WELCOME TO A BETTER SCHOOL PICTURE DAY!

Goodbye forced smiles. Hello pure personality! We bring professional, fine-art portraiture to preschool picture days. We specialize in connecting with toddlers and prechoolers to capture a gallery of authentic expressions—all with the speed of traditional school photos. We trade busy props and forced cheesy grins for timeless, fine-art portraits that capture a child’s true personality. Directors get a seamless and smooth picture day, and families get timeless art they will actually cherish, and children have a fun, anxiety free picture day experience.

PRESCHOOL EXPERTS

We only work with preschools. We have found that what works for k-12 schools doesn’t always work for preschools and their unique needs. And who are we kidding, preschoolers are the best humans and we love capturing those amazing personalities on picture day! We use developementally appropriate methods for each age group to capture sweet smiles without tears.

SMOOTH PICTURE DAYS

What I often hear from directors is “oh my gosh, that went sooo smoothly!” From provided pre-picture day communications for parents, to fun picture days for kids, and private online, easy to use galleries, and photo orders that ship direct to families; our processes are streamlined to make less work for school staff.

PERSONAL
& FLEXIBLE

Every school is a unique community with its own distinct needs. To ensure you receive our absolute best, we only book one school at a time, giving your students and staff our full, undivided attention.

We know how disruptive picture day can be to the normal routine, so we work efficiently with the kiddos to keep the day running smoothly, without ever compromising on quality.

Above all, we value the hard, important work that school staff members do every day, and we love partnering with them to capture these special memories for parents.

Who are we?

A woman owned, local small business that serves select schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. I am always on site as the main photographer and editor for every school. For larger schools I have a few hand selected photographers that I bring with me that are trained in working with preschoolers. Additionally, we are all moms – we understand kids in all their beautiful silliness, wildness, and everything inbetween.

I am insured and background checked, and have been through multiple trainings for child safe programs.

QUESTIONS? CLICK HERE TO CONTACT

“You’ve done

the impossible,

the first photographer

in 4 years

to capture the light

in my child!”

-Kinderberry Hill

Preschool Parent

AUTHENTIC

Helping Kids Be Themselves

We keep picture time relaxed, with lots of techniques to help kids be engaged during their picture time, so we can capture real smiles and real giggles

MODERN

Modern & Classic

Fine Art School Photos

A more modern approach to school picture days, gone are the cheesy forced grins and busy backgrounds. School pictures that will be beautiful on your walls, or treasured as gifts.

KEEPSAKES

Beautiful Portraits

Stunning photos that capture the sweetness and details of your child, taken by experienced professional photographers who are passionate about creating treasured keepsakes.

Explore

MODERN SCHOOL

PORTRAITS

Yes, we photograph infants too! Our first priority is safety, and have different poses to photograph them in depeding on their age and ability.

Each student will have several edited photos in color and black and white. We aim to capture a variety of expressions as we let them move, spin, jump, and play simple games to get those geniune joyful smiles.

We love siblings! And we often hear from parents the astonishment of how we got them to sit still and smile for more than 2 seconds!

Every gallery is private, parents can view images and place orders online. Print products ship fast directly to famlies and digital image purchases are instant downloads.

We partner with the best gallery hosing site in the industry, PhotoDay. Simple to use for parents, and provides us with the absolute best and fastest customer service so when issues do occassionaly arise, we can solve them quickly.

Hi there, I’m Wendy

The Heart Behind the Lens

Over 15 years ago, I started photographing kids—beginning with my own children, their ballet company, and families and children in our homeschooling community. Along the way, I discovered a unique passion for working with preschool-aged children. I fell in love with capturing the pure energy, joy, and wonder that preschoolers encompass.

I wanted to take my skills into the school picture day world, but I wouldn’t settle for the traditional, forced, and unauthentic images we so often see. I knew there had to be a way to capture high-quality, artful portraits within the quick pace of a school picture day, while still giving the kids a fun, engaging experience. This is where Modern School Portraits was born.

My previous career in healthcare—working with special needs individuals and adult physical rehabilitation—taught me to connect quickly and empathetically with people. This background helps me naturally connect with hundreds of preschoolers on picture day, particularly children with special needs who deserve a patient and understanding environment.

Over the years I’ve learned exactly what works to coax genuine smiles out of a two-year-old versus a four-year-old. Using developmentally appropriate prompts (and zero potty humor), I make the camera non-intimidating. School directors are frequently in awe of how peaceful and happy picture day becomes. Preschoolers are truly the best, and when they look at their photos with pride, and parents email me sharing how much they treasure their child’s photos, I’m reminded exactly why I love what I do.

MY MISSION

Provide preschools with the smoothest picture day experience, while capturing the most artful and authentic photos of their students while keeping the experience fun for young ones.

Let's chat about how we can partner together for your best picture day ever!

AROUND THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA

I am honored to serve these amazing schools in Minneapolis & St. Paul and surrounding cities.

ST. DAVID'S CENTER
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN EDINA
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN EDINBOROUGH
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN INVER GROVE HEIGHTS
OUR SAVIOR LUTHEREN
GRACE BEGINNINGS ACADEMY
CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP MONTESSORI
TREKS AND TRAILS CHASKA
CROSSROADS PRESCHOOL
FAMILY OF CHRIST PRESCHOOL
PEACE OF MIND WOODBURY

WESTWOOD PRESCHOOL
RISE EARLY LEARNING
KINDERBERRY HILL EDINA
KINDERBERRY HILL PLYMOUTH
KINDERBERRY HILL EDEN PRAIRIE
KINDERBERRY HILL ROSEVILLE
KINDERBERRY HILL ST. PAUL
KINDERBERRY HILL WOODBURY
KINDERBERRY HILL MINNEAPOLIS
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS ACADEMY BURNSVILLE

REACH ME HERE!