Rethinking School Photos

Stomping Ground

Let’s face it, school portraits are boring. Flat and dull.

The WSJ has taken a a look at the industry and discovered some new companies trying to revitalize it.

Kelsey and Dennis Kleiman of Brooklyn, N.Y., were underwhelmed by their daughter’s school pictures. So Mr. Kleiman, a professional photographer, volunteered to take less-stilted portraits of their daughter’s classmates. It was such a hit with the parents that in 2009 Mr. and Ms. Kleiman, whose children are 3 and 6 years old, founded a school portrait company, Stomping Ground Photo. It is among a handful of companies trying to recast school pictures.

Stomping Ground photographs are taken against a plain background and capture kids doing kid stuff: jumping, laughing, pouting. It is now photographing about 20 schools in New York and Los Angeles. Parents can view proofs online and decide which photos to purchase.

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