Back to School Photo Tips

For most of us living in Ontario, the first day of school is the day after Labour Day. It’s the day the kids (and parents) have been waiting all summer for! I’m sure your children are excited to see their teachers and friends again, and you’re anxious to get back into the school time routine.

The first day of school may be quite the milestone in your home. Perhaps it’s your son’s first day of preschool, your daughter’s first day of all-day kindergarten, or perhaps you’ve got teenagers heading off to grade 9 for the first time. No matter how you play it, it’s an emotional day for all involved!

Being that it is such an important day, make sure you document the memory with a photograph or two (or a few hundred!). Whether it’s a picture of your child all ready for school, before you head out the door, on the driveway, waiting for the bus, or walking in to the school or all of the above, you certainly won’t regret it. Whether or not they realize it now, your son or daughter will love you for it later in life (especially at their wedding!). It’s a special memory that should never be forgotten.

Here are 5 tips to help you capture a wonderful memory!

• Make sure your batteries are charged and your camera’s memory card is functioning.
• Leave the house at least 10 minutes earlier than usual.
• Find a shady spot and turn the kids until their faces look bright.
• Make funny faces or noises to get them to laugh!
• Relax and have fun!

BONUS TIP:  Make sure you have tissues on hand for (your) tears!

Added tip for cell phonetographers: Follow all the directions above, and when you’re going to take the picture, tap the face of one of the children on the screen. This will help set exposure and focus for your image.

Make sure you email that image to yourself or spouse so that it can get saved to a computer so that you can make the below collage at the end of the year!

Finally, make sure you save that picture somewhere safe because you’ll be taking a Last Day of School picture in June too!  It’s great to see how much the kids will have changed over the school year!

Jennifer Gilbert is the owner of Jennifer Gilbert Photography. She is an expert in capturing the innocence of family life and development with expectant mothers, newborns, toddlers or entire family units. With a versatile and flexible studio, she goes anywhere to capture the true moments that define you. She commits a considerable amount of time her community as well as charities close to her heart.

You can find Jennifer online at www.jennifergilbert.ca.