Yearbook profile pages often make up the main body of a school yearbook and is the best place to ensure that everybody gets a mention. An important part of yearbook profile pages are the profile photos, here are some tips and ideas to help you get the best out of your leavers’ profile photos:
1. Plenty of natural light – unless you have a professional lighting kit, choose a photo area with plenty of natural light. Natural light will be much more flattering than an on-camera flash. Don’t shoot with a window behind your subject, as they will be completely in shadow.
2. Take the photos in a plain setting – set up a corner of a quiet classroom preferably with a plain wall or simple background to reduce distraction in your photos.
3. Use a camera with a high quality lens – As your yearbook will be professionally printed, it’s important to ensure that your yearbook profile photos are high quality. SPC Yearbooks don’t recommend using a mobile phone for leavers’ profile pictures as the photos will be small and low resolution, resulting in blurry, pixelated images.
4. Add some personality – if you want to step away from the traditional ‘mug shot’ profile photos, ask your subjects to bring a prop, or stand them next to a whiteboard with a message or drawing next to them.
5. Take at least two photos of each person – how many times have you blinked when a photo was taken of you? The best way to make sure you get the best profile photos of your year group is to take a couple of photos of each person.
6. Find a flattering angle – photographing face-on can sometimes look unflattering (unless it fits with a specific theme you have planned). Try angling your subject’s body at 45 degrees to the camera and ask them to turn their head to face the camera.
7. Keep the look consistent – Try to photograph all of your year group members in the same place, using the same style to keep the photos looking uniform.
Good luck and we look forward to seeing the results!
Get your yearbook project off to a flying start by requesting an SPC Yearbooks sample pack! Click here to fill out our request form and receive our free guide and yearbook software.
