Background
Since 2009, Felix Kirschner, supported by his family and this year also by digatus employee Anja Ditz, has been independently taking the faculty, class, and friend photos annually at St. Anna Gymnasium in Augsburg (Göggingen district).
The resulting photos are post-processed (straightened, white balance, color corrected, cropped, and scaled). Care is always taken to ensure that photos in which individuals are visibly unflatteringly depicted are never published. In cooperation with the school’s administration, the distribution of the pictures is also organized and carried out.
If the resulting photos are offered for purchase to parents, this always occurs during a school event and on behalf of the school. The respective proceeds are entirely at the school’s free disposal. The income per initiative amounts to up to 5,000 Euros. The provision of photo equipment and the time invested by participants are both free of charge and voluntary.
It is always a great pleasure to experience the vibrancy and enthusiasm of youth and capture it in images.
Felix Kirschner – digatus CEO
Felix Kirschner: My Motivation
From my own school days, I know that high-quality photos of this period of life are rare and hold significant personal value today. As I wished to volunteer in my local community, it was natural for me to use my photography equipment to make a unique contribution and create memorable images for both the children and their parents. A welcome side effect is the revenue generated for school purposes, which can be used, for example, as financial support for class trips and school events, for renovations, and for the procurement and expansion of additional teaching materials, among many other things.
Year after year, this involvement gained more recognition and appreciation, leading to older class photos being recreated in higher grades, and enabling us to provide graduates with entire photo collections for their farewell.
It is always a great pleasure to experience the vibrancy and enthusiasm of youth and capture it in images. The historical records created become increasingly valuable over time, with their true significance fully unfolding only at the 10th or 20th graduation class reunions. This vision is a major driving force behind my commitment today.
The Preparations
This year’s class photo shoot took place on May 15. Despite the forecast rain shower, the weather held, providing consistently good conditions. Preparations began as early as 7:30 AM with the selection of the perfect backdrop in the schoolyard. Thanks to the previous day’s rain, the lawn was a lush green and, together with two large trees, offered the ideal background for the photos. After setting up, the photo equipment was prepared and fine-tuned. As soon as the cameras were aligned and the lenses focused, the first class arrived.
Felix Kirschner adjusts the camera for the class photos of St. Anna Gymnasium
Please smile!
Depending on the class size, students lined up in three rows under Felix Kirschner’s guidance. First, the official class photos were taken, ideally without hats or funny faces. After the serious class photos, students were encouraged to express their creativity and pose for a “fun photo,” which they usually did with great enthusiasm. To ensure a wide variety of photos as mementos of their school days and for albums, group photos of all boys and all girls were also taken.
While one class was being photographed, the next was already waiting. Thanks to this efficient organization, photos were taken non-stop every 5 minutes, and the tight schedule was successfully maintained. As a result, by 10:45 AM, the photos for all 22 classes were complete.
With his class photo initiative, Felix demonstrates what practical social commitment looks like, ensuring that enjoyment is not overlooked. The next social initiatives at digatus are already in the planning stages, both within the photographic domain and beyond. We also welcome further ideas or concrete projects from the region that we can actively support!
