Local Photographer Takes Senior Pictures with Disposable Camera, Fools Everyone
Graduation season approaches once again for students at Texas A&M. Unwatched Snapchat stories of friends ordering caps and gowns, overlooked Facebook posts of “I can’t believe this is my last…”, and mailboxes overflowing with unopened graduation invites signal the landfall of this annual rite of passage for thousands of Aggies. However, these indicators of success pale in comparison to the most important social media brag: senior photos.
As graduation candidates scramble to book the photographer of their dreams, Bethany O’Connor could not believe her eyes when she first stumbled across Mark Daniels’ flashy photography website, advertising just $40 for a full day’s worth of high quality photographs. O’Connor, a senior economics major, told The Mugdown that her financial situation left her worried, wondering how she could possibly afford anyone from College Station’s prestigious group of the pictorial elite. Despite one small detail that concerned O’Connor, Daniels seemed to be the answer to her fervent prayers.
“I was so worried that no one would really know I was graduating if I couldn’t post pictures of myself in my cap and gown on all my social media outlets, so I jumped on Mark’s offer,” said O’Connor. “We set a date when Mark told me the weather would be clear and the sky would be my favorite color—blue—and I picked out some cute outfits. Mark showed up and he had this really cool, futuristic-looking camera. It was small and compact, and I think it was from Japan or something. He told me that we had to make every picture count because the lighting for the day only allowed for exactly 27 pictures. That’s how I knew I was working with a real professional.”
According to O’Connor, the session took approximately one hour, and Daniels hand-delivered the photos himself after taking “only two or three days to edit them to perfection.” Upon inquiring how The Mugdown could contact Daniels for a statement, O’Connor gave us his fax machine number.
⎯Mugdown Staff
