As a school photographer, preparing for a successful portrait photography session requires thorough preparation and hard work. It is an important day for you and the students as it means capturing beautiful pictures that students can hang in their homes and schools can tuck in albums. That means taking your time to prepare the excited students before pressing the shutter button.
So how do you ensure you deliver quality results so the school can hire you again next time? At ABC School Photographers, we recommend exercising patience and practicing. In this article, we will list a few more things you can do to be effective when setting up a school photography session in NYC.
Prepare Adequately
Preparing adequately is the best way to set yourself up for a successful portrait session. You need to gather all the requirements from the school, such as the number of students you will be photographing, the time, and other special requirements. Be sure to know the style of school portraits required and understand what the school needs, as they will use some of the images in yearbooks and other areas.
Arrive Early to Have Time to Set Up Before Students Arrive
Part of being prepared and organized involves arriving early to set up your working space and preparing for the first pictures. If you will be taking class portraits, it’s essential to determine whether you’ll start with them or the individual images to help save time. You can start with the early birds and take the rest of the students as they arrive. Class or group photos are not easy to handle, especially for kindergarten children. Getting everyone to look at the camera requires lots of hard work and patience.
Create a System to label the images correctly
The last thing you want is to deliver the wrong images to parents, especially if you have been tasked with delivering the photos. When working with large numbers, you need a system that helps you know which picture belongs to which student. There are ways of doing this, including recording image numbers next to the students’ names as they enter. This allows you to track who you photographed and who was missing.
Build Your Set and Lighting for Consistency
When working with a large number of students, especially younger kids, you won’t have time to switch backgrounds and props. Choose a background that matches the school style and use it for all the photos. Choose something that works for each student. A simple digital background can work well. You also want to choose a room or area with adequate lighting for all the school pictures.
Shoot With Consistent Settings
When working with large volumes, consistent settings allow you to take beautiful pictures while saving time. It’s also easy to edit as the pictures will undergo a similar editing process. That means maintaining a similar setting, style, lighting, and background. You might need to make slight adjustments to expose each child’s skin tone properly.
Get Students to Smile
One of the main reasons they may have chosen you is because of your style and the beautiful gallery on your website. While the school has its own expectations, you can quickly go above them if you can make every student smile in their portraits. That’s why proper planning is vital. You can try a few jokes and tricks to keep the student happy and excited.
To learn more about school photography or schedule a school photography session for your students, contact ABC School Photographers. We have over 28 years of experience working with hundreds of schools. Contact us to learn about our packages.
