Ah, picture day. Who doesn’t remember the pure anxiety and excitement of sitting down for your start-of-the-year photoshoot? You knew that photo was going to be featured on your photo ID, in your family’s holiday cards, up on grandma’s wall, and in the yearbook come May — so it’s no wonder you wanted it to be perfect!

Well, this St. Louis student took some back-to-school photos that really stand a head above the rest.

Missouri mom, Laurel Boone Hutsell, shared the hysterical story of her son Carter’s picture day on Facebook, including the…uh…interesting results of the photoshoot. She writes:

My son – “Mom, I shouldn’t have worn the green shirt for pictures. It will blend in with the green screen they used.”

Me: “They used a green screen? What?! I probably should have read some fine print. Maybe they will be ok.”

Nope. Seriously cracking up! At least his hair and smile were on point!

Hutsell posted the hilarious photos to her Facebook profile, asking for input on which to choose. (They’re partial to the American flag one pictured below and honestly? We can see why.) The post has almost 50,000 likes and 36,000 shares as of August 22nd.

Apparently, neither Hutsell or her son knew that the photos would be taken on a green screen background, so neither of them questioned Carter going to school that day with a nice green shirt on.

“I’ve asked around. There was no ‘fine-print-green screen’ warning,” She jokes in her Facebook post.

As unfortunate as this mishap was, it’s a good (and hysterical) reminder for parents everywhere! The photographer or company taking back-to-school photos might not be explicit on background colors; see if you can find out through the company contact information or through the school. If not, maybe send your kids to school with a backup shirt…just in case.

Regardless, this ended up being one hilarious memory for Carter and his mom! They have plenty of wonderful “floating head” photos to choose from, like this excellent display of the fall foliage:

Or this lovely pastel number that’s perfect for spring!

And when in doubt, always go for a nice neutral grey that can be used any time of year.

Take a peek at Hutsell’s now-viral post for the rest of the hysterical pictures. Happy “Back-to-School season,” everyone!