Framing the First Weeks: Photography Advice for Yearbook Advisers

Jessica Carrera
Sep 5
4 min read

The first weeks of school are full of energy, excitement, and fresh opportunities, which makes them the perfect time to set the stage for your yearbook’s photography. The images your staff captures now will not only document important firsts, but also establish the look and feel of the entire book. Strong habits at the beginning of the year lead to smoother production and a more compelling final product.

Here are some tips to share with your student photographers as they get started, along with hands-on assignments to put the lessons into practice:

1. Capture First-weeks Excitement

There’s nothing quite like the buzz of the first few weeks of school. Encourage your staff to document those one-time-only moments: students arriving with backpacks and smiles, friends reuniting after the summer, new teachers meeting their classes, and pep rallies that welcome everyone back. These photos are perfect for theme spreads, opening pages, and coverage that conveys the excitement of a new beginning.

Photo Assignment: Ask each photographer to submit five photos that represent “firsts,” such as a student’s first practice, first club meeting, or first walk through the doors on their first day. Compare results and discuss the uniqueness of each

photographer's perspective.

2. Look Beyond the Pose

While posed portraits have their place, the most memorable yearbook images usually spring out of candid moments. Train photographers to focus on action and interaction: high-fives in the hallway, athletes lacing up before practice, or friends sharing a laugh at lunch. These authentic shots bring personality and emotion to your spreads.

Photo Assignment: Have students attend the same event and avoid asking anyone to pose. Afterward, review the photos together and highlight the difference between staged shots and organic, natural moments.

3. Play with Angles and Perspectives

One of the most effective ways to improve photo quality is by teaching students to move beyond “point-and-shoot” habits. Staying in one place and shooting at eye level often results in flat, predictable images. By changing angles and perspectives, photographers can add visual interest, emphasize storytelling, and create a sense of depth. depth. Encourage students to use their imagination when choosing angles.

Low Angles: Shooting from below can make subjects look more powerful and dynamic.
High Angles: Shooting from above can capture patterns and scale.
Close-Ups and Details: Focusing on tight shots will highlight emotion and texture.
Layering for Depth: Framing with foreground, subject, and background creates dimension.

These technical choices not only make spreads visually engaging but also help carry your book’s theme and tone.

Photo Assignment: Pick one event (such as a club meeting, practice, or lunch period) and challenge staff to shoot it from at least three different angles (high, low, and eye level) while capturing wide, medium, and close-up shots. Review how perspective shifts the mood and impact of each photo.

4. Prioritize Representation

At the beginning of the year, coverage often leans heavily on big events like football games and assemblies. While those are important, challenge your team to spot the quieter, everyday stories: the robotics club’s first meeting, students studying in the library, or custodial staff preparing classrooms. These subtle stories are actually challenging to select. It requires imagination and thinking outside the box to see the nuances of the more ordinary scenarios. A wide range of coverage ensures every student feels seen in the yearbook.

Photo Assignment: Create a “representation checklist” and ask photographers to capture students in three very different settings: academic, extracurricular, and behind-the-scenes. This helps reinforce the importance of balance and inclusivity in coverage.

5. Build Good Habits Early

Now is the ideal time to establish expectations for workflow and organization. Require photographers to record names, dates, and context for every photo. Encourage consistent folder organization and caption notes.

Our online design platform makes this process clean and smooth. It’s a wonderful place to store and organize photos in one central location, which keeps your staff aligned. Users can also create and share specific albums with other students, or even with parents, so they can contribute their own photos to the yearbook. This not only expands coverage but also builds stronger community involvement.

Photo Assignment: Have students upload a set of photos into your platform, properly labeled with names, dates, and captions. Then, practice sharing an album with another staff member to simulate how easy collaboration can be.

Start the Year with Confidence

The beginning of the school year sets the tone for your entire yearbook. By encouraging your staff to capture authentic moments, vary their perspectives, and stay organized, you’ll help them build strong habits that carry through every deadline. And remember, you’re not alone. As your publishing partner, we’re here to support you with resources, training, and tools to make this yearbook your best one yet.

Image of Jessica Carrera, a United Yearbook representative.

Contributor: Jessica Carrera, Associate Editor at TSE Worldwide Press and Marketing Coordinator at United Yearbook, holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing from Biola University. She aspires to touch the lives of others through her words.

Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.