by Andrew Rowan ’19, Editor-in-Chief

Schoolhouse Pictures will return as Moorestown Friends School’s picture day company for its second year, school officials announced this summer.

The company is known for its unique school portraits, featuring natural light and school buildings as a backdrop. Additionally, the company uses a modern ordering approach, where families get an access code and can review the photos prior to purchasing.

Middle School Director Kimberly Clarkson said that the school received a significant amount of positive feedback about the quality and format of the pictures. She said at least one family reached out and said that they felt the photos were nice enough that they did not feel the need to go out and get portrait pictures as well.

Though Schoolhouse Picture has higher prices for photos, Clarkson said most people realized the pictures were of a higher quality. She also said most people thought the packages offered were much more useful.

Clarkson said the decision to partner with Schoolhouse Pictures for a second year was because everything went pretty smoothly. The company’s responsiveness, process for ordering, and photo session for parent IDs at the school picnics were highlights for the school.

Though there were some “internal hiccups,” Clarkson said it was nothing different than what they had experienced in the past.

Parent and guardian volunteers assisted with students and photographers on the picture days. Clarkson said volunteers like being on campus at the beginning of the school year, so picture day was a nice way for them to be involved.   

Regarding some students’ dismay of the full body photo, Clarkson said she thought it was a “lack of awareness of the new format.”

She said she can understand how some students may have had concerns about the full body photos, but believes everyone will be more familiar with the format in its second year. Additionally, Clarkson said while there has not been discussion about different poses depending on ages, the company is very open to making adjustments. School picture day for Upper School students is Tuesday, September 11.

As for student identification cards, Clarkson said the goal is for the school to preview them before they go to press, but they will be “very similar.”

Overall, Clarkson said the school was “really happy with the transition” and are looking forward to it not being the first year of such a different picture day process. “They are well organized and the pictures are really nice quality.”