t great.

Anne says she botched it too because in past years she’s always suggested the boys wear collar shirts with no writing or logos (she’s old school) on the first day but when Alexander opted to start his senior year in his favorite t-shirt—a gift from his cousin from our Cape May vacation) she—wisely—didn’t say a word.

Oh, well, so we didn’t get one of those posed “This is your senior’s last formal First Day of School” photo to pair with his kindergarten shot to show the passage of time. That’s okay, I say. A first day of school photo doesn’t have to be a great photo. Sure, it’s nice if it is, but in the end, it’s really about what the kids look like in a moment in time, starting each new school year.

So for us, this year in the heat of the moment just happened to be a “Boys, don’t keep the bus driver waiting, but look back at me for a quick photo before you board the bus” shot.

But when it occurred to us after the bus drove off that that was the last First Day of School photo for Alexander, Anne pulled up all the previous ones and we took a look back at all our boys’ First Day of School pics through the years. And, yes, it brought a lump to our throats.

I’ve offered various bits of advice on different ways to capture this annual rite but the fact is, in spite of Anne trying to insist on (and direct!) the same posed shot each year, we inevitably had some years where we just didn’t get it. Hey, it happens to the best of us. So if you find you’ve missed a planned shot on occasion let yourself off the hook and just capture what your kids look like the second day or the first weekend (when there’s no morning rush). While that traditional first day posed photo seems like the money shot, the fact is, as you can see in the series below, it’s really just about seeing what they look like with each passing year of their grade school and high school lives.

2010

So here’s Alexander on his first day of school. And, yes, Anne took a lot of flack for sending him off for such an important day in those shoes. I mean, seriously, what would the other kindergartners—especially the cool ones— think?  But look at Alexander’s face. He didn’t care what he had on his feet. He’s a big schoolboy now, wearing the polo and khakis uniform and the proud owner of his first real backpack. He’s even got some sort of sticker on his arm but darned if any of us, thirteen years later, have any idea what it is. This is a classic photo of a child excitedly facing the momentous first day of kindergarten.

Alexander, First Day of Kindergarten, September 2010

(Anne regrets that because the kids had to use the back entrance we didn’t get a shot of Alexander in front of the school. Sure that would have made a better looking background but, trust me, it’s the kid and the outfit and expression that matters.)

2011

The next year we switched Alexander to a new school, The Waldorf School of Philadelphia, for first grade.

First Day of School 2011 — Alexander, First Grade Rose Ceremony

(Note that it was another bad footwear year—this time rain necessitating boots, which I had to hastily patch with duct tape. Not our proudest parenting moment!)

Waldorf Schools welcome children into the grades with a sweet ceremony in which each outgoing eighth grader presents a rose to the first grader they’ll be supporting through the first year. No fancy posed picture here, just a quick snapshot of a boy with his symbolic grade school rose. (Are you bothered by the kid in the background? Anne is, but I’m not. ________)

Families escorted the kids into the classroom so I had a chance to get some storytelling shots (these are screenshots from my Radio Picture Show video so please excuse the poor quality screenshot—I’ll update with the real photos when I find them).

Alexander’s First Day of First Grade (2011) with his teacher, Mrs. Stevens

Alexander First Day of First Grade—hugging little brother goodbye

Alexander’s first day of 1st grade—he’s the one who doesn’t appear to have any first grader apprehension!

2012

Uh-oh, photo-management alert—we can’t find Alexander’s second grade back to school photo! We can’t remember whether I took one with my big camera or Anne took one with her iphone but, given that I’m a photographer and Anne’s a sentimental mother (not to mention the fact that together we run a business called “How to Photograph Your Life”) it’s hard to believe that one or both of us didn’t photograph our son’s First Day of Second Grade. That photo’s got to be on a hard drive somewhere and I’m confident we’ll find it but let this be my warning to you all to be sure you have all your photos backed up and labeled and stored properly. (Do as I say and not as I apparently did back then—or should I say didn’t do?!)

2013

But moving on, how ’bout this next pic of my boys, when Teddy starts kindergarten under the protective wing of his proud big brother, now with normal shoes but someone’s hand me down sweater covering (to Anne’s dismay) his new first day of school shirt.

Teddy’s First Day of Kindergarten; Alexander’s First Day of Third Grade. (2013)

This is Anne’s favorite of all of the boys’ first day of school pics and who can blame her—it captures the kids in their outfits (well, except for the new shirt, chosen to match Alexander’s blue eyes, unfortunately hidden) with brand new lunch box in front of their school. It’s a classic. The woman in the background at right bothers Anne because her bright red pants draw the eye away from the boys to her pants. Would the photo be better without any extras in it? Sure, maybe, or maybe not—she’s a point of reality, I say, as is the other woman in left background. I could make a case for a quick edit to change her pants to some neutral color and maybe even tone down her scarf a bit, just to keep the focus on the boys. (If you wonder where to draw the line on editing that changes the reality of a shot—such as changing someone’s clothing color—ask yourself if it changes the authenticity of the photo subject.  And in this case of a passerby’s bright red legs stealing my boys’ first day of school thunder, I’d say it’s fine to change it. But then again, you’ll notice I didn’t take the time. It’s just a pic for a family album after all.

