Back-to-school photos have gained popularity over the years. Not the ones the school does for the yearbook where a guy tells the child to smile then snaps a photo while they’re fixing their hair or opening their mouth to ask “now?”
No, parents are showing increased interest in their children’s return to school by snapping and posting photos before they get on the bus in their fresh new school clothes.
While this is a popular trend, no one does it quite as well as Leslie Ann Brooks. Her pictures have gone viral, and it’s easy to understand why.
In a series of photos on her Instagram, Brooks’ children look morosely toward the camera while she celebrates in the background. She told Inside Edition that the credit should actually go to her husband who joked one day that it would be funny if she jumped for joy when the kids went to wait for the bus on their first day back.
The kids were slightly embarrassed when they first started, but now look forward to helping her set up the shoots.
Brooks is no stranger to elaborate photo shoots, she has had a career in modeling for 20 years and after an agent in LA recommended she build her social media brand, she accrued nearly 150k followers, gaining her the title of a social media influencer.
Despite being a professional model with agencies like MJK, most of her recent attention has been from these hilarious family photo shoots.
Every shoot has a different theme, some feature her in relaxed poses like getting a massage on the front porch or floating on a swan pool toy with a Frappuccino
Others, however, show her in more celebratory poses – jumping for joy or into the pool.
Arguably the best photo is one where all of the children are actually refusing to go to school as she tries to pry them off of the house while wearing a tutu and unicorn horn.
While the photos give the impression that Brooks can’t wait to have her kids out of her hair, she told Inside Edition that she actually dreads back to school. The photos are a way for her to get in some last minute bonding before the kids head off.
She also knows that her kids aren’t going to have first-day-of-school photo opportunities forever and her main goal is to create something so they can look back on those days and have a good laugh.
Back to school is a bittersweet time for all parents. They don’t want to lose out on time with their kids, but they also look forward to having some relaxing time to themselves.
Take a page out of Brooks’ book and snap some fun pictures to help you get through this yearly transition (and don’t forget to share them with us in the comments).
