How to collect student photos for your yearbook
This year, collecting photos from students may be the only way you can create your yearbook, and it’s always good to have a way to do this. In this post, we’ll look at the best resources to help with this.
Before we start, it’s important to know that there’s a number of regulations regarding student privacy, and it’s beyond the scope of this post to review those, but here’s a place to start: FEDERAL LAWS ENABLING PARENTS TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN’S PRIVACY : FERPA, PPRA AND COPPA
For this post, we’ll assume you have permission to make a yearbook with all your school’s student photos.
Don’t assume everyone knows how to create a good (or even usable) photo.
Here’s some instruction articles you can share with families to help create the best amateur photos:
How to Take a Selfie: 13 Tips That Make a Difference
There are quick and easy ways and there are more sophisticated ways that are also quick and easy, to automate student photo collection.
A good yearbook company will have a tool for this purpose. Without that, first, some info on quick methods:
Quick ways to collect student photos:
Be aware that your school may not allow families to upload to school Google accounts, but that may be fine for high school students.
How to Collect and Organize Images in Google Classroom
How To Use Google Forms To Collect Images
Use Google Photos for managing your classroom photos
How to use DropBox to Collect Student Assignments
You can also share Google Drive folders with each class, and ask students to submit photos with their name as it should appear in the yearbook: “John Smith.jpg”. For multiple photos add a number “John Smith-1.jpg”
A user tells us how they used email to collect photos:
Honestly, email is the easiest. We have tried many different apps, sites, and tools. It’s never easy enough for some families. Everyone can reply to an email with photos from their camera roll. We get more photos with emails. We created a special gmail account for the school yearbook. It doesn’t use up anyone’s personal Google storage. After receiving the photos, we store the pictures in the Google Drive and organize them into folders.
Our recommendation to collect student photos:
Photo Post automates student photo collection & sorts photos to flow into the yearbook.
Yearbook companies should have a simple tool for collecting student and teacher photos. FC Yearbook’s Pixami Photo Post tool can send an email to every student/family for a photo request,complete with instructions on how to take a good portrait photo with a phone.
They then upload their photos with the touch of a button on the email, and the system will alphabetize the photos and sort them by grade and class, and then automatically flow them into the yearbook.
This is the easiest and most universal way, as all families need is a phone and an email account.
Check out how FC Yearbook can make this year’s yearbook creation easy and creative in this unusual school year.
Learn more at FCyearbook.com
or email Nicole at nicole.bentley@memoriesintouch.com
The only yearbook signed virtually & delivered in print with signatures inside.
Students don’t need to be in the same room to sign each others’ yearbook anymore.
FC Yearbook is the entire yearbook in an interactive edition on their mobile device. And now families can order a high-quality print copy sent directly to their home with all the private signature messages inside.
Only from FC Yearbook.
Make sure everybody gets the yearbook this year with the only true interactive yearbook,
Learn more at FCyearbook.com
or email Nicole at nicole.bentley@memoriesintouch.com
How do you sign a yearbook virtually? Part 2
Will you be able to get pro portraits?
Elementary School edition
To sign the yearbook first you need…. the yearbook! And to sign it virtually, it needs to be on your mobile device.
For our elementary students, “signing” may mean sending a sticker, or for older elementary students, typing, or sending a short video.
With FC Yearbook they get the complete yearbook in full resolution on their ipads or phones, and it’s interactive. They can simply tap a portrait and leave a message for your teacher or classmate.
And no one can write in anyone’s yearbook without their permission.
But you’re not done yet. After you receive the signature messages and stickers from classmates, parents can order a high-quality printed book in the app and have it sent directly to their home with the messages printed inside!
Whatever your school’s situation, your students deserve the time-honored tradition of a yearbook with personal messages to memorialize their year.
Make sure everybody gets the yearbook this year with the only true interactive yearbook, FC Yearbook.
Learn more at FCyearbook.com
or email Nicole at nicole.bentley@memoriesintouch.com
How do you sign a yearbook virtually? Part 1
How do you sign virtually?
High School & Middle School edition
To sign the yearbook first you need…. the yearbook! And to sign it virtually, it needs to be on your mobile device.
With FC Yearbook you get the complete yearbook in full resolution on your ipad or phone, and it’s interactive. You simply tap a portrait and leave your message for your teacher or classmate.
But you’re not done yet. After you receive the signature messages from your classmates, you simply tap-to-order a high-quality printed book (hard or soft cover) sent directly to your home with the messages printed inside!
Whatever your school’s situation, your students deserve the time-honored tradition of a yearbook with personal messages to memorialize their year.
Make sure everybody gets the yearbook this year with the only true interactive yearbook, FC Yearbook.
Learn more at FCyearbook.com
or email Nicole at nicole.bentley@memoriesintouch.com
School pictures this year: Pro, Selfies or Standardized Candids?
Will you be able to get pro portraits?
It’s not clear if professional school portraits are feasible this year.
Even if you hire a world-class photography studio, can you be sure all the students available for photos? What would your yearbook look like if some have pro portraits and some have home photos?
Fortunately there’s a solution to fit every decision. FC Yearbooks includes industry-leading Pixami.com’s Yearbook Pro to build your perfect yearbook. Pixami has led the industry for 20+ years with pro photography imports and now allows individual student home photos to be flowed directly into class pages.
Pixami authoring software is included with every FC Yearbook. Learn more at Pixami.com.
Whatever your school’s situation, your students deserve the time-honored tradition of a yearbook to memorialize their year.
Make sure everybody gets a yearbook this year and everyone is included, with the only true interactive yearbook, FC Yearbook.
Learn more at FCyearbook.com
or email Nicole at nicole.bentley@memoriesintouch.com