School Photo Shoot

Abbey Hey Primary Academy is a primary school in Manchester committed to providing an exceptional educational experience for its pupils. The school contacted Hive regarding a new photography project following a recommendation, and we were delighted to help. As a result, we brought our expertise in storytelling through photography to a new school photo shoot.

School Photo Shoot Project Overview

Client Goals: Abbey Hey Primary Academy’s vision was to showcase the vibrant and dynamic school environment. Showcasing that the school is both a great place to attend as a pupil and also a great place to work. We achieved these goals by capturing a huge range of images throughout the school. Capturing the essence of daily life at the school. This included various aspects of teaching, curriculum, student activities and the school’s facilities.

Scope of Work: Hive’s role involved planning and coordinating the shoot with the school, to ensure they were ready to get the most out of our visit. We then executed the full day photography shoot with a two person team, aiming to capture the essence of life at the school. We left no part of the school un-covered, highlighting lessons, reading time, play time, school facilities, including staff, chickens and so much more. Following the shot we then edited down the images taken on the day, to provide a huge selection of high quality images.

Challenges

Overall the project presented several challenges that required careful consideration and planning:

Student Engagement: Capturing genuine moments in a school environment while ensuring that students remained focused on their activities.

Varied Environments: The shoot encompassed a wide range of settings. From lively playgrounds to quiet reading corners, each requiring a different photographic approach.

Timeliness: The shoot needed to occur during school hours, causing scheduling challenges.

The Solution

Hive’s approach to addressing these challenges included the following key steps:

Pre-Shoot Planning: We developed a plan with the school that included key areas and lessