Taking great yearbook profile photos

Many of our customers prefer to take their own profile photos, rather than using the school photos which can be dated or badly taken. So we have compiled our top tips for taking great profile pics. Of course, if you are a WavePrint customer and within 50 miles of our offices we may be able to assist by taking the photos for you, speak to you advisor to find out more!

Be consistent - you will want the photos to look similar to one another, so try to use the same camera, photographer and location for all photos.

Pick a time - if possible try to take all of the photos at the same time (maybe a lunchtime or PS HE session), if this isn't practical you could do one group each morning during registration.
Ask for help - is there a member of the year group, or a member of staff, who is a keen photographer and willing to help?
Use a good camera - you don't need a professional camera to take a good photo, but it's a good idea to use the best you can get your hands on, a DSLR camera or bridge camera is ideal, but you can get good results on a normal compact camera if you're careful.
Don't use your phone - despite phone cameras having loads of mega pixels and fancy features they lenses and image processors are generally not as good.
Use natural light - to get the best results try to use an area which has good natural light, but avoid taking the photo facing a bright light source (e.g. the sun), and avoid anywhere with harsh shadows. If the weather is good you could take the photos outside!
Don't get too close - head and shoulder photos are ideal, but don't get too close to the subject. If using a camera with a zoom try to stay towards to middle of the zoom range as at the extremes of the camera's capabilities the image may look slightly distorted.
Use portrait mode - if you're using a DSLR or bridge camera (and with many compact cameras) you will almost certainly find it has a portrait mode (usually illustrated by a silhouette of a woman). By selecting this the camera will optimise its settings to take the most flattering portraits.
Don't use the flash - flashes built in to most cameras produce a very harsh light, which reflects off skin and eyes creating very bright areas and casts very dark shadows behind, so remember to turn the flash off.
Think about the background - try to keep a consistent background in all of the photos. A plain background is best, also try to keep a bit of distance between the person and the background, they don't need to be standing against a wall.
Sit them down - remember you are getting relaxed informal pictures, not mug shots! It's important that people are relaxed when you are photographing them, so sit them down.
Give them some space - allow space around the subject, position them away from the backdrop and leave space between the camera and them too.