See an overview of my other three school class photos: the bicycle, the cupcake, and the worm. Or read an in-depth article about how the class photo is made.
I think this is a beautiful picture, even though I didn’t anticipate it also looking like an emoji with a big toothy grin. I also didn’t account for perspective, which makes the muffin top look too small. Live and learn. The photo was taken on St. Patrick’s Day when all the kids were wearing green. I asked everyone with a red coat to be part of the cherry, and kids wearing blue were the sprinkles on top.
The preparation
This is my reference drawing. I used a satellite photo from Google Maps to estimate the size and placement. Then I overlay a grid and a picture of a cupcake. When I get to the school, the first thing I do is pace out the grid by walking from one side of the playground to the other. Then I transfer my picture using chalk. There is a lot of guesswork when you are on the ground and can’t see the big picture.
In this fast-motion video, see the kids come together to form the cupcake. You can see me (wearing a blue shirt and brown hat) directing everyone where to go according to my diagram. You can also see my shadow in the bottom right corner as I take the photo from the top of the school gym.
Please note
The image quality of the cupcake school photo isn’t good enough for reproduction. If you participated in this project, please contact me for the original.
