Why I Believe in Fine Art School Portraits
I think picture day deserves a better reputation.
For a lot of families, it's just another date on the school calendar. Brush the hair. Hope your child doesn't spill yogurt on their shirt. Cross your fingers they cooperate for thirty seconds.
A few weeks later, an envelope arrives.
Sometimes you love the portraits.
Sometimes...you buy them anyway because they're the only official record of your child at that age.
I think we can do better than that.
To me, a Fine Art School Portrait is what happens when a photographer brings the same level of care, attention, and artistry to picture day that they would bring to a commissioned family portrait. It's knowing how to use light to make a child look like the very best version of themselves—not over-retouched or overly posed, just beautifully and honestly seen.
But the lighting is only half the story.
The other half is your child.
Children don't automatically trust a grown-up holding a camera, and I don't expect them to! Every child walks up with a different personality. Some are immediately ready to tell me everything about the salamander they found that morning. Some proudly announce they're wearing their "fancy sneakers." Some whisper that they have a loose tooth and ask me if I think today might be the day. And every season there's at least one child who decides, after about ninety seconds, that I'm officially their new best friend.
Those ninety seconds matter.
I'm not trying to convince children to smile. I'm trying to convince them they don't have to perform.
Once they realize picture day isn't a test, something wonderful happens. The stranger-danger alarm quiets down. Their shoulders relax. Their real expression shows up. Sometimes it's a huge grin. Sometimes it's quiet confidence. Sometimes it's a look that makes their parents say, "That's exactly who they are."
Those are my favorite portraits.
Not because they're perfect.
Because they're true.
Today, photographing schools is still one of my favorite parts of the year. After a busy season of photographing high school seniors, graduates, and families on the cusp of enormous change, I get to spend my mornings with kids who still think recess is the best part of the day. It's a pretty wonderful reset.
If your child's school has invited me this year, thank you. I promise to take great care of your favorite little person. My goal is to send home a portrait you'll be genuinely excited to frame—not just another school picture to file away.
And if you're reading this because you're wondering why your own school doesn't offer Fine Art School Portraits...
Some of my favorite school partnerships began because one parent simply asked, "Have you heard of Liz Farrell?"
I photograph a limited number of schools each fall throughout Westchester and nearby communities, and I love partnering with directors and parent organizations to create a picture day that's calm, organized, and actually fun.
Because here's the funny thing about childhood.
The days can feel impossibly long.
Until one day, the kid with the missing front teeth is asking to borrow the car.
It’s like I always say, time flies and I’ve been known stop it.