Jazz up your school staff photos this year.
Flickr CC user: ronramstew
Many students will pass through your school halls, breathing life into it, but it’s the staff that will steadily keep the wheels turning year after year. From your teachers to the janitorial staff, your school wouldn’t run as smoothly without the dedication of these individuals. Then why not showcase these fine folks with a staff photo no one will ever forget?
Well, firstly, it’s time to throw those old, blue background, stiff color shots away. Here are some ways you can let your teachers, administrative staff, coaches, janitors, nurses – everyone – show their true personality when they aren’t molding young minds.
Here’s some fun and creative ways to show off the staff:
Open up a teacher photo booth
Photo booths are all the rage at weddings, dances – everywhere – so why not on picture day? Have people donate fun props for the day and let everyone take their turn in the booth. You can even have group photos by departments or a theme. There’re so many ways you can mix it up. The staff can bond and the yearbook spread will look extra cool with a vintage photo booth feel to it.
Share a baby photo
Make the staff photo page into a game by having everyone bring in an old baby photo. Leave room where kids can guess whose who and post the answers at the back of the book.
Create a “Day in the Life” photo collage
Students often only see teachers in one light – as authority figures, grade givers, and mentors. For an outside-the-box approach to a staff photo, give each staff member a disposable or Polaroid camera and assign them the task of photographing themselves and their families for a day. Have them capture shots of them doing things they love outside of school – whether it’s playing on a softball team, baking pies, or spending time with their families. Then publish three or four of their favorite photos and make a collage for each staff member.
You don’t have to completely throw out those traditional school photos – you can just give them a little makeover. Using Photoshop or other fun programs, you can add emojis, mustaches, unicorns – even cats – to every staff photo. They’ll laugh when they see your team’s creative handy work. You can even add fun, memorable quotes from them under the photo.
Caricature creations
Employ the art students to draw renderings of each staff member for a class assignment. You can post their interpretations next to their real school photo or just leave the drawing in its place. This allows students to show their creative side and pay tribute to the staff in a totally unique way. You can have the students do an in-person sit-down sketch session or have them come up with ideas using last year’s photo.
