Yearbook Planning

 Putting a yearbook together is not unlike running a company.  In fact, it’s a lot like running a brand new company because most of the people who will work on a yearbook will be new this year and graduated by next.

Premier Portraits Studio wants to provide some tips for putting together the best high school yearbook team so you not only have a great senior year experience but walk away with a volume you’ll be happy to open again and again, all the years of your life.

There are three groups of people who will work on the yearbook staff.  Teachers are a great resource because they will provide continuity and experience.  They can advise parents and students as to what’s been done in the past, what has worked, and what to avoid.  Students will be the best source of new ideas because this yearbook should reflect their personalities, desires, and memories.  Parents are, as always, the backbone of any student effort, providing logistical support such as transportation and emotional support as these young people learn to work independently and together on what is probably the first publishing experience of their lives.

It’s best to define roles early on so everyone knows what is expected of them and how they can rely on their yearbook team members.  The yearbook advisor can act as the point person, coordinating activities and acting as arbiter when decisions need to be finalized.

Students can divide the responsibilities of editors, photographers, and writers.  There is usually one editor because this role is where the style of the yearbook is defined and too many editors may result in a yearbook that is ill defined.  Of course, photographers take the candid shots that will complement the formal portraits that a professional portrait studio will take of each student.  Writers gather quotes from students and around the school to help capture the essence of time spent there.

It’s important to put real effort into recruiting a yearbook staff.  Those most interested in the project can speak during a school assembly or man a table during free periods to describe how rewarding it can be to work on a project that reflects a very special time of life and captures it in a book.

It’s important to interview candidates to make sure that every person is committed to doing the work ahead.  Never forget this is a project that demands time and attention but the return on that investment is the chance to learn just how well students can work together and what they can achieve on their own as they try something new and challenging.

Call Premier Portraits Studio today for more tips.  As formal school portrait photographers, we’re able to provide advice to make your yearbook, and the experience of creating a yearbook, a great one!