craigdailypress.com

Students at East Elementary School wiggled in their seats as a man with a tall tripod, expensive camera and oversized flash asked them to repeat three important words, "I like boys."

Fourth-grader Nicole Ferree scrunched up her face.

"I don't like boys," she said.

But she admitted it for the picture anyway.

The boys in her class reluctantly said, "I like girls."

And it worked. The fourth-graders perked up and smiled for the camera.

"I think you just need to be animated for them, to keep their attention," said Bert Yanowich, owner of Grand Junction-based Yanowich School Pictures.

He was at East Elementary on Friday, taking portraits of all the classes at the school.

Third-grader Christopher Kling said he thought the photographer was a bit silly. But his goofiness kept Kling smiling.

Kling said having his picture taken was fun because it doesn't happen often and he got out of class for a few minutes.

"The last time (he took our picture), I looked at the (flash) and it was all different colors," Kling said. "It was cool."

Yanowich said thousands of students at more than 100 schools pass in front of his lens each year.

He said kids like the attention of having their picture taken, especially those that do not get that attention at home.

"If you can just show them you're interested and you care about them, they respond," Yanowich said.

But not all students are so agreeable. Sometimes, kids cry.

"They cry because I'm a strange person," Yanowich said. "They don't know me."

That's what retakes are for.

Some kids like to be overly silly, making faces and picking on other students. Yanowich said he's not afraid to threaten a trip to the principal's office. That usually does the trick.

But Yanowich said he doesn't take students' reactions personally. He's been in the business long enough to know better.

"This is my 31st year, and I still love the kids," he said.

It appears the feeling is mutual.

Even Dylan Duzik, a fourth-grader at East who said he is scared of cameras, smiled for the shot.

"I sat there and did what I was supposed to do," Duzik said. "I said what he said to say, even if I don't really like girls."

Michelle Perry can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 204, or mperry@craigdailypress.com.