COVID-19-era high school yearbooks will be filled with distanced photos, DIY portraits
DETROIT –The class of 2021 will have an interesting yearbook.
A major question for this year is how schools will capture individual student headshots, a tradition in the K-12 school experience. After many schools canceled orientation and picture day earlier this year, photo companies scrambled to find a solution.
Lifetouch, a division of Shutterfly Inc., is one of the largest school photography companies in the nation – photographing over 25 million students annually at more than 50 thousand schools.
Stephanie Schmid, vice president of marketing and merchandising at Lifetouch, said many schools are still hosting picture day with safety protocols.
But in districts that have switched to all online schooling, Lifetouch is offering a do-it-yourself option called "Picture Day Snaps @Home."
Parents or caretakers can capture a quick photo of their child, upload a traditional Lifetouch background, and order picture packages online, including options like retouching.
“Now more than ever, we recognize how important it is to find new ways to celebrate traditional milestones,” Schmid said. “Picture Day is a cherished milestone and tradition for children and families alike. That’s why we are so committed to meeting families wherever they are this school year – even if that’s in their living room or on their front porch.”
Pandemic changing everything
Figuring out student portraits is just one of many challenges for yearbook staff this year.
Traditionally, the glossy pages of yearbooks are filled with students crammed on bleachers, dance floors, and hallways. However, as the pandemic forces schools to cancel cornerstone experiences, high schools across the country will need to tweak their yearbook content.
Madison Pappadakis, a high school senior from Michigan, is the business manager for her yearbook class. She said they're currently planning backup ideas for canceled events – replacing these yearbook pages with photos and stories about how students are celebrating at home.
If homecoming is canceled, Pappadakis said, students might celebrate outside of school and send those pictures to the yearbook instead.
Her class is also adapting yearbook content by encouraging other students and teachers to send in their own photos. She said students are brainstorming fun ideas for yearbook spreads like favorite TikTok trends, what students' workspaces look like, and best binge-worthy shows.
Jeff Peterson, vice president of marketing and communications for yearbook publisher Jostens, said the yearbook tradition is still alive across schools, and there's no decrease in interest for producing yearbooks.
He said Jostens offered online classes and tools to help schools gather content, despite the current situation.
"In fact," Peterson said, "given the extraordinary nature of this year – one that students will likely and hopefully never experience again – the work of capturing these unique memories and stories in the school’s official record is more important than ever."
This year presents challenges for not just students in yearbook class, but for every student missing out on homecoming, Friday night lights and hallway banter, this time in history will be important to remember.
Pappadakis said she's nervous about getting enough photos, but this challenge will test the class's creativity as well as her own.
"This will show all of the true experiences, whether it's good or bad, you want to remember it all," Pappadakis said. " I think everyone's gonna find it (yearbook) interesting."
Follow Slone Terranella on Twitter @SloneTerranella.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: COVID yearbooks: Lifetouch offers DIY portraits for class of 2021
