S C H O O L P H OTO S JANE ELLIS LBIPP
Beverley Thornton (former Head) at Naseby Primary School called me a “miracle worker” since she saw her staff photo. That is what I love about this role, cheering people up with great photos and building their self-esteem. At another school, when I asked a parent if I could have her permission to use her son’s school photo to promote my schools photography, she was over the moon. Little did I know how much it would mean to her son, who had been having a particularly difficult couple of days with some of the boys at school. He said that it had made his day that I had chosen his school photo. He felt so proud and it gave him a much-needed boost of selfconfidence.
Fast forward to 2023 and I am now very excited to be finalising details for school bookings and getting back to one of the most rewarding parts of my business. How have things changed? In 2017 I started offering local schools a bespoke photography service. Working outdoors in the natural environment where children are so much more themselves, I offered mini multi-pose shoots. The response from parents has been phenomenal; after years of the same obligatory photos they were receiving a professional portfolio of their child, capturing, in their words, “the best photos of their children they had ever had”… not just the best school photo…but any photo! Outdoor portraits help to create a real, meaningful memory of their school experience. Backdrops within the grounds such as a local sandstone wall engraved by past pupils or a favourite old climbing tree can help provide a memory of happy break-times with friends. After all, who remembers their school as a white void or a mottled grey? 22 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One
Each new school I visit sees their photo sales jump and some very nice commission from their once stale school photos. I still have to work fast, of course, but children are much more co-operative outside with a bit more freedom to be natural and I surprise myself how quickly I can get through a school. Obviously, I am also geared up to provide indoor school sessions if needed and sometimes these can provide a nice change after a run of outdoor photo years. Unlike some of the national companies I don’t need any gimmicks or long-term contracts to keep my schools coming back year after year. Using my skills to get that “best photo ever” of even the most reluctant child, is a challenge that I thrive on. There are definitely some parents who wouldn’t forgive the school if they didn’t ask me back! There is always excitement in school to see the photos I have taken, whether marketing or individual photos. My photos make everyone in the school, staff and pupils, feel proud of who they are and what they do.
To me every individual is special and deserves a photo that shows that. Children should not be treated like a “sausage in a sausage factory”. My school photos are about individuality. My service isn’t about how fast I can whizz through the school, it’s about the buzz of excitement, the personal connection and the delight on everyone’s faces when they see themselves as the star of a professional portrait that shows them how others see them when they are at their natural best. It is still a battle to get into new schools. I have a lot of eager parents but some schools are reluctant to change from what they already know. However, I find that if I can get through the door to show them my work, my products and my level of personal commitment, I will more often than not get the booking. Once I’m in, the schools don’t look back. I think that lockdown has opened up the market for independent schools photographers. Social distancing made schools more open to the idea of outdoor portraits and have found them to be a popular alternative to studio shots. Many national companies just couldn’t deliver these types of photos as they did not have the appropriately trained photographers to work in natural light and could not edit the photos on the mass scale that they work at. Word of mouth has power and I expect to see more schools using local photography firms in future.
Image © Jane Ellis
Issue One / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 23
