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Student portraits are always worth the investment. While your school’s yearbook photos can document your growth over each grade, you’re subject to a photographer, style, and a standardized look that you didn’t choose. Since you’re paying for the photos either way, why not get the images you actually want? Still on the fence? Let’s compare student portraits vs. yearbook photos—and why Sarah Arnold Photography has a portrait package perfect for celebrating your student.
The Purpose
The purpose of yearbook photos is to provide a consistent, official image for each grade. The bright side is that it’s built into your school calendar, with no additional research or scheduling needed. The downside is that they’re designed not to capture your student, but the student body as a whole.
The purpose of student portraits is to capture each student’s unique personality, style, interests, and growth beyond the walls of the school. Student portraits can be fully customizable sessions, from the location to the number of outfits worn, props used, and people included. They tell a broader story of your life through each year, and allow friends, family and extended families to see more of who you’re becoming.
Style vs. Style
I’ll give yearbook photos this, at least you always know what to expect: A formal, head-and-shoulders style shot with a school-issued backdrop. Or nowadays, additional backdrops added through photoshop in an up-charged image package. No proofs to see, no choosing the best image, and no additional images to keep. And while they can be a nostalgic favorite, when it comes to capturing each year, I highly recommend booking a local photographer for more personal student portraits.
Portrait sessions with Sarah Arnold Photography are one-hour sessions that include lifestyle, candid, and posed photos. You choose a location and reserve a time and date based on your needs. I provide 110-150 high-resolution, digital images with artistic editing to download and print however you wish. No photoshopped backdrops. Just timeless, joy-filled images that make your heart swell.
Student Portraits: Closing Arguments
They say yearbook photos are the images we love to hate. We’ve been taking them for generations. We know what to expect, and we don’t have to schedule any additional time. But we still have to pay (an arm and a leg) for one image. And at the end of the day, even though we paid for it, do we really want to share that image, give it to loved ones in a frame, or even save it as a keepsake beyond that year? Is the image that’s going into the holiday card?
The bottom line is that senior portrait sessions are the most widely known, but student portraits can be taken—and should be taken, if you ask me—at any age or grade. They showcase your changing style, personal growth, and milestones in a personal way, giving you images you’re proud to share and display for years to come. The experience is enjoyable. It’s also flexible, from the photographer you choose to the locations, wardrobe, accessories, and themes that reflect your passions.
Ready to get started? Let’s talk, Colorado students! I’d love to bring your vision to life.
