When you’ve visited MLive.com recently, you’ve probably noticed what season is in full bloom.
Not spring – Michigan weather gets a vote on that, and frost and blooms don’t get along very well. No, I’m referring to the even more colorful high school prom season. MLive’s 10 photographers have begun the annual ritual of photographing proms in all our core communities statewide.
This is our 11th successive year of chronicling the joy and fun of these celebrations, but this year there is a change in the way we are making the photos available to readers.
This prom season, we are making the prom stories and photo galleries available to subscribers only. That includes digital subscribers as well as print subscribers who have activated their digital subscription.
The subscription comes with a big bonus – once you subscribe, you can download as many high-resolution, high-quality images as you’d like.
If you’re not a subscriber and would like to see options to subscribe, click here and follow the prompts.
Given that we produce thousands of stories and photos per month, this is a minor change. However, because proms are such meaningful events in the life of our communities, we believe we’re making a strong statement about the value of content provided by MLive and the value of the subscription itself.
By the time May ends, we will have captured thousands of teens enjoying this rite of passage at as many as 50 proms.
“My favorites are the red-carpet walks and the community showoffs,” said J. Scott Park, photo editor for MLive.
“I really like how the families and friends react to seeing their loved ones all dressed up for a memorable night,” he said. “Some communities and schools really go all out for the showoffs. To me, these are the best photos of prom season.”
Our photographers typically load 50 to 100 images into a photo gallery and then post it in a short story on MLive.com.
Park, who is in Jackson, has shot more than 50 proms over the last 10 years. His quick search our archives shows he’s made more than 4,000 published photos in that time.
As you can imagine, it’s hard for Park to single out a single notable memory from those events. But he knows what satisfies him the most.
“I think my favorite prom memories all revolve around photographing students that might not otherwise be photographed,” he said.
“They aren't an athlete. They aren't on the robotics team. But they look great on a special night and they are so happy to be included in the gallery. Some have never been photographed by a professional photographer. So, it is special to them.”
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John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions you’d like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at [email protected].
