Back To School

It’s that time of year again… they’re going back! Back to school, that is. As they say, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I definitely notice the crisp morning air, the leaves starting to change color, and the days are already feeling shorter. While I’m missing the warm easy breeziness of Summer, I am eager to get back to our regular routines.

When it comes to back to school photos I am definitely a bit of a Mamarazzi, but I have no doubt in my mind that my kids will one day thank me for capturing these precious, once in a lifetime milestones. They no longer even put up a fight when it comes to taking their pictures and can pretty much flash a smile at any given moment should the right moment arise, even if they are knee deep in sibling rivalry. I’m well aware that childhood is fleeting, and I want time to stand still. If it can’t stand still, then I am determined to capture as many moments along the way as I possibly can. The one thing I love about photography is that it halts time and encapsulates it forever. I can honestly say that I never regret any pictures that I have taken of the kids along the way, and all of them are in the family vault for them to one day look back on. It’s so fun to scroll though old pictures of them and relish in how they’ve changed. If you ask me, back to school is the perfect excuse to snap some pictures.

For this years back to school photoshoot, the theme was apples. I used my handy dandy Cricut machine to cut out perfect little apples with stems and leaves. Then, I glued all the pieces together and strung them with red embroidery floss. The girls posed for various pictures with their apple garlands.

I had two leftover apples which I didn’t let go to waste for the perfect last minute up close and personal “apple of my eye” photo of River sporting her brand new, rainbow coloured braces that she was more than happy to show off.

I also printed flags again in red and green this time to go with the apple theme. I made sure to continue the tradition of a letter board with all of the details about the upcoming year (name, grade, teacher, etc.).

I hand painted the number 4 and 2 on the most perfect Red Delicious apples we could find at our local grocery store using a stencil I made on the Cricut. Then I had each of the girls hold the apple with their arms outstretched, and we faded the background. We were so happy with how they turned out, and this may be a new tradition for us.

We normally do most of our back to school pictures at our doorstep to keep things super simple and consistent, but this year we wanted to switch things up a bit. We have beautiful murals that have been hand painted in and around our neighbourhood, and my husband had the idea of photographing them in front of these colourful masterpieces. We were so happy with how these pictures turned out, even in spite of it being a bit of a rainy day.

To bring it over the top, we picked up a rainbow Confetti Popper from Party City and filmed a short video of the girls reacting to it as it explodes with little bits of confetti flying overhead. What a way to start a year!

Hard to believe River is in Grade 4 this year and Story’s in Grade 2. My little ladies are sure growing up. They both had a fantastic first day of school, and were delighted to find out that they had many of their friends in the same classes. I’m optimistic we’re going to have a great year, and we’re certainly off to a fantastic start. Now I’m off to pack their lunch bags! I hope that we’ve inspired you to photograph your kiddos as much as possible and find your inner Mamarazzi, as one day I’m fairly certain your children will thank you.