School yearbooks are tangible memories of childhood and adolescence. As children get older and eventually leave the nest, the small details of their school years will be forgotten, but yearbook photos are a record of growth, learning, and social development. Most students and their parents put a lot of focus on individual photos, but capturing other parts of the school experience is just as important. The best yearbook photography includes many school activities and group photos so students are remembered exactly as they were. Make sure not to forget these important school moments in your yearbook photos.
Sports Teams
Most school yearbooks include group shots of all the sports teams, usually in uniform. In addition to these posed and planned group photos, there are other ways to capture the action of athletics. Game highlights, awards ceremonies, and tryouts can all provide a record of the growth achieved both individually and as a team.
Academic Events
Academics are a big part of school, so they should be captured in yearbook photos. Academic contests, big testing events like SATs, and even study sessions are part of academic growth.
Music and Theater Performances
There is no denying that the arts are an important part of a well-rounded education. Most students have very fond memories of learning to play a musical instrument or getting the lead role in the school play. As with sports photos, it is important to capture all stages of the performance process. Include photos of auditions, practices, opening night, and cast parties, so the experience can be remembered in great detail in yearbook photos.
Field Trips
Let’s face it. Sometimes the best part of school was getting to leave. Though field trips do not happen on school grounds, they are a big part of the school experience. Outings and tours expose young people to things they have never experienced before and may even inspire future hobbies or career choices.
Clubs
Even students who did not perform or join sports often belong to clubs. To be inclusive, school activities photos should cover every club in the school, not just the ones with large rosters or a lot of awards. Chess club, comic book collectors, and those AV kids should all be represented on yearbook pages.
Dances
No matter what grades you got or clubs you joined, your school years were a time of personal and social growth. Yearbook photos depicting school dances and other purely social activities are a lot of fun to look back on. Fashion, friends, and first loves come to life as graduates recall every last song and dance theme.
Everyday Life
Some kids and teenagers are not necessarily “joiners,” yet they are an important part of the school experience. To ensure that these students are captured for their own memories and that of their peers, it is a good idea to capture those “regular” school moments. The first day of a new term, registration for classes, studying in the library, and eating lunch, are all subtle yet important parts of the school experience.
New York School Photographers For Your Best Yearbook Photos
Selfies and student submissions are great, but professional photographers can capture emotions and memories in a unique way. Contact ABC School Photographers for your yearbook photos in New York and New Jersey.