what are Fine Art School Portraits?

Fine Art School Portraits are a modern take on the traditional school photo. A boutique service where the focus is on a positive photographic experience, genuine expressions and choices of images and product options.

We all have those photos from our childhood with the big ‘cheeeeese’ smile and not much has changed……until now!

How it all started…

When my son started school I was really disappointed by the school photo we received. He had such a fake forced smile that it really didn’t look like him. I looked around at all of the other parents at school pick up reacting to their children’s photos and no one seemed happy. Everyone was comparing how bad their child’s photo was saying things like “she looks like she’s about to cry”, “was this seriously the best photo of him?” and “I don’t even know why I paid for this”. Being a photographer I knew I had the background to do something about it so I decided to fill that gap in the market and create the school photography model that I wanted to buy from.

Photographers who care about the kids and ensure they all have a positive photographic experience.

No pressure on the kids to smile, just genuine expressions.

Modern black backdrop.

No flash photography, continuous video lighting only.

Options of 5-10 images for parents to choose from in colour and black&white.

Studio quality portraits with professional quality printing at school photo prices.

More options of print sizes and packages. High Resolution digital files.

Canvas and Framed prints also availble.

More relaxed, fun class photos.

Class Photos. Team photos. Full staff photo. Staff headshots.

Easy online ordering and payment from individual password protected galleries.

Fundraiser: 10% of profits are donated back to the school/centre.

Available to Schools and ECE centres in Auckland.

SCHOOLS/ECE CENTRES - WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Give me a call or send me an email to arrange an in person meeting. I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Or fill in the form below and I’ll get back to you.

PARENTS - WANT YOUR SCHOOL TO MODERNISE THEIR SCHOOL PORTRAITS?

Tell you school principal! Send them a link to my website. They might not even know there is another option. They might not know the parents aren’t loving the current photos.

You as parents are the most effective makers of change!

If you fill in the school enquiry form above with a comment about your past experiences and why you would like Fine Art Portraits at your child’s school and I will also reach out to the school and see if they are open to a meeting.

Testimonials

Wow!!! I am so blown away by this! Who knew school photos could be so engaging and fun and lively and full of all the emotions that kids are!!

Thank you thank you! We love our photos of Marlo xxx

Many thanks

Rebecca

Hi Rachel

Thanks so much. I just wanted to say how wonderful I think all the photos are. The class photo in particular is such a wonderful idea and I love the different layout. It brings out all their personalities. Thank you! 

Kind regards

Ann

Kia Ora Rachel,

You are quite simply the best school

Photographer we’ve ever seen!! You produced probably the best photos ever of our son, Bodhi. Thank you for your mahi. I know a lot of other parents feel the same and I hope you’ve gotten some of that good feedback.

Nga mihi

Carmen - Titirangi Primary School 2023

Rachel took beautiful photos of Madeleine and her class. The way she can get the kids to relax and take candid photos is amazing. I could not recommended her more. Thank you!

Antonia - Titirangi Primary School 2023

Rachel's talent to capture each child's unique essence is magical.  No child nor pose is the same and the quality of each image is of the highest quality.  She is flexible and reliable to communicate with and work alongside!  We are thrilled that we can provide images that capture a snapshot of a child's life each year for families to treasure.

Alicia Whata - Principal of Te Rae O Kawharu - Grey Lynn School 2022

Thank you Rachel for the wonderful photo shoot days at our school.  We appreciated your organisation – from your communication prior to the photo shoot days, to the scheduling of classes and your efficient system of name cards on the day.  There have been many comments from staff as to how positive and natural you (and your team) were with the children.  Even when there were language barriers you still managed to make the children laugh.

 Julie - Oteha Valley School office 2023

Parents had been asking me for some time if there were any school photo providers which would be different from the traditional style which our school along with most others have been using forever. We wanted something more informal, modern, interesting - something whānau would actually want. I was told about Rachel Searson who was at the time taking photos of individual children and smaller groups of children in kindergartens and early childhood centres. After meeting with Rachel and looking at her work I was convinced that this was the style of photo we wanted for Kaurilands. Taking on a big school like Kaurilands was a massive step for Rachel but she was up for the challenge. Rachel took individual pictures and class photos for every child and class in the school over a school week. The class photos are everything we wanted - warm, connected, funny and natural representations of our children and their teachers. The individual photos are unbelievable! Rachel has done such an incredible job capturing the personality of each and every child she has photographed. Parents are thrilled! We love the results and working with Rachel was easy. We will never go back.

Jo Augustine - Principal of Kaurilands School - 2022

Testimonials from Kaurilands School Parents- 2022:

“These are the best school photos we have ever had. The classroom photos are incredible and like nothing I’ve seen before, all us parents have been sharing images just loving the style. The individual ones are phenomenal, will be getting them all! Thank-you Rachel for your creativity you’ve made a lot of people very happy!” - Shannon

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“Mother of God! You're a genius! Best photos ever.” Paul

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“Finally some school photos that are truly worth buying! Rachel managed to portray the essence of my child and I will treasure this portrait forever.” - Alessandra

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“Don't know why the 'school photo' format wasn't updated/changed years ago.
LOVE IT and the kids had so much fun. Also nice to get some options. Beautiful, thank you! - Lisa

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“Awesome! Thank you so much! Absolutely love them, best school pics ever! Thank you!” - Jen

Hi Rachel,

On behalf of our team here at Chrysalis, we want to extend a huge thank you for coming into Chrysalis on Tuesday. We are so grateful that you took the time out of your day for our children's photoshoots. We already know how beautiful your work is but what really stood out to us was your professionalism and warmth. You were so lovely to work with and you definitely made things so much easier for our tired infants haha. I don't know how you do it! We were very impressed, especially since it was such a big job. Would definitely recommend your service to everyone. I know it was such a long day for you and we have so many children but you still smiled the whole time. 

Our staff had so much wonderful feedback to share with parents on how well the photoshoot went and how much the children enjoyed it.

Christine had so many positive things to say about you as well as the team and I really appreciate the way you made it so enjoyable and valuable for the children, so thank you!

Have a lovely weekend!

Ngā mihi nui

Malia - Centre Manager, Chrysalis ELC

“Rachel produces the most beautiful and natural looking photos with her Fine Art School Portraits, capturing each child's individual personality.

She made the kids feel comfortable and relaxed, and I'm so so happy with the end result.

Never again do I want the awkwardly posed and expensive standard school photos.”

Laura

“I Love the photos of Theia! Thank you for capturing her so perfectly!” Aarti - Pascals Herne Bay

“ Rachel, you provided Te Atatu Village Kindergarten with some amazing photo’s of our tamariki, all photos have captured the children beautifully and our families are so happy with the final product. We can’t wait to see the photos for next year!

The Teaching Team at Te Atatu Village Kindergarten”

“Testimonial on behalf of Titirangi Playcentre:

Rachel came to our Playcentre to take portraits of our under 5’s (a notoriously hard demographic to photograph!). Speaking on behalf of all the parents who took part, we couldn’t be more happy with the results. Rachel captured our young children in a way that really showcased their personalities and individuality. It’s more than just photographs, she has the ability to freeze a moment in time that we can keep as a treasured memory forever. It’s a gift to have these photos of our children we can look back on as they grow. Her prints are of a high quality also, and on a personal level Rachel was amazing to deal with. Very accommodating and made everything very easy. We would highly recommend her!

Talena”

“We booked Rachel for our recent child photographs and were so impressed!! As were our parents. We were a little nervous as we have previously had more formal portraits taken and Rachel’s style was more unconventional from our past photos. However…the process was so easy – from start to finish! Rachel makes it simple, clear and totally stress-free. She has a natural way with the children and they were all happy to be photographed. The result was AMAZING natural, candid photo’s and we had over 90% of our families place an order! Totally recommend 100%.We have booked our photos for 2021 already.

Mel - UNITEC Early Learning Centre”