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