Latest news with #KeenanThomas
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ready for the first day of school? 5 tips to get the best photos of your kid's big day
Buses will fill up, classroom seats will be taken and schools will be abuzz with kids. Welcome back to school! Well, almost, but it's still an exciting time as kids around Knox County prepare to return to school on Aug. 7. And with the first day of school comes the requisite first day photos, so parents can show off their pride and joy to friends and family online. But sometimes the photos we envision might not translate into the ones we actually take, and you want to make sure you get the best photo you can to remember your child's first day of school. So with phone or camera in hand, here are some tips from Knox News photographer Brianna Paciorka and reporter Keenan Thomas on how to capture your kid's smiling face before they hop on the school bus Aug. 7. Environment matters, and you can still have fun An easy way to get fun, interesting photos for the first day of school is to utilize the environment around you. Stairs are a great prop to use, as you can capture your kids sitting on the stairs, leaning on the railing, descending the stairs or posing in the staircase. Couches, chairs and benches can provide support with a variety of poseable options for parents to capture. The options extend outside of the staircase and living room with trees, archways and doors being excellent locations with options for kids to lean, walk through or climb for photos! It can show how they're ready for the school year journey or climbing their way to academic success. Be mindful of lighting, surroundings Lighting and surroundings are two of the biggest potential issues to look out for while taking photos commemorating your kid's first day of school. Lighting plays an important role in capturing nice photos, but it can also spell trouble if you're not positioned well. Taking photos in the shadows will make the shots darker, whereas having the background too bright could cause it to be overly backlit and leave your kid in silhouette. To capture good lighting, make sure the background is the same brightness or darker compared to the foreground where your kid us. Also, be mindful of the sun's location. Positioning your kid where the main light source is shining on them from the front or to the side will properly expose them, but you don't want them to be squinting when they say, "Cheese!" As for surroundings, you don't want things in the background to "stick out," like a pole that appears to be sprouting from their head, or unpleasant props like a trash can visible off to the side. Find contrasting backgrounds to make your photos pop Another good way to take nice photos is to find a background that contrasts with what your kid is wearing. If your child is wearing darker clothing, then find a lighter or colorful background. But if they're wearing something bright and colorful, a darker background will help to draw attention to them. This way, you can highlight your kid on their first day even more while making your photos interesting, without them getting lost in similar colors within the shot. Composition matters, and here's a tip to capture it! While taking photos, keeping an eye on composition can improve the aesthetic quality of your photos, and that's true for taking first day of school pictures! Parents can utilize the rule of thirds by positioning their kids and the camera to capture more dynamic photos. The rule breaks photos down into three columns and rows that are symmetrical in the frame, with best practices including positioning the subject either within different columns or along different lines. On phones, an easy way to implement the rule of thirds is with a grid present on the screen in the camera app. It might need to be turned on in the settings, but the grid allows parents to easily take nice photos. Or if you just want a simple photo, do whatever seems best to you! Maybe you want your child to be in the center of the frame or doing something goofy. Pose, pose, pose, and have fun! Allowing your child to try a variety of poses could be a fun way to engage them in the photos while having several options to choose from when posting on social media later. It could be a nice and proper pose, one with a little board that says something to express excitement about the first day, a pose using props like a backpack to show it off or even a silly pose that showcases your kid's personality. But at the end of the day, have fun with it! If your kid has any ideas, listen to what they have to say and try it out. It could lead to a unique photo that no other parent is posting online, and even could get them excited to take on the day ahead. Either way, this should be a fun and relaxing activity. Getting a nice photo to remember the day is the cherry on top, and you can have a good time doing so. Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Try these 5 tips for taking the best first-day-of-school photos Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Knox County school board approves all-day phone, watch and tablet restriction
The Knox County school board approved a restrictive policy on access to smart devices in schools, meaning students will only have access to phones, watches and tablets before and after school. The policy change follows a new Tennessee law restricting access for devices including smart phones, tablets, watches and more. Knox County Schools had a similar policy in place, but the board members agreed on an updated policy tightening use by students. The board approved the policy with six yes votes, two no votes and one pass during its July 10 meeting. Board members had options to allow students to access their devices at the lunch periods or between classes, but declined to approve those. Principals have the discretion to allow phones for work during class time, and students can carry them in backpacks or purses as long as they are kept out of reach. Students are allowed to use their phones during emergencies. The change applies in the new academic year in August. Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County school board approves all-day phone restriction
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cumberland Foodhall won't just be for students: These new meals are coming to the Strip
Knoxville residents, not just students, soon will have a new dining option on Cumberland Avenue through a partnership between the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Core Spaces, the student apartment developer opening two of four Hub Knoxville buildings for the fall semester. But the new Cumberland Foodhall concept, which will feature counter service and food lockers from multiple vendors, won't be ready until the spring 2026 semester. Through university food vendor Aramark Educational Services, UT is leasing the space inside Hub Knoxville at 1925 Cumberland Ave. for Vol Dining. The food hall will serve lunch and dinner, with space for 350 people to sit. While vendors will accept credit and debit cards, students can also pay using Dining Dollars, their VolCard or the Flex Plan. Core Spaces will build out the space as a food hall for $586,480. UT will pay more than $2.85 million during a five-year lease period, followed by the option to extend the lease another five years. The food hall will have one counter-service restaurant called Zen Sushi & Wok, which will offer sushi, ramen, dumplings and boba tea. The concept is unrelated to a restaurant with a similar name that operated on the 1900 block of Cumberland Avenue before Hub Knoxville construction began. The Cumberland Foodhall also will have lockers where people can pick up food from two other vendors: Athenian Grill and Big Orange Grill. Athenian Grill will serve Mediterranean food, including bowls, wraps and gyros. Big Orange Grill − the second location for this UT concept and the third restaurant partnership with UT's Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center − will serve UT farm-raised beef burgers, chicken tenders and Philly cheesesteaks. The lockers join a growing list of ways for students to pick up food, as UT has added delivery robots on campus and upgraded dining options with more vendors to complement traditional dining halls. The new food hall is another step in UT's mission to widen the campus footprint while investing in off-campus spaces. The university has identified a 1.5-mile radius in which UT can have the biggest "influence" south of the river at Cherokee Farm Research Park and north to Mechanicsville, where the UT Institute of Public Service operates. The radius expands east and west to the South Waterfront and Sequoyah Hills neighborhood, respectively. UT uses this radius to identify key areas where it would like to invest. This includes the Strip − where UT already owns and operates buildings housing a Chick-fil-A and the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs − as well as Cherokee Mills, which UT intends to buy. Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee opening Cumberland Foodhall dining on the Strip
