Mom Sends Son to Picture Day in Green Shirt, Can't Stop Laughing When Photos Arrive
The immortal Kermit the Frog said it best. As the amphibious Muppet character once lamented on Sesame Street, “It’s not easy being green.”
Kids everywhere seem to sympathize with this sentiment, and a lot of parents have picked up on the implications, too.
Because sometimes, despite your very best efforts, you stand out from the crowd. As most grade school kids will tell you, it’s not always a great thing to stand out.
But sometimes it is.
Just ask Carter Hutsell. This 12-year-old student lives near St. Louis, Missouri with his mom, Laurel Boone Hutsell.
Carter recently took part in a time-honored autumn rite of passage — picture day.
Unfortunately for Carter, his well-meaning mother helped him coordinate his outfit. According to a Love What Matters blog post, 42-year-old Laurel decided her eldest child would look best in a bright pop of color.
Laurel reasoned that a nice vibrant shirt would stand out “great against the gray or taupe background” typically used by school photographers. She also thought green would be the perfect way to symbolize a “clean slate” and a “fresh start.”
If you stop to consider this, it sounds like a respectable strategy. But as Laurel later reflected in a hysterical Facebook post, “I probably should have read some fine print.”
Things started out well enough. Carter showed up for pictures looking handsome and well-groomed, with his hair combed, dressed in a spotless green shirt.
Then the photographer sat him down and said “smile.” That’s when Carter realized they were using a green screen.
If you’ve ever watched a weather report or a blockbuster sci-fi movie, then you’ve undoubtedly seen a green screen in action. This high-tech backdrop allows a separate image to be spliced in behind the subject.
It really is a clever innovation for school pictures. In Carter’s case, the photographer swapped in a rustic autumn bridge scene, an American flag, and several eye-catching patterns.
Except that Carter himself, as you’ll recall, was also decked out in green. As a result, the final images were mildly horrifying and majorly hilarious.
When Laurel received the photos back, she saw the slightly unnerving sight of her son’s isolated head floating there all by itself, in front of each background. His chest and limbs were basically invisible unless you count his forearms sticking out toward the bottom of the frame.
Laurel couldn’t help but share this extreme photo fail on her personal Facebook page. Unsurprisingly, her self-deprecating post went viral.
The caption mentions her initial hope that the pics would somehow turn out fine, despite the shirt mishap. That statement is followed by five crying-laughing emojis, plus a comical one-word summary: “Nope.”
Laurel told FOX 11 that fortunately, the photography studio was able to fix Carter’s photos, so at least there won’t be any need for a full retake.
But regardless, the larger life takeaways are pretty clear. Green shirts are a hard “no” for school photos, period. And if things don’t turn out precisely the way you planned, always remember to laugh.
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