Skip to main content

School Photos Are Not As Easy as You'd Think

Every year I do a load of school portraits and I rarely get the chance to share them as I never share anything without permission. Gaining permission is just that bit more difficult when you don't meet face to face with many parents. So I just don't bother. But this year I thought I'd give it a go and get some permissions as they are just too lovely not to share.

(You know you got it right when you show Mum and she gets tears in her eyes - this family has been coming to me for years now and I love watching them grow) 

School portraits give me a chance to work very differently than usual. In some ways its not how I like to work at all but in others its a chance for a little freedom. You see for me, I like to be a perfectionist with my work. And being such can be draining. This usually means creating just a few really great portraits for my studio clients and having all the time in the world in which to do so. With school portraits on the other hand, there is only so much I can do. So I have to let some of the perfectionist in me go. And that can actually be quite liberating at times.

(Sometimes kids pose themselves and get it so right)

My studio sessions regularly last as long as 4 hours, depending on the type of shoot. So that is 4 hours to maybe work with 2-5 people to get possibly 10-20 fantastic images. Schools on the other hand will be about 6 hours to photograph 200 people as both individuals and sibling groups to get roughly 500 acceptable photos (which I always still try my best to make perfect). So as you can imagine, it all works a little differently. And to be honest, I take longer than many other school photographers, from what I am told. I basically get no more than 60 seconds per child which can make it difficult to get that perfect smile every time no matter how hard I try. But when it doesn't happen, I've learned over time to let it go. This is where the feeling of freedom comes from and why schools can be a break for me just by being a change from what I am used to.


With the youngest of children they are often so shy and a little scared that we can't always get the best with them. And with the older children they can be a little self conscious or in need of looking cool in front of their peers. Either way, getting that quintessential smiling portrait isn't always possible. Not to mention that as soon as first break hits, there is little chance that the flawless hair styles will remain. The girls come back with their perfect pig tails springing leaks and the boys come in with red faces and damp sweaty hair. Not really the ideal scenario for perfect portraits.


However, for me the perfect school portrait is about capturing the child at school being themselves. I have many photos of my daughter at school looking less than pristine and one time as miserable as can be but every time they were still perfect to me because it was always as I would expect my daughter to be. Her miserable portrait was when she was 2 and painfully shy and I love that memory. And her slightly tatty hair was exactly how I saw her everyday when she came running out to me at the gates at the end of the day.


This is what school portraits are. There are other times and places to get photos with everything just so. At school the photos are whatever we manage to capture. But please know that I always try my absolute hardest in that short time I have to get something each parent will love. I know they aren't always perfect but I'm always still proud of what I create under those circumstances. I think if more parents could witness the process they'd appreciate just how difficult it really is.


In 2018 I will be offering 2 different types of sessions in our studio for people wanting school photos with a bit extra. As always I will be setting a couple of dates for basic school photos in a 10 minute session where my usual school print and digital prices apply. This is for standard straightforward school photos only.  In addition to this I will be offering extended sessions at my mini session price of £125 for 3 digital files. This session will differ in terms of the amount of time spent (45 minutes instead of 10), props used and an outfit change so not all photos need to look like school photos. This will be a great opportunity to get regular updated portraits of your child and at a reduced rate from my usual studio fees.


If you would like to be added to my mailing list for such school photos please get in contact using the links below and you'll be notified as soon as the dates are set. Please note that we will not bombard you with loads of emails (or share any of your details). This list is for school photos only and will be used for just a few emails per year.  

Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani

Introducing Claude - Another Fantastic French Bulldog

I know this breed is becoming very popular, I believe even set to take over the top spot for most popular breed from the Golden Labrador, but I never expected to get quite so many in my studio. Can't say I'm complaining though. They have such a wonderful character and I love to capture those adorable squished up faces. This client came in not just for personal portraits though. Instead she is developing a line of homemade all natural dog treats called Claude's Little Doggie Bag  and these portraits are to be used in her labels. Which is partly the reason why these images differ quite drastically from my usual style. This client had a very specific idea for what she wanted on her labels. But again, this is perfect for me because I just love variety. I don't really want to be creating the same work over and over again. This gave me the opportunity to revisit a style I've not used in some time. This little guy was just 14 weeks old so as  you can imag

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

  Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe