Back to school: helpful tips for photographing the first day
Well, here we are again - summer seems to have flown by and many of us are getting ready to send our kids back to school. A couple years ago, I wrote another post about photographing the big day, and thought it was probably due for a little update. So get that camera out - whether it’s a phone, DSLR, GoPro or drone - and have fun capturing the big day. Here’s a few tips and ideas for you to check out!
See their progress
It goes without saying that the first day of school is a natural time to look back on any kind of growth in your child. My last blog post about school pictures advised taking a yearly picture in the same spot from year to year so that as you compare images, it keeps the focus on the changes in your child and not their surroundings. You can go beyond this by capturing things other than their appearance that changes from year to year - like their handwriting! For an overhead shot like below, you may need to grab a stool or chair and set them up in a well lit area to work on homework or write a letter. Hold the camera overhead and shoot down at what they are writing.
Don’t forget little siblings
When big sister or brother head off to school, it’s a big deal for little siblings, too. You can include them in group sibling shots as the kids are headed off, as they tag along to the store to pick up supplies, or as they watch their siblings head into the building. Pretty soon, it’ll their turn!
Celebrate milestones
Going to school is a milestone in and of itself. But tucked inside are other rights of passage along the way. Perhaps it’s preschool or kindergarten - the very first of everything! Or maybe it’s the last year they’ll be in elementary school before moving on to middle school, or their senior year! Did you let them ride their bikes for the first time? First times and last times are always important - have your camera to document it.
Twas the night before school…
Don’t forget about the days leading up to the first day. Back to school night, or the routine of laying out the first day of school clothes the night before. This year we are trying something new and doing a practice run with our clothes and backpacks the night before. This is for a couple reasons: we make sure we have everything ready to go in advance, and we can alleviate some of the stress and hurry on the first day of school by getting some pictures taken the night before. You can even stop by the school and see if there’s any special decorations outside that you can grab a picture of before the hustle and bustle of the next morning.
Back to school night and any special preparations the night before are great opportunities for pictures!
Try a different perspective or technique
I know I said to watch them change from year to year by keeping the location the same, but if you want to add a little variety to your yearly back to school pictures, you can also change it up. Here’s a couple ideas:
Want a clean portrait with very little in the background? The inverse square law could be your answer!
Inverse square law: “the intensity of an effect such as illumination or gravitational force changes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the source.”
It sounds complicated, but really it’s easy - I promise! You’ll just need to pull your car out of your garage, and place your subject right at the garage door entrance. Point your camera looking towards the back of the garage. The area behind your subject will fall into shadow, giving you a nice black background. You may need to do a little post edit work by bringing the shadows down to achieve the look you want, but it’s a simple edit that results in a nice, clean portrait.
Want to change it up with your camera? Swap what you’ve been using!
I’ve loved using my drone to see and tell a story from a completely different perspective! The overhead map image below was taken at the school playground!
Why pull the car out of the garage? See the top left picture. The distance of the car from my subject was not enough for it to fall in to shadow. In the picture on the top left, I pulled the car out and got a much cleaner, black background.