on the job: a day with Abington friends school

Dec 14

Two Abington Friends School students talk while sitting on a bench in a school hallway. — Abington Friends School students enjoying a break between classes.

Getting to experience different school communities is one of the best parts of this job. Functionally they all are doing the same thing: teaching students how to read and write, preparing them for adulthood …all that stuff. But HOW they go about achieving that goal is unique to each and every campus.

This year I had the good fortune to collaborate with a bunch of new schools in the Philly area. One of those schools was Abington Friends School — we worked together on a fresh set of marketing photos to help update their viewbook. These are my favorite shoots to do because I mostly get to be a fly on the wall as the school goes on about its normal day. Students go to class, teachers present their lessons, and I get to take photos of it all.

Before I arrived on the AFS campus in Jenkintown, we brainstormed a shot list focused around their core principles — that they call their Bold Convictions. Words like ‘ambition’ and ‘integrity’ and ‘justice’ embody the essence of an AFS education, and it was important for their images to reflect that. The brainstorming session helped us get on the same page for we are trying to accomplish with the shoot and what we needed to focus on.

From the moment you step on campus, it’s evident that AFS deeply cares about their students. They aim to provide a way for each and every student to succeed. So I had a ton of opportunity to get a lot of great images of students working together, studying, and students and teachers learning as one. They do a lot of hands-on education at AFS, so visiting science classes and music classes offered is great visual opportunities to showcase their process. The school serves students from pre kindergarten all the way through high school — so capturing how the school nurtures relationships between kids of all ages was important to them as well.

I was invigorated by my visit to Abington Friends School, and hope to return someday to be able to experience their warm and welcoming community again.