How to Prepare Your Preschool for Picture Day
How To Prepare Your Preschool For Picture Day
Picture day is coming. Feeling terrified?
We get it.
If you are a Greenville area preschool director you know that photographing preschool children that are either too restless and full of energy or too scared to participate can be challenging. And it can easily take a turn for the worse.
In fact, before you know it kids are crying or running around, parents are complaining and the photographer struggle to get any good shots.
But what if picture day didn't have to be such a daunting event?
What if you could prepare for the unexpected so everything goes smoothly?
That's what this article is all about. 👇
Practical tips for a successful picture day
It's time for your preschool’s picture day. What could go wrong?
Well, unfortunately, lots of things!
And in this article, we'll tackle each of them one-by-one. We’ll show you how you can have an amazing picture day by following a few simple steps.
So let's take a look at the 4 most common problems that come up during or before the big event:
1. Kids are Nervous before and During the Photo Shoot
Some children feel very anxious and be reticent to have their picture taken. If this happens, you’ll have a hard time getting them to participate in the shoot with the rest of the class.
The solution: be there to comfort them. Talk to them and reassure them that everything will turn out alright. It's essential that they don't feel pressured into having their picture taken and that they instead feel relaxed and like they can be themselves.
An even better approach is to get your preschoolers excited for the photo shoot. Organize a few lessons or activities related to photography before the actual event takes place. This will get them feeling eager instead of nervous.
Here are some creative ideas to get you started and get the little ones more familiar with (and less fearful of) the whole process:
- play with toy cameras 📸
- look through different photographs 🖼️
- show them pictures to learn about different colors and textures 🎨
- play guessing games and ask them where they think the pictures were taken 💭
- bring a Polaroid camera and let the children take some photos themselves (cell phones work too!) 🤳
2. Kids Getting Dirty before Pictures
Do your teachers keep candy in their classrooms? Then you can say goodbye to clean white blouses. Kids might get dirty, sweaty, have stains on their clothes. You get the picture. 😯
The solution: explain to your preschoolers why it's important to be neat, to wash their hair and keep themselves clean before and during the day, and remind them the previous day that picture day is tomorrow. Also, on the day that the shoot takes place, encourage them to pay attention to how they play, so their clothes remain fresh and stain-free.
Here are some ideas of activities to help keep them clean on session day:
-
Read books
- Play with blocks
- Watch a movie (if your center allows this)
- Play imagination games
Avoid:
- Eating
- Coloring - even with crayons
- High energy games such as tag, duck-duck-goose, etc.
3. Issues with Parents
Some parents can have very specific ideas in mind about what they want their kids to wear, do and be like during the photo shoot. Others might even forget about picture day altogether or not be willing to pay.
These are all reasonable concerns that can quickly cause your whole day to turn sour.
This is why our approach also focuses on dealing with parents during every step of the process.
The solution: all you have to do is give us the parent's email address, the name and classroom of your preschooler(s), and we take it from there. So, if there are any complaints with the parents - we handle them! We even take care of email reminders for you so you have one less thing to worry about.
Speaking of worrying, we know another great source of stress for directors is managing the money. That's why if there's an issue with one of the parents, we step in and take care of it so you're not caught up in the middle. We keep track of payments and also ship orders directly to each parent.
Picture day sounds a whole lot better already, doesn't it? 😊
4. Uncooperative Children
Just when you think the day is going well, some of the children might start wreaking havoc around the classroom.
They're restless and don't want to sit still at all, let alone to have their picture taken.
What do you do?
The solution: don't get them to pose, get them to play!
When kids have a lot of energy, it's not the best idea to try to suppress it. Instead, you can use that energy and turn picture day into a playful game. That way, kids will be asking and even begging you to let them join in on the fun, and most importantly, they'll be themselves during the photo shoot.
If the situation is still getting a bit chaotic, it might be useful to take a break and get back to the shoot a few minutes later. You can also reward the kids for participating with stickers, treats or just praising their efforts.
Conclusion
Preparation can go a long way when it comes to having a successful photo shoot. By following the steps above, you won't just survive picture day, you might even end up enjoying it! 😊
So don’t give up on picture day just yet, instead make photo events easier for you and your preschool, by getting well informed and trying out a different approach that would benefit both you as a preschool director and the parents. Not to mention the kids can actually have a blast on picture day.
Get to know us, we might just be the different approach you are looking for. 😊