Photographer failed in class photo that segregates student in wheelchair

"This looks really bad."

That's all it would have taken from one of the 25 people involved in an unfortunate British Columbia elementary school class photograph currently making the rounds online. One person to speak up and we would have avoided a shameful and embarrassing incident.

Considering 23 of those people were Grade 2 students and one of them was a professional photographer, it is pretty clear where the blame lay.

The photo in question shows an adorable class from Herbert Spencer Elementary School in New Westminster, B.C., lined up in their Sunday best. Three rows of students and one teacher are gathered on tiered benches. Several feet away sits the wheelchair-bound Miles Ambridge, seemingly segregated from the rest of his classmates.

Heartbreakingly, Miles appears to be urging his body closer to the group, perhaps in an attempt to be included in the photo.

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The photograph of Miles Ambridge's Grade 2 class first came to light when his mother contacted The Province, a B.C. newspaper after receiving no support or assistance from the photography studio, Lifetouch.

Since the picture was first publicized, scores of news outlets have covered the story, including several overseas.

Mother Anne Belanger told The Province she was overcome with anger and sadness at seeing the photo. She explained later that she wasn't upset with her son's teacher, but wanted to bring awareness to the everyday problems that face people in wheelchairs.

Lifetouch, the photography studio, knows the photo was wrong, but the photo was captured and mailed out to parents anyway. On the website, the company stresses an accessibility mandate that photos be provided “in a manner that is respectful to persons with a disability and does not diminish the person’s importance.”

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It is impossible not to look at the photo and say, “This looks really bad.” It is almost as if the photographer didn't care.

Lifetouch has since retaken the photograph. For the replacement photo, according to The Province, “Miles was taken out of his wheelchair and supported by a caregiver on a bench beside his classmates.”

Frankly, this doesn't seem like the best alternative, either. Can really no one find a way to include a boy and his wheelchair in a class photo?