First day of school

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a little boy’s first day of preschool.  His mother shyly asked me if I could document this important day in both of their lives.  How could I turn her down?  It never even crossed my mind.

We met at a park about 1/2 hour before he was due at school so I could get a couple of shots before the excitement took over.  It was cold and foggy but I knew the story I wanted to tell.  He excitedly got out of the car and began walking to the park with his backpack.  It was the perfect picture of a little boy going off to school for the first time.  So…snap!

Then I had him get up on some of the jungle gym equipment so that I could get some head shots.  It was too cold and wet to play on the jungle gym, happily for his mom, but it made for some interesting effects in the photos.  The background virtually disappears in the fog leaving only his face showing all the excitement of his new adventure.

We left the park and headed out to the school.  He was incredibly excited to see the playground at the school.

As we walked up to the school and just before we walked through the doorway, he showed a little apprehension about the whole school thing.

But, he was a trooper and never cried nor said he wasn’t going to go through with the whole thing.  He got inside and saw that the rooms were bright, cheery and toy filled.

He found this toy camera and began to take pictures of me.  Heh.

When it was time for mom to say goodbye, he looked a little concerned, but he “manned up” and let his mom walk out the door without him.  I think mom had a harder time than he did.  But his mom told me that when she picked him up later on…he loved it and can’t wait to go back.

What a supreme honor to be part of this next stage of their lives.