Strike a pose with First Day Photos

A first day of school photo is a rite of passage for many children. Even those of us who grew up in the 70's and 80's likely had a photo taken at the start of school. I did. It is a tradition I continued with my girls.

First Day Preschool 1973

First Day of 8th Grade 1982

1st Day of Sr Year in HS 1986

One of a few each year

Growing up, the first day of school photo was one of the few taken without my sisters. We each posed separately in our carefully selected outfits. It was a way to document our new clothes, hairstyles, lunch boxes, and school bags. Not to mention how much we had grown from the prior year.

Of course, we might not see the printed photo until after the holidays depending on if it was the end of the vacation photos film or the roll that would be completed at Christmas.

my girls - first day of 5 day preschool 2008

New Traditions

I started taking pictures the first day I sent my girl to preschool for only two days a week. We considered the first day of 5-day preschool the official start of their schooling. Around the time they were starting school, I had seen the suggestion to have them hold a print of their first-day photo from the prior year. It was another way to see how they changed.

We did it every year so there was a picture in a picture in a picture...etc. It was also a way to document major historical events - like when they were able to go back to school hybrid in the fall of 2020 - but had to be masked.

First day (of 2 a week in person) September 2020

Other First-Day Photo Ideas

• Consider a small tablet chalkboard where you can write the date, grade, and age and have the child hold it in the photo. This has the double benefit of not just documenting the milestone, but helping you keep track of the details. I know my Facebook feed is full of first-day photos.

• Don't have a chalkboard? Print or write the information on a piece of paper or better yet have the student do this.

• Want to take a group shot? Have everyone hold up a sign indicating their grade.

• Try to take the photo in the same place - ideally near something not changing in size so you can track growth.

• Take a head shot as well as a full body shot to capture the full first-day outfit.

• Be sure to snap a few photos of their new supplies. It will be fun to look back and see what they chose for folders, lunch boxes, or even notebook colors.

Every First Day

What do you do with the photos from each year? The photos I have stored in FOREVER are tagged with FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL so I can find them quickly. This will come in handy when I want to do a print one for next year's first-day photo shoot, a book about the school years, or some digital design for a graduation party.

I also create digital scrapbooks so the pictures go in there. On the scrapbook page you can preserve more details - name of school, teacher, subject most excited about, what do they want to be when they grow up or just a list of their favorites. Even if you don't do a full scrapbook the details can be saved in FOREVER.

Digital Art celebrating senior year

Ready for Graduation

If your student is starting their last year in elementary, middle, or high school you may want to do something special to remember the years. Gathering the first-day photos is a great way to document their time in school to be used in a book, wall art or slide show.

Let me know if you need help with any ideas.

Happy Fall - Happy Back to School