How to Take Your Own School Photos

The yearly, right-of-passage school photos were something I couldn’t decide whether to love or hate as a child. I remember the anticipation of being handed the envelope with my pictures, praying they had turned out well. And the dread of the teacher showing everyone (yes, that happened) when they hadn’t.

Haven’t we all looked back at some of our own school photos and cringed, whether it was the outrageous perm, the out-of-style glasses, or the braces? Or maybe it was the one shot we had at a decent facial expression.

But now that I am (much, much) older, I look at those pictures with a certain fondness. The regularity with which they occurred made it easy to see how much I changed and grew from year to year.

It can be easy as homeschooling families to set aside some of the institutional school traditions, or reject the cookie-cutter, conveyor-belt photography. We don’t need to throw out the baby with the bath water, however. Our children grow and change so quickly, that if we don’t take the time to capture them in a picture (quirks and all), those moments will be gone forever.

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. ~Dorothy Lange

Making a tradition of back to school photos is a great way to ensure that you and your children will possess consistent reminders of who they were and who they became.

Here are a few tips to get you started.


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