Did you know that more photos were taken in
the past two minutes than all the pictures captured from the time photography
was invented to the turn of the 20th century?
That is
a good thing and a bad thing. It’s easy
to take photos but most of those images are never going to be downloaded, a
whole lot of them will be lost in some sort of accident (smart phones don’t
swim), and the ones that are shared will not tell a very good story.
There is
an art to telling a story with pictures and a yearbook is a good example of
such a visual history. These books are
more than a catalogue of formal senior portraits. The candid photos will help graduates recall
fond memories or relate their personal experiences to family members over the
years.
Parents
are a great resource as students prepare their yearbooks because adults have
the benefit of experience to share.
Parent Teacher Associations often get involved in yearbook
efforts because they can expand on the value of their input.
Connecting Families to Yearbook Staff
PTAs can
reach out to families and turn those people into yearbook resources. These publications require a lot of volunteer
effort to organize and promote. People
will be needed to sell ads, wrangle clubs and organizations into contributing
their input, and just offering creative ideas.
Planning the Publication
Many
events are organized by PTAs and a yearbook staff can benefit from their
experience and advice when pulling together what is essentially a group of
students who may have never worked together before and definitely have no real
publishing experience.
Coordinating Teachers and Students
It can
be easy to forget about the learning aspect of school when graduation parties
and end of year celebrations get close on the calendar. PTAs can be an effective liaison between the
yearbook staff and teachers to get that part of the story told well, including
candids in the classroom and the results of special projects.
Avoid Mistakes
By the
time students realize what they should avoid, they’ve already made the mistake
and it may be part of their yearbook forever.
PTAs can help in this area and, as an organization rather than
individual parents, they can build on success year after year, providing
continuity from one yearbook to the next.
Premier Portraits Studio is always
ready to act as a resource to help students and their parents create
photographs that tell the story of this important time in life. Call today for more tips and support!
