Shane’s session to mark his first day of kindergarten happened the day after Ollie’s first day of school, and the difference between the two served as a stark reminder of exactly why these sessions are so unique. Just as every child has a different personality, every child also has a different experience when heading off to school.
Shane has always been a quiet child. From a young age, he’s been happy to entertain himself. He’s observant and cautious in new situations – you won’t find him running exuberantly or headlong into a new experience with unfamiliar people, but you can be guaranteed he’ll be watching everyone carefully.
Shane has an interesting – and unexpectedly peaceful – morning routine. Since he often wakes up earlier than Mom and Dad, they compromised. His breakfast is stored in an easy to reach spot, with his place setting laid out ready for him. He is able to serve himself and watch one or two videos on the iPad while everyone else wakes up. Matthew is less of a morning person, as you’ll see from the scowl, but he’s equally quiet in those moments after waking.
Adam gets up and out the door to work quite early, so Crystal takes care of dressing the kids and getting them out the door to their Montessori school. There’s plenty of playtime in their mornings, once everyone has had a chance to wake up, and I’m learning that it often includes leaping off of things or flipping onto things.
We grew up with a tradition of doing first day of school photos in our driveway, and Crystal has continued that with her kids – except, at this age, the outcome of the photos is a little less predictable. Sometimes they choose not to face the same direction. :P
When we arrived at the school, Shane’s quiet nature came back out in full force. Despite the building being completely familiar territory, Shane grew hesitant and watchful. There were a number of crying children present, which may have played a factor – nothing is more confusing to a kid than a bunch of other kids upset about something that your own kid already knows is safe, right? As he was ushered into his classroom with a goodbye hug from his mom, they stood together for a moment to see who he recognised, and then he was off. It was time to start a new year and make new friends.
Here’s a peek into Shane’s first day of school:
I’m Ang – a Cornwall, Ontario-based photographer with a passion for capturing light and photographing natural moments in life as they happen. My goal with any family is to capture memories of moments that are fleeting; of behaviour that you won’t see in two years (or even six months) – like the elation or trepidation of going to school. I love meeting new families in their natural environment and getting in amongst the bedlam so that I can document the perfectly imperfect realities of daily life, wherever that may take us. Want to see another school session from someone’s first day of kindergarten? Check out what happened when the Harrigan twins hopped on the bus for the first time. Please also feel welcome to explore more of www.momentusstudio.com to see more examples of my unique approach to candid family photography, from Ottawa family photography sessions with threenagers to Brockville family photojournalism and Cornwall child photos.
