High School Student Petitions to Get His Epic Laser Cat Portrait in Yearbook

Photography News  •  Portrait Photography

Gone are the days of generic, uniform student yearbook photos. It used to be that everyone got dressed up for picture day, sat on the same stool, made the same pose against the same tacky background, smiled the same smile. But today’s youth are bored with that. Students want to be seen for who they are; they want to be unique and they want to be remembered that way.

That’s what Schenectady High School senior Draven Rodriguez wants. Sure, he still got dressed up, used one of the most iconic tacky backgrounds ever (I’ll never forget my own portrait against that laser backdrop, fuchsia faux-satin shirt and all), and smiled, but his portrait has one defining element that nobody else’s does:

Draven Rodriguez and Mr. Bigglesworth (Via Trinacria Photography/Facebook. Click image to see full size.)

Every year we hear about a high school yearbook controversy—from the staff editing out so-called racy photos to images appearing that showcase teen parents—but oftentimes it’s all blown out of proportion. What Rodriguez is doing is far from controversial, but it is making waves across news outlets and social media. The thing is, the photo may not be accepted by the school to be included in the portrait section.

Trinacria Photography also shared this photo from Rodriguez’s tacky shoot on Facebook. (Via Trinacria Photography/Facebook. Click image to see full size.)

Rodriguez has started a petition—not to start a war, just to see if it will happen—to get his unique photo in the yearbook. All submissions must be in by September 15, so I guess we’ll know soon if upstate New York will be the first to allow cats in class photos.