Preparing Students for Photo Day

For most students, photo day means a few minutes out of class to have their class photo taken and then they get on with their school day.

For new kindergarten/prep students, Photo Day might seem a bit confusing.

If students are more familiar with what happens on Photo Day, they will be well prepared to play their starring role.

Before Photo Day

As Photo Day nears, parents and teachers can help by talking with their young students about the day and how it will be a fun and enjoyable experience. Reminders to follow the simple instructions of MSP Photography staff are appreciated.

The children may like to practise their best smiles ahead of time but if your child has a tendency to grimace when you say “cheese”, show them things they can do to relax (keeping shoulders and arms loose, relaxing the face) to ensure our photographers can capture a more natural expression.

On the day

Parents can help by dressing their child into their best school clothes and ensuring teeth have been brushed and hair is neat and tidy. Young students will find it difficult to fix a complicated hairstyle if it happens to fall before the photo is taken, so keeping to a simple style is preferable.

Remember that hands and feet are often visible in group photos, so polishing shoes and ensuring hands and nails are clean is also a good idea.

Having the completed order envelope ready for the child to hand in makes the process run smoothly – even if an online order has been placed, or the parent isn’t ordering, the child will still need to bring in their envelope on the day.

Teachers can assist by lining up the students from shortest to tallest for the class photograph, making it much easier for the photographer to arrange them.

Safety around our photography stands is important, so ensuring students know they need to be sensible when standing or sitting on them is helpful. Of course, the MSP Photography staff will demonstrate how to safely step on and off the stands and help the students to do so.

When photos arrive

Getting photo packs back from school is an exciting time, especially for young students.

Parents can create a special moment by sitting down with their children and going through the images together. Children will love pointing out their teacher and their friends to you. Sharing school photos with family and friends is a treasured tradition in many families, so taking a print to Grandma’s, or emailing one to cousins interstate is a nice way to introduce your young student to that tradition.

So teachers, the better prepared your students are, the more smoothly the photo session will run. And for parents, the better prepared your child is, the more you’ll love their portraits.

By Erica Stoker and Marissa Nolan, MSP Photography Illawarra