My First Ever Microschool Photoshoot
If you've ever worked in a preschool or daycare, you know the chaos of getting toddlers and young children to sit and listen to a book every day on a set schedule they have been trained to expect, let alone to give them something totally new and out of the ordinary where they can only participate one at a time otherwise have to wait their turn, like a picture day. With the help and planning of the teacher, I had the most successful possible first experience managing a microschool picture day while she managed the bribes and rewards. These kids were so ready for it and I am so glad I caught some behind the scenes to share with you and permission from parents of a couple even of my very favorite moments. If you pay attention when we get to the video you may even notice me go cross-eyed in full "only for the kids, photographer mode".
What Is A Microschool?
If you’re not familiar, a microschool is a small, close-knit learning environment— a traditional classroom, but scaled way down so every kid feels seen. Miss Mary's in particular is an in-home preschool with 12 kids of different age groups. Other elementary and higher level microschools may also focus on a specific pedagogical approach, such as Montessori schools, STEM schools, Charlotte Mason, faith-based, secular, or accomodating neurodiverse students. Some focus on a very specific age group, but many are much more flexible in the age range of their students than U.S. public school classrooms.
I have explored interest in microschools in the past so I was really excited to get this message that there was a preschool (such a fun age to photograph) and they wanted to try something new with a mix of their enrolled students and a couple baby siblings! I think at first I just assumed that because my own kids start "official" preschool no earlier than 3, that the "babies" were not actual babies. But as we planned more and I gathered more info, and grandparents started requesting to join the shoot too, and notes about siblings needing pictures together came in, I realized that this preschool accommodated more ages than I had expected and this photoshoot was getting bigger and bigger every day with more people getting involved.
In the words of Pete the Cat, "Did she panic? GOODNESS, NO!"
Except she did. But only for a moment before she got really really excited. Because why not?! The more the merrier!
Behind the Scenes: Setting Up
I wanted to use this cute ABC setup I've been eyeing. I didn't have the time to do back-to-school minis this season, but thought if I just get it for this then I could have it ready for next year too. And Miss Mary was so enthusiastically on board, it made my day! But its a pretty big setup so the most important step of this whole picture day was actually in stopping by the house earlier in the week to see the layout, and it worked out perfectly that the yard stays covered in shade all morning long! The lighting was perfect, I was able to enter through a side gate and set up without disrupting the kids' routine too much (the kids could see me through the window, of course), and we had all the space needed for moving around.
This setup took about 20 minutes to put together, though you'll notice that halfway through my brain finally registered the bump in the rug and restarted.
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Tricks for Real Smiles
Now to the fun part - getting those genuine little gap-toothed, eye to eye smiles! Miss Mary had these kiddos ready before they even came out to me with the promise of special treats as soon as their pictures were taken, so my work wasn't even that hard on this day. Gotta give credit where credit is due. But we did have a couple kids that were too nervous to crack. And what do I do then when this kid is giving me the thousand-yard stare of the century? And I mean, I am singing, and waving my lion camera buddy, and asking questions, and in return just getting a BLANK stare back. You know what cracks a kid like that?
Balloons.
Yup. I am so glad I had thrown one in my bag on the way out the door. I have used balloons in other kids shoots before. I have been known to toss balloons at the kids, to shake balloons over my head for babies to look at, to promise them they can take the balloon home if they smile. Balloons rarely fail.
So we blew up the balloon with all our hopes and hail mary's, and the video below is what we got. Isn't it perfect?! I love that you can see her track the balloon, look back at the camera, still very much not smiling, and then suddenly she just cracks with the brightest and biggest smile. Her family got a super cute album after that with a number of smiling poses at different angles.
The Results
By the end, pencils had been wielded as swords, I had been given a tour of the yard by a particularly enthusiastic although unimpressed three year old, and we had 12 galleries full of bright eyes, goofy grins, and personalities shining through.
If you are a parent or teacher in NW Tucson, Oro Valley, or Marana, Arizona, looking for updated school year portraits with personality I'd love to chat about bringing this kind of fun to your co-op, microschool, or other learning group. You can reach me HERE to book!
What I learned
Here's my biggest takeaways from my first microschool shoot:
- Communication is key! We spent much more time than any other photoshoot to date asking questions back and forth, creating how-to videos for the parents, and gathering the contact info to be able to organize and deliver so many galleries to the correct people.
- The wind is never a paid actor in a paper backdrop shoot. Don't forget the sandbags for the stands.
- Patience is key with kids, and even the toughest cookies can be cracked if you don't panic or rush.
And honestly, I'm so excited and hopeful to do it again!
Wrapping Up
A huge thank you to this sweet micro school for letting me capture such a fun milestone. I’ll always remember this as my first, and I’m so grateful for the experience.
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