Lawrence Bradley may have been the most popular, yet unrecognizable, person in a school on any given day. At many schools in metro Atlanta and beyond, he was the man behind the camera on school picture day.
For 50 years, Bradley took and developed thousands of photos a week, trying to help kids, teachers and their relatives capture a moment in time.
“He was a real innovator in the school picture industry,” said George W. Alford, a former competitor turned friend. “His lighting techniques were legendary. And it was hard to get consistent lighting in some of those places, but he did.”
In the 1950s, Bradley was a charter member, and the third president, of the Professional School Photographers Association International. His company, Bradley and Newell, took school pictures in several states across the Southeast, including Georgia and Florida, Alford said.
Lawrence Wooten Bradley of Rockmart died May 25 from complications related to cancer. He was 89. A memorial service was held Sunday. West Georgia Crematory was in charge of arrangements.
An Atlanta native, Bradley got into photography because it was his father’s profession, said his eldest son, Larry Bradley of Alpharetta. His father started the business in 1929, and when Lawrence Bradley returned to Atlanta after serving in the Army during World War II, he took over.
Walter Martin said Bradley was a “different sort of photographer” than others in the business in the early days. Martin, who is black, said there were not many whites who would teach him the trade.
“He wasn’t stingy with information,” Martin said. “While others would only let me set up the tripod for the camera, Mr. Bradley taught me about photography.”
The school photography business was not an easy one, Martin and Alford said. One of the biggest challenges was getting the proper lighting in an otherwise dimly lit cafeteria, gymnasium or library.
“I know for 20 years we kept playing with the lighting in a few places,” Martin said. “Each year we went back, we’d try something different until he got it where he wanted it.”
During the picture season, there were long days at schools and even longer nights at the lab where the photographs were developed, Alford said.
“I know there were nights when he slept at the lab,” he said. “I know it because I did it too. You had to get all of those pictures ready.”
Larry Bradley said his father finally retired in the 1990s, but not because he wanted to.
“The digital age kinda forced him out,” Bradley said of his father. “He really liked film, but they were doing less and less of that, so he got out.”
In addition to his eldest son, Bradley is survived by sons David Bradley of Rockmart, Lee Bradley of Suwanee and Miles Bradley of Smyrna; and daughters Claudia Eisenberg of Fayetteville, Beth Chappel of Buford and Lane Norman of Columbus, Ohio.
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