Memories for you graduating ~ What should I do with my graduation album ~ November 27, 14:00
The production of graduation albums for children graduating from school next spring is at its peak.
However, due to the school being closed due to the influence of the new coronavirus, there are fewer pictures of children than usual, and a different graduation album is being made.
(Network News Department Kayoko Tamaki Mayi Ogura / Metropolitan Area Bureau Ryo Miyazaki / Disaster and Meteorological Center Murahori, etc.)
Can you make a graduation album?
"The graduation album may be fluffy."
"I was told to take my own personal photo."
"Every time I look back, it seems to be painful ..."
On the net, you can see the writings of parents and children who are worried about the contents of the graduation album.
Due to a series of school closures and school events being canceled, the chances of taking pictures that would be included in the album have been greatly reduced.
It seems that some schools ask you to provide your own photos for the album.
Where is my child?
When I (Miyazaki) attended my child's athletic meet, I felt that making an album for this year might be difficult.
While athletic meet was canceled at many schools, at my son's school, due to the ingenuity of the teachers, the athletic meet was held every grade.
However, as soon as the competition is over, the children wear masks, quietly applaud and cheer, and the audience seats are sparse.
Since everyone was wearing masks, it was difficult to find out where my child was, and I had a hard time taking pictures.
When I tried to make a New Year's card, the photo of the athletic meet that I saw again made me feel a little lonely because I couldn't see the smiling faces and struggling facial expressions of everyone wearing masks.
Have a special memory even in the corona
Professional photographers are also worried about the unusual situation with the new Corona.
Takashi Busaki, the president and photographer of the company that has produced the graduation album, has been fascinated by the graduation album through his 20 years of shooting in high school.
Takashi Busaki
"At the athletic festival, the facial expressions of the students are so lively that they are excited to take pictures, such as making their own T-shirts, cheering and playing competitions. 20 years from now, the memories will not fade. Rather, I think it is the graduation album that increases its value. "
However, it is said that the high school sports festival was canceled due to the corona sickness, and he was worried about how to leave the memories of the students.
At a private high school in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture, where Mr. Busaki was in charge of shooting, all the events that the students were looking forward to, such as sports festivals, school trips, and cultural festivals, were cancelled.
Principal Jiro Osawa
"We discussed whether to hold an event to the last minute, but due to the nature of Urayasu City, many students come from Tokyo, and it was a painful decision to reduce the risk as much as possible while refraining from taking the examination."
With the disappearance of the event, the making of a graduation album, which is produced by selecting from thousands of photographs every year, has hit a snag.
Last year's photos were full of lively smiles of the students, such as the excitement of the athletic festival, but this year there are only photos like masks and ID photos.
I want to add some color to my graduation album.
The school and photographer Mr. Busaki focused their wisdom on the event of having students create blackboard art for each class.
The blackboard art was drawn over a period of 3 days to a week, and I took pictures of the production.
When I visited the school, on the blackboard in the classroom, there were pictures drawn by collecting pictures of my babyhood, a realistic portrait of my homeroom teacher, and a memorandum of my future dreams. I was impressed that there were many classes left.
Student
"Since the school was closed, this class started in June. I didn't have any memories of doing something together because there were no events, but I could remember with everyone. I'm glad I did it. "
Mr. Busaki is said to have stayed with the students until around 7 pm and released the shutter.
Takashi Busaki
"Half of the face may be covered with a mask cloth, but the students enjoyed spending time with their classmates while spelling dreams and messages on the blackboard. I realized that it was my role to keep a good record because I had no experience. "
It is said that a QR code will be printed on the graduation album so that videos of the blackboard art production scene can also be played.
Shoot in a "special place"
Some municipalities have planned to shoot in special places for their graduation album.
In Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka, we decided to make use of our local pride in making an album because we canceled our school trip.
In November, we invited elementary and junior high school students who will graduate next year to the Hanazono Rugby Stadium, a “sacred place for rugby” in the city.
We visited the grounds and lockers used by athletes, which are normally not accessible, and took a group photo with the school name projected on the large-scale vision of the stand.
After taking measures against infection, the children were able to remove the mask only when shooting and leave a photo of their smile on their graduation album with special memories.
The elementary school student who participated said, "I was impressed by the beautiful lawn. I would like to play sports here."
"Moving graduation album"
There are also moves to please children by incorporating digital technology into their graduation albums.
When you hold your smartphone over the photos in the album, the video will be played and the teacher will start talking.
In addition to messages from the teacher to the children, you can also look back on the memories of school events such as athletic meet with videos.
What is being used is a technology called AR = augmented reality.
If you download the dedicated app and hold your smartphone over the photo, a preset video will be played.
Image recognition technology is used.
According to the company that provides this service, no additional work is required on the graduation album that has already been produced, just by providing the company with photos and videos.
It is said that the need for this service is increasing due to the corona virus.
Naoya Takahashi
"While school trips and other events are being canceled one after another, it seems that teachers and parents want to leave memories of the school not only in photos but also in videos and make children happy. We have received nearly three times as many inquiries as
Mr. Takahashi himself was unable to attend the graduation ceremony of his two sons, a third-year high school student and a sixth-grade elementary school son, due to the influence of the new corona, so I felt the importance of leaving memories for the children. It is said that there is.
Naoya Takahashi
"I hope that when you open the album five or ten years later, you will remember that there was such a fun thing at school even with Corona."
Making an album while the school events I was looking forward to, such as athletic meet and school trip, are disappearing one after another.
Each photo may be a different sight than usual, but the warmth of the surroundings that wants to leave memories remains the same.
Can I remove the mask?
Some people may be taking pictures for the album from now on, but what is worrisome is the mask.
I want to capture the facial expression firmly in the photo, but I think that I may feel hesitant about whether it is okay to remove the mask when shooting.
I asked an infectious disease expert.
Professor Tetsuya Matsumoto, International University of Health and Welfare
"It would be okay to take a group photo with the mask off for a short time after taking a certain distance without talking outdoors. It's easy for friends to relax and leave their masks off, chatting and sticking to each other. Even if you don't talk at all, just breathe and the virus will come out little by little. Therefore, removing the mask indoors in poorly ventilated areas increases the risk of infection. Please be aware of these points when taking pictures. "