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I recently had the joy and fun of photographing a 200 student private preschool here in San Diego. Here’s what the week looked like:

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A Four Day Schedule that Worked Best for the School

The photos took place every morning from 8:30-10:30, that sweet spot between the students arriving fresh and clean (hopefully!), and the start of nap and eating times.

I always let the school decide on the schedule that works best for them, and in this case the director simply visited different classrooms every morning, bringing the kids to me 6-8 at a time.

The line moved quickly, as it takes me just 1-2 minutes of silly interaction with each child to bring about natural smiles and expressions.

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Teachers Were Able to Stay Focused

Since the director brought the students to me, the teachers were able to stay in their classrooms everyday, instead of being taken away from their other kids and their program.

The week went very smoothly!

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A Fun Experience for the Students

Once the director brought each small group over, each student was sent one by one to stand in front of my backdrop.

I never force a smile, so I take 1-2 minutes per child to “warm them up,” being silly with them and asking silly questions. Invariably, their shyness and stiffness disappears, replaced by natural smiles and laughter (see what I mean in the photos below).

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Natural Results Parents Loved

Parents just loved these relaxed, natural results that captured their child’s real personality!

I received lots of “thank you, these are adorable!” emails.

And how often do you hear that about school photos?

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Simple, Online Ordering for Parents

After photo day, each family received a secure, password-protected online gallery through PhotoDay (see my statement regarding school photo security here).

Parents could view their child’s images, choose what they loved, and order digitals and prints directly. No paper forms, no pre-ordering, and no extra work for the school.

Everything was handled online, securely, and totally hands-off for the school.

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A Stress-Free Experience for the School

Since I want to make the school photo experience as easy as possible for the school, I handle all parent notification, preparation, and ordering questions. What this looked like was:

• I created the school photo announcement flyer to the school to simply print and post. On this flyer was a school-unique QR code where parents could find more information and a “what to wear” guide.
• I sent the school an email to forward on to parents announcing school photo day, with all my contact info so parents could contact me directly with questions.
• Once galleries were sent out from PhotoDay directly to parent inboxes, I sent the school an email to forward to parents. This email let them know galleries had been sent out, and directed them to contact me if they hadn’t received theirs.
• I directly handled all parent questions regarding ordering, shipping, etc.

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Bring this Fine Art School Photo Experience to Your San Diego Montessori School

Montessori schools set high standard for everything they do, and photo day should be no exception. When the process is handled with intention and respect, it doesn’t just run smoothly, it reflects the values your school is built on.

Not to mention, your families will be delighted with these beautiful fine art portraits of their children!

To read more about the elevated school photo service I offer Montessori and private preschools in San Diego, see my school page here.

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“That was so fun. She was silly!”

-Peyton, 3

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