5 tips for great back to school photos

As the start of another school year approaches, I wanted to share my top 5 tips for great back to school photos. It’s a key moment every year for your child and should be documented, but sometimes it doesn’t go to plan or you can feel disappointed in how they turned out. But there is no need to worry. With my tips, you’ll be pleased with the result and it will be an experience you will all enjoy.

These tips can be applied no matter what camera you have. These tips will work just as well using a regular phone camera.

1. Plan ahead

The best tip is to plan ahead. This can take to forms depending on what works best for family:

• take the photos the day before school starts
• plan ahead for taking it on the morning of the first day of school.

If your mornings are normal chaotic or unpredictable, you might find it a lot easier and better experience to take them the day before school starts. If getting the kids ready and out the door for school stresses you out, this option will leave you less stressed and be able to enjoy it more. Parents being less stressed, means kids are then less stressed which makes for genuine smiles and great photos.

If mornings are not too bad and you really want to take them on the morning of the first day of school make sure you plan ahead. This means making sure you leave time (10 minutes is normally sufficient) in your morning routine, have the school uniform laid out the night before and preparing lunch boxes/ breakfast the night before too. Doing these little things will help make everything run smoother in the morning.

2. Location location location

Consider where you want the photos to be taken. There are a couple of considerations to make.

The first is light. Your go to location will probably be on the doorstep of your house. This can be great apart from if you have bright morning sunshine falling on your doorstep in the mornings. This will make your child likely squint. If this is the case find a location where the sun is more behind them or place them somewhere that is more shaded.

The second is background. Choose a background that is more plain so your child really pops out and is the focus of the photo. Also, pay attention to what is in the background. before you start. you can either remove the object (for example a bin) or simply take a side step so it’s no longer in the photo.

3. Get down to their level

Crouch down slightly so that the camera is level with their head rather than just standing up straight. Changing the angle of the camera will make sure you capture your child’s features and really see the expresions and details of their features clearly.

You can also have fun and play around with different angles. Shooting down towards a child can make them appear small and petit. Shooting up towards a child can make them appear strong and independent.

4. Take a variety of photos

Take a variety of photos so you have a lot to look back. Some ideas are:

• child all in the photo so you can see them head to toe
• photo from the waist up
• close up of their face
• detailed shots of their uniform, book bag, their little shoes

Getting a variety of images won’t take too long on the day but will give you lots to look back on in years to come.

5. Sharing

Now it’s time to save and share your photos.

For saving photos why not create a folder in your photo app on your phone. You can name it “back to school” and place all back to school photos in there every year. This way you can easily find them and also see how much your children have grown and flourished over the years.

You can share your photos with friends and family. You can do this by sending them the photo privately or on social media. If sharing on social media please take these precautions to stay safe:

• turn of location tagging
• check your privacy settings (who will see your photos)
• cover up the schools logo with an emoji or crop it out
• any identifiable information in the background, for example the school’s name, your street sign, your door number etc

I hope you find these tips useful. If you have any other tips on how to take great back to school photos I would love to hear them!

If you fancy updating your family album, why not check out my family gallery.

Wishing you and your children all the best for a great school year x