Group photo day doesn’t need to resemble a mosh pit at a Metallica concert. To avoid constant chaos and faculty complaints, have a plan. Read our seven solutions here:
1. Communicate. Set the date early. In fact, schedule the day on the master calendar at the beginning of the year. Then the staff can plan test, quizzes and field trips for other days.
2. Contact your professional photographer to take the pictures. (Retakes are out the question.)
3. Get a list of all clubs and sponsors at the beginning of the year. Before group picture day, check again to make sure all groups are still active.
4. Distribute passes to club sponsors. In order to be pictured in a group photo, each pass, signed by an adviser, needs to be presented to a yearbook staff member prior to the photo being taken. This eliminates students who haven’t participated from showing up on picture day.
5. Post a schedule indicating when each group’s photo will be taken. Groups scheduled for a particular period should arrive at the beginning of the period. If an administrator or an office employee announces the name of the group at the beginning of each period, it will allow teachers to check passes before releasing students.
6. Either project the name of the group to be taken on the wall or hold up large signs.
7. Staff members need to think ahead about the arrangement of the groups before picture day. The goal is to get the largest head sizes possible.
- Arrange groups from a center point, placing equal numbers of students on either side of center.
- The longest row is in the front. Row two should be the next longest, etc. By doing this you eliminate dead space on the sides of the photos.
- Tall students should stand in the back and towards the center.
- Have students raise their chins slightly and stand at an angle towards the center point.
- No student should be directly behind another. Students with dark complexions should not be placed in front of students with dark clothing.
See above for how to effectively identify group shots.
