Bend High seniors gather for unique prom photo shoot

Once schools were closed for the year, special events were also cancelled

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Prom is an event that many high school students look forward to from the day they become a freshman. But no one could have predicted the coronavirus and how it's shut down schools, effectively canceling prom this year.

But that cancellation hasn't stopped some Central Oregon high school seniors from still dressing up and taking photos. Some of the seniors even wore N-95 masks while doing so.

Lisa Armstrong, a professional photographer from Bend, helped bring some high school seniors together for photos. Armstrong is taking the photos free of charge.

"I thought this would be a really great way to provide memories for them, and keepsakes," Armstrong said Wednesday evening.

For Jayda Crawford, a Bend High senior, prom was something she had been looking forward to for quite some time. She and her twin sister were able to take photos together.

"It may not be prom, but it's the best we could get from it," Crawford said.

Sarah Stewart another senior at Bend High, is trying her best to take the positives from the situation.

"At first I was very sad and I was like, 'I'm getting robbed,' and I feel that I've worked 12 years of my life to just get nothing," Stewart said. "But now I'm looking back, and I can have a story to tell my family that I made it through this. My friends and I stuck together through it, and anything is possible."

Stewart plans to host her own small prom.

Armstrong is planning to set up more photo sessions for other high school seniors. If you are or know of a high school senior that needs prom pictures, you can find more information through Armstrong's website here.