It doesn’t take a lot of convincing to persuade people that school pictures are an essential part of any childhood. Not only because it creates a nice snapshot of a child at a specific point in his or her life, but also because it gives parents and grandparents important fodder for refrigerators and picture frames around their home.
There are seemingly endless ways to make the most of these photo sessions, but one of the easiest and most common tactics for improving a school photo is to include props. Here at ABC School Photographers, we encourage the use of these props to liven up these photos, and the following are some reasons why these props work so well:
#1 Props Help Your Child’s Pictures Stand Out in the Crowd
Considering how many students don’t use props in their school photos, having your child use one can help their photos stand out. These days, any way we can encourage creativity in the representations of our children, we should help them go for it. These props don’t have to be outrageous, but just adding a desk or apple or stack of books in a photo can make it look so much different from so many other students’ photos.
#2 Props Help Bring Forth Your Child’s Unique Personality
Depending on the prop, you can add a lot to the personality of a photo by letting the personality of the child shine through. If there is certain book series they love, they could bring in a prop or two that shows their fandom. The same goes for sports and other hobbies. Why not show what makes the child special through their school photos?
#3 Props Give Photographers More Diverse Composition Options
There are only so many poses a school photographer can ask a child to do, but adding props gives them new possibilities for how they can compose a photograph. Adding certain items means opening up doors for new composition possibilities, all of which just create better outcomes for the finished product.
#4 Props Can Record-Keep Your Child’s Interests and Aspirations
One of the most popular props we use for school photos are chalkboards, which do a great job marking not only what grade the child is in, but also what they plan to do with their lives when they grow up. It’s always fun to look back on what they thought they’d be someday, and chalkboards help track that information.
#5 Props Are Fun!
Perhaps the simplest reason to appreciate props in school photos is how much more fun kids have including them in their photos. From choosing the props to posing with them, there’s no doubt that they can liven up a photo and make the process of capturing that photo all the more enjoyable.
More than anything, props in school photos exist to enhance the overall aesthetic of the image. ABC School Photographers want to make the most of these sessions so parents will be happy with the end result, and props are one way to help ensure that happens.