And, by the way, if you wondered if Teddy was nervous about starting kindergarten I guess this second shot of him independent from big brother says it all. The fact is, he couldn’t wait for us to leave, making it quite a painless kindergarten first day drop-off.

And while Anne still had a thing for vintage/European kindergarten shoes, at least Teddy’s weren’t white like Alexander’s! Teddy had a major, “Mom, what were you thinking” moment when he saw this.  Couldn’t have also been a “Dad, what were you thinking” as, in hindsight, I may have overdirected the pose a tad.” Whether he struck that pose naturally or not, though, the fact is he was a relaxed, confident (in spite of the risky shoes) boy ready to start his school journey.

Teddy’s first day of Kindergarten. No he wasn’t nervous.

2014

Here are my boys—Teddy happy to be starting 1st grade and Alexander entering 4th. (Is Alexander at the age of not wanting to cooperate for photos, or just looking, as his aunt allowed, “earnest”? I couldn’t be sure…you make the call!)

First Day of School 2014: Teddy, 1st Grade and Alexander, 4th Grade

This year, in addition to the standard brothers pose, I followed as Anne took Teddy in to his first grade classroom and got this storytelling shot of my boy meeting the teacher he’d have throughout grade school. (In Waldorf Schools the same teacher takes the kids from 1st grade through 8th grade so this was a big deal.) Most parents take the first day of schools shots at home, where they (theoretically) have time to get the desired shot, or with the bus or in front of the school. But if you have access inside the school to get storytelling or detail shots, consider yourself lucky.

Teddy meeting his teacher on the first day of First Grade

Here’s the photo I shot today of my son, Teddy, entering the First Grade. What do you think… BLACK & WHITE OR COLOR?  So far, looks like most of you think this story works best in B&W, which is how I originally saw it myself. Over 70% of you like the classic, timeless look and/or how the B&W mutes the distracting colors and patterns. On the other hand, almost 30% think the color version tells the better story, stating it’s warmer, less “flat” and that the blonde/blue colors amid the others actually serve to draw the focus to Teddy. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

2015

The following year the boys started taking the bus to school, which was a big deal for them. So that is what I documented.

First Day of School-2015: Teddy 2nd Grade, Alexander 5th Grade

Because of the distance and the hats in this photo I also wanted to better record what they looked like when they started 2nd and 5th grades so I shot another photo (below) after school that afternoon. Even if you didn’t shoot a nice close up of them on the actual first day it’s really not too late to take this very important picture of what they look like each year.

Alexander (10) and Teddy (7) First Day of School 2015

2016

The following year The Waldorf School of Philadelphia, moved to a new location—a gorgeously renovated old church.

First Day of School 2016: Teddy, 3rd Grade; Alexander 6th Grade

And here’s a shot of the new school, for reference, so just imagine the boys posed in front of it. 🙂

The Waldorf School of Philadelphia, 2016

2017

The first day of school was fairly smooth for the Kelsh boys. They were both up at 6:30 and eager to get to there on time—a step in the right direction. There was a slightly tense moment about a block from school when Teddy accused his mother of messing up his gel. I chose to stay out of it; if you consider taking a picture staying out of it.

I’m not sure where Teddy heard this line (I know he didn’t write it) but he told us in the car on the way to school that the first thought that went through his mind when he woke up was that he was “entering a long black corridor without end.” (Harry Potter, maybe?)

First Day of School at the new Waldorf School of Philadelphia 2017: Teddy, 3rd grade and Alexander, 6th grade

 

Anne is old school. Blue eyes equals blue everything.

2018

First Day of School 2018: Alexander, 8th grade, and Teddy, 5th grade

2019

2019 brought a huge change and made our first day of school photo more significant than ever. After talking about moving from our home in Philadelphia to the Western Catskills Mountains (the Great Western Catskill Mountains, as the tourism website calls them!) we finally did it.

First Day of School in our new home in the Catskills. Teddy, 6th grade, Alexander, 9th grade. Delaware Academy, 2017

Of course I had to make this photo Black and White!

2020

First Day of School 2021. Teddy, 7th grade, Alexander 10th grade, and two of our foster sons, 6th grade and 5th grade

2021

We sprinkled the weekend with little First Day of School sermons about being polite to the bus driver, respecting teachers, and taking care of the new students. Let’s see if any of it sticks. They were both totally jazzed! Although it’s difficult to tell in this photo, Anne decided to give both boys haircuts ten minutes before the school bus was scheduled. It was considered a dubious decision by all.

First Day of School 2021. Teddy, 8th grade, Alexander 11th grade.

Did this happen at anyone else’s house? The boys missed their bus when everyone was distracted by mom’s First Day of School Photo Shoot.

2022

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