Living in a time where so many of us are walking around with a camera on our phones, it’s hard to imagine when taking a picture wasn’t easy. But rewind back to the early 2000s, and the advent of digital cameras and camera phones was just beginning. Before that, of course, we relied on film and had to pray that our pictures turned out well before actually being able to see them.
It’s easy for us to take our relatively new ability to capture every moment of our lives on camera for granted. But it’s important to use this wonderful technology to help preserve history—not just for ourselves, but for our schools.
Schools use professional photographers for picture day to take individual photos of each student as well as faculty, clubs, and sports teams. These pictures then come together to make up the ever-important yearbook, which can serve as a historical archive in and of itself.
In addition to yearbooks and keepsake pictures for families, photographers can take photos throughout the school to use for marketing, which helps elevate your school’s brand and encourage enrollment.
But even beyond marketing, some educators choose to have a photographer return to their school each year to take more comprehensive pictures of their campus, students, and faculty. Why? Because they can use these photos to build a robust historical archive.
If you’re considering such a photoshoot for your school, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Take photos all over your campus, both inside and out, so you can see how it has changed throughout the years.
- Make candid shots a priority to show students and faculty in a more natural setting.
- Grab a deep variety of photos—from classes, clubs, and sports to science labs, music rehearsals, and students interacting in the hallways.
- Consider a multi-day shoot so you can have pictures of a large variety of student activities, concerts, games, and events.
The more photos you capture today, the more future students and faculty will be able to enjoy looking at your school “back in the day.” If you’re interested in elevating your school pictures or expanding school photography, feel free to get in touch with us and see how we can help build your historical archives.