LIFESTYLES
Ready for their close-ups
For high school seniors, a day o f picture taking can produce memories that last a lifetime

March 10, 2006
BY CASSANDRA SPRATLING
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

LaToya Jackson, 18, a senior at Mumford High, gets set for a cap-and-gown portrait with the help of photographer Garrett Campbell. She scheduled two photo sessions, one with casual clothes, one with dress-up attire, but says dressing up is really not her style. (Photos by STEPHEN McGEE/Detroit Free Press)
High school seniors and parents are everywhere in the spacious two-floor studios of Motown Portrait Photography in northwest Detroit one recent Saturday afternoon. On the upper floor, they're scheduling appointments or waiting a turn to get their senior pictures snapped. It's also ring day at the studio, and a corner of the upper floor is packed with students being measured for and selecting rings. On the bottom level in almost assembly line-like fashion, students are having photos taken in a variety of settings in an assortment of outfits -- everything from the traditional cap and gown to jeans to club uniforms to ready-for-a-night-out outfits. This is the busy season for high school seniors, and spending hours posing for pictures is one of the highlights. A day in the studio reveals primping, posing, excitement and a little bit of anxiety on the part of the dressed-up and dressed-down seniors. The basement studio has a variety of scenes, including a locker room and library. They can be changed with a simple pull on a background curtain or a background screen from approximately 200 slides. Some students pose with friends for what are called buddy shots. Eight photographers are stationed at various locations. The student moves to a new setting with each change of clothes in one of 17 dressing rooms along a hallway in the basement. Parents are welcome only in the dressing rooms; otherwise, they're asked to stay upstairs to reduce congestion. "Once students are dressed, we try to match their outfit with the background," says one of the studio managers, Garrett Campbell.

Anita Gary of Detroit stays upstairs as her son Jeffrey Pryor, 18, heads to his 12:30 p.m. session. "Be sure to smile," she says. "He didn't even want to take pictures," Gary says. "I really didn't think it mattered," says Jeffrey, a senior at the Communication and Media Arts High School Detroit. Oh, it matters all right. Jeffrey is his mom's oldest child. And she's looking forward to sharing snapshots of his high school graduation with friends and family. Graduation photo sessions have mushroomed since Gary graduated from Central High in 1979."There were two outfits. Your cap and gown and your dressy attire," says Gary, a nurse at Henry Ford Health System who took a day off to accompany her son on his photo shoot. By the time the day was over, Jeffrey had had his photo taken in six outfits, each with a different background, including his purple-and-white cap and gown, his finest suit and a T-shirt with his baby photo emblazoned on the front -- a popular addition to the senior class wardrobe at his high school. Students have the back of the T-shirt back inscribed with words of their choice. Jeffrey's has his birth date and the words "Birth - Death," followed by the phrase "Life is the dash!" "It means life is what you make it," says Jeffrey, who wants to study mechanical engineering at Eastern Michigan University in the fall. Jeffrey's photo session costs about $120, his mother says. Printed photo packages at Motown Portrait Photography range from $80 to $580 depending on the number of poses and prints ordered. Jeffrey is nonchalant throughout the process and more than once has to be encouraged to flash the beautiful smile that shows off the dimples in his coffee brown skin. "I was a lot more excited about my photos," his mother says. But when it's over -- the session takes five hours -- Jeffrey seems pleased. "I guess it'll be nice to have the memories," he says.


Jeffery Prior, 18, a senior at Communication and Media Arts High School, is aided by photographer Dathan Bryant during his session. "I guess it'll be nice to have the memories," Jeffery says.

Jeffery Prior gets set for two photos at Motown Portrait Photography: a cap-and-gown portrait, left and a casual T-shirt picture, right

Nearby, much more excited Mumford High School senior LaToya Jackson -- no relation to the other LaToya Jackson -- beams with excitement. She's at the studio for her second session. Yes, these photo shoots have become that involved. LaToya wore casual outfits for her first session. This is her dressy day. Dressing up is normally not her style. "I'm a jeans person. I only dress up for church," says LaToya, an honors student who has been accepted by Michigan State University. Today though, she looks like a princess. A cascade of freshly done curls -- she did the hair herself -- falls around her face. She wears a strapless white dress with a beaded bodice fitting her model-perfect frame; the flared skirt has a scalloped hemline. "It's my homecoming dress from last year," she says. After several poses in the white dress, LaToya changes into an apple-red dress that is just as pretty. She finishes her day posing in cap and gown with Mumford's burgundy and sky blue colors.


Looking scholary in her cap and gown, MSU-bound Latoya Jackson strikes a globe pose for photographer David Eldridge.

Sharika Berkley, 18, has had one photo session and is planning another. Today, she and her mom, Corine Berkley, and younger sister Shenette Berkley, 15, are looking at class rings. About 100 class rings from Troy-based Balfour Graduation Specialists are on display at the studio. Sharika, a senior at Denby, sees several she likes, but decides on a 14-carat antique gold ring with her birthstone -- emerald for May -- in the middle. The year 2006 is engraved on one side and her school's name on the other. Her name will be engraved on the inside. Total cost: approximately $500. The price is well worth it. "This is my first child to graduate," says a smiling Corine Berkley of Detroit. "I'm so happy. We struggled through, but by the grace of God, we've made it."

Contact CASSANDRA SPRATLING at 313-223-4580 or spratling@freepress.com.