This is one of my all-time favorite Kelsh boy back-to-school photos—it’s Teddy meeting his teacher for the first time. But it’s that hand reluctantly holding on to the outside world that touches my heart so much. It’s a little tiny story within a story. Notice that picture is all about body language.
Photography’s a lot like all of the arts. It’s often what’s below the surface that’s more interesting than the apparent and the obvious. Some of the little moments we pay almost no attention turn into our very best photographs. Funny how that works.
(And how a story is told can be more compelling than what actually happened. It’s the telling of the story and not the story itself. Ask Mr. Shakespeare.)
So that’s where you come in on the first day of school as the family photographer, the family storyteller, the family memory preserver. (Please don’t let me scare you away. This is the fun part.)
Millions of kids start school in the next weeks. On the surface it’s really not all that significant; everybody does it. On the other hand, like all mundane moments in our seemingly mundane lives there are little stories within the story to be found and cherished like the gems they are.
But you need to keep your eyes open. They can easily slip by if you don’t pay attention. Even when you have a camera in your hands they can go unnoticed. Believe me, I know. The cure for this is step outside yourself and be an observer.
Many of the best photographs ever taken are of totally unexpected, completely unpredictable moments within moments. You really need to be on your toes.
Practice observing.
Here are a few back-to-school stories-within-the-story examples:
- When your kid has to run back into the house because he forgot his lunch, that’s a picture.
- When your pre-schooler totally looses it because she can’t go to school with her big sister, that’s a picture.
- When your daughter can’t stop admiring herself in the mirror as models her new back-0to-school wardrobe, it’s a picture.
- When your son’s packing his own first day of school lunch, that’s a picture.
- When your kids body language screams boredom as they’re waiting for that late bus, that’s a picture.
- When your granddaughter shakes hands for the first time with her new teacher, that’s a picture.
- When your grandson turns and waves goodbye at morning dropoff, that’s a picture.
- When your son high-fives his friends on the playground before school starts, that’s a picture.
- When your fifth-grader holds your first-grader’s hand as they walk into school—without being told, that’s really a picture.
This poignant image by Kerry Gibson is more than a simple and obvious “saying goodbye” photo. The fact that you can see both dad and mom in the reflections makes this a “our little girl is growing up” classic. One of my all-time favorites. Look at that face!
Cherie Lawson’s daughter may being singing a different tune in years to come, but for now this picture says so much about how she feels about here older siblings who get to go to school and she’s stuck at home with mom.
It may not scream back-to-school, but it’s a Kelsh family first day of school ritual that we all love.
At first glance, it’s just a quick snapshot in the kitchen, but it’s a back-to-school photo of Jodi Bondy’s daughter as she returns to school—this time as the teacher. Teachers have first days of school, too. I love the heartfelt simplicity of this picture. It warms my heart every time I look at it.
If mom and dad both have time to take the kids to school on that first day, the photo ops are going to be plentiful. that early morning sunshine really sets a mode, too. Photo by Meaghan Skelly Petrowsky
You get the idea.
Are there any “stories with the story” that you’ve photographed on the first day of school? I’ll bet if we put our heads together we could come up with a great list of first day of school photos. We’d love to hear YOUR ideas.
