We’re all familiar with the traditional school photography of formal poses in rows. Times have changed. Technology is now more advanced and I believe that school photographs should reflect a child’s real personality.

THE DAY BEFORE SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

Encourage children to come to school washed and clean, bringing with them a favourite toy, instrument or whatever else will make them feel at ease.

Arrange to have their hair cut 2 weeks before their picture is being taken and try to make sure that your child’s hair does not hang in front of their face.

Keep clothes simple. Colours that work best on film are blues, pinks, green, brown. School uniforms should be cleaned and pressed.

ON SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

Photo day should be a fun day for everyone. A good school photographer should allocate one hour per class size of twenty giving the photographer and child time to capture the best images. They should aim to provide at least two shots of every child so the parent has a variety of pictures to choose from.

Teachers or parents should not stand behind the photographer to try and get the child to smile. The photographer needs to have a rapport with its subject matter and good photographers have years of experience of photographing children – that’s why they are hired!

Children that wear glasses may not to remove them, especially if the lenses are not non-reflective.

Finally, although every school photography business aims to be able to generate at least one terrific image of each child, it’s not always possible. Some children simply do not like being photographed or are uncomfortable with the process.

Ultimately, school photo day should be one of the most fun days of any class year.

Aimed primarily at primary and nursery schools, Smile’s service can take a bit more time but provides additional value for the school, many of whom end up using some of the pictures taken for their school prospectus or website. What’s’ more, the company offers 10% commission back on print sales that be used toward a school’s fundraising or to give to their favourite charity.