It’s that time of year again where you are planning for the next school year and organising school events such as sports carnivals and school photo day. School photo day can be one of the biggest challenges to organise and if you don’t have the right photography company, it can become unnecessarily stressful.
Making sure you choose absolute professionals to attend your school is essential for producing high-quality portraits, so here are 7 qualities to look for in every school photographer.
1. Eye for Detail
A professional, experienced photographer will notice if there is something in the frame that shouldn’t be. They will also use a range of equipment for light testing to avoid under or overexposure. School photo turnaround times need to be maintained, so your school photographer should have a ‘shoot to print’ philosophy. Our photographers pay attention to correcting the little details, such as the smallest hair covering a child’s face to deliver portraits that stand the test of time.
2. Have Patience
On the day, everything needs to run smoothly. That means your photographers need to be as efficient as they are patient. Nothing good ever came out of a rushed photo session. By having patience, enthusiasm and an understanding of what working with children can entail, our photographers can make sure the best quality photos are taken and that everyone enjoys school photo day.
3. Flexibility
School photo day is a big operation. There is lots of planning involved and class scheduling down to the minute. But what if you need to change things due to unforeseen circumstances? Your photography team needs to be ready for that change. Offering flexibility means everything from changing the photography site due to terrible weather, or rescheduling the school photos to another date. Our team will work with you to ensure your school photos are taken in the best possible location on school grounds and on a day that suits everyone.
4. Amazing People Skills
At the minimum, your school photographer should be able to effectively communicate with all children and be able to make them feel good about having their picture being taken. Professional photographers are used to dealing with even the most difficult subjects and can access a repertoire of methods for responsiveness. Children are also highly intuitive and are able to tell when an adult is in a negative frame of mind, right down to body language.
When photographing children and teenagers over the course of several hours, it’s essential to stay friendly and positive to generate the best possible photo.
5. Be Organised
Organisational skills are an essential part of being a professional photography company. The best school photographers require minimal assistance from school staff and are ready to go when the bell rings at 9 am. At Arthur Reed Photos, we are hands-on with everything from making sure the date is triple checked to organising school class codes to be ready before your photography session. Our photography teams even map out contingency plans just in case of equipment failure on the day. Having good organisational skills allows the day to run smoothly and for there to be minimal disturbance to normal teaching.
6. Punctuality
As we all know, students only attend school between 9 am to 3 pm and we can’t hold students back for their photo to be taken. As a photography company, showing up on time for all clients is a must. School photographers need to arrive well before the students to liaise with staff and prepare equipment, but cheaper and less experienced photographers might not allow enough time for set up. By arriving as early as possible, photographers can make the most of the day and ensure every student and class photo is taken within the scheduled time frame.
7. Experience
Last but not least, hiring an experienced school photographer is key to ensuring a quality result. While it may be tempting to save on the budget by hiring a cheaper or independent photographer, there can be a marked difference in quality and delivery between an experienced provider and an individual operator. Seasoned school photographers understand the level of organisation required for school photo day and can help keep the schedule on track. Having worked with children on numerous occasions, they have methods to get children to respond positively to the camera in order to produce keepsake portraiture.
How does Arthur Reed Photos ensure these qualities are met?
We want every school to value their school photos and feel like they have received the best quality. One of the ways Arthur Reed Photos ensures quality photographs are being taken is by only hiring the best local photographers. We also provide all of our photographers with extensive training. This training has helped us understand where common challenges occur within all types of schools and how to navigate them.
