a peek inside the fishbowl

1 | Hilary

July 19th, 2011 at 1:36 pm

I just wanted to say that this is a gorgeous pic.

2 | Sasha

July 19th, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Echo to Hilary - great pic! My little ones aren’t old enough for sports yet (unless you count running “ree ree fast - supah fast!”), but will keep this in the back of my head when the day comes…

3 | betsy mae

July 19th, 2011 at 2:59 pm

Only a few kids showed up for picture day so I ended up taking a team photo and individual pics of all of the kids. Worked out well!

4 | Shannon B

July 19th, 2011 at 4:52 pm

Gorgeous girl! A great photo!

5 | Javamom

July 19th, 2011 at 8:06 pm

I have so far not enjoyed any of the class photos of the daycares and junior kindergartens. The children don’t look like themselves, and the choices I’m given between two prints are icky in my opinion, yet every year I go and purchase the $30+ package. For what? I know, but don’t really like, the answer…it’s the class photo that’s kind of appealing (even though the kids don’t always look like themselves in it either).

Really. Do I want to keep this tradition alive? One is starting Grade 1…the other JK…do I stop now?

I for one think you take awesome photos. I think I take awesome photos of my kids too (I have a separate blog of their photos especially made for the far away family)…so why do I pay the $ for these school/team sports photographs?

Now that Benjamin is in soccer/hockey/tball…we pay for more photos.

I hear you…and I think your photograph is awesome!

6 | Stefania

July 20th, 2011 at 8:22 am

These days everybody calls themselves a photographer b/c they have a fancy digial camera. In my opinion there are only 2 photographers in the Ottawa (Andrea, you’re one of them) that I would pay to take photos. I can’t stand posed pictures and pictures with artificial props and studios.
I pay for the school and activity pics b/c it’s part of the tradition and I’m a sucker for traditions but they should try to use some originality if they’re going to charge so much for pics we know aren’t all that expensive.

7 | Stefania

July 20th, 2011 at 8:26 am

Oh my! Please ignore the typos in my message. Second cup of coffee is needed before commenting.

8 | Marianne

July 20th, 2011 at 9:03 am

@Javamom — if you’re not happy with the school photos, let the school know and suggest that they change photographers. There are some good school photographers out there. I can’t for the life of me remember right now the name of the fellow our school switched to … but he and his assistants are great. While he uses a standard set-up with a tripod he’ll take numerous shots until he’s pretty sure he’s got at least one good pose, and he’ll take the camera off the tripod when needed, especially for children with special needs. They still look like school pictures, not quite the same relaxed style of Andrea’s shots, but the kids look like themselves and there are usually 4 to 8 poses to choose from, and the cost is the same or better than some of the run-of-the-mill big photo companies in the area.
Also, if you don’t want to order but want a class photo, check with the school office but generally every student receives a class photo regardless of whether or not you order a package.

9 | andrea

July 20th, 2011 at 10:19 am

Thanks everyone, for your kind words.

Javamom, I second Marianne’s recommendation of talking to the school if you’re not happy. We get class photos too (I am also a sucker for tradition) ours are actually pretty decent.

10 | Giulia

July 21st, 2011 at 11:40 am

I would like to add an additional tip if I may. Put your focal point on the eye of the subject - having the sharpest part of the photo on the eyes of the subject makes all the difference.
We engage the subject in conversation. Asking what their favourite thing is can get you a great expression and that visible smile in their eyes, not just their mouth.
We are big photogs in our family. My hubby did all the daycare graduation photos because he enjoys it so much and the daycare providers wanted to do something special for the parents.