Vibrant silliness | Oahu homeschool portraits

The school portrait tradition

Can a portrait ever be so bad it’s good? If you don’t think so, I have two words for you – school portraits. Was anyone else lucky/cool enough to have the laser background? I wish I could get my hands on those old pictures to share. With my kids in school, the cycle of bad school portraits begins again. I first noticed the trend in preschool. My 3-year-old came back from his first week at school with a cheese-y grin. I never ask my kids to smile for pictures so I was shocked when I pulled out my camera and this odd grin stretched across his face. Somehow, he had more teeth and his eyes were bulging a bit. It was … creepy. That same face is the one that comes back in school portraits. Okay, it’s funny, and I have to buy a copy each year, but what if those were the only professional photos you had? That would be less funny.

Is there another way?

I was first asked to take school portraits as a fundraiser for my daughter’s school – PPNS Preschool. My family photo sessions are normally about play and fun so I was nervous when the line of 2 to 4-year-olds started to line up. Turns out, it was super fun. Those kids are full of personality and it was a bit of game to see what would make them laugh. Poni saw those images and fell in love. Her two home-schooled kids don’t even have the luxury of bad school portraits. We needed to change that, so I met them outside of their swanky office in Kakaako. Her company, Street Grindz organizes lots of fun events around the island like Eat the Street and Honolulu night market. She wanted a timeless black background along with an urban vibe. We used the Maya Hayuk wall and it fit their happy, vibrant personalities perfectly.

Do you homeschool your kids on Oahu?

Or maybe you just want better school portraits of your kids packed with personality and real smiles? Contact me today for timeless portraits of your favorite people.