Students photograph staff children for the holidays

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Marcus Scott

Mrs. Swain’s son, Nolan, eating Santa’s cookies.

Recently at Wiregrass Ranch High School (WRHS), photography students held a holiday photo shoot for the children of the staff at the school. The photography class started this project last year and expanded it this year to include more options for the pictures including new backdrops.

Photography students prepared each photo shoot with a backdrop and set up props for the children to interact with. Students would then edit the photos and provide copies to the parents who work at the school.

Mr. Simmons’ daughter, Arella, poses for her holiday photo. Photographer: Daa’iyah Jones

Angela Corradini, the photography teacher, was excited to provide this opportunity again for not only her students, but teachers as well.

“The holiday photo shoot was a good learning opportunity for photography students, as they gained more experiences editing and taking photos,” Mrs. Corradini said.  

Kathryn Bittner, senior photography student, agreed that she was able to acquire valuable skills from this project.

“It was a creative process of setting it up, getting the kids there, getting the right poses using the different props, and then editing it afterwards and seeing the final product,” Bittner said.

Mrs. Silva’s daughter, Claire, holding Christmas ornaments for her holiday photo. Photographer: Bella Russell

Students also gained experience from working with children. Senior Daa’iyah Jones realized the difficulties that are associated with photographing young children.

“The children were really fun and were really energetic, however some of the kids moved around a lot, so it was harder to take the perfect picture when the kids weren’t always cooperating,” Jones said.

Being able to give a finished product to a client is another experience gained from this project.

“I enjoyed editing the photos and then giving it to the parents after it’s all done and seeing them happy with the final product,” Jones explained.

History teacher, Megan Silva, was really impressed with the outcome.

“The photos were absolutely wonderful; they were expertly done and looked very professional with all their cute backdrops and props,” Silva said. “I would definitely get pictures taken again for a different holiday.”

Mrs. Hewitt’s daughter, Ophelia, in her reindeer antlers. Photographer: Riley Sawyer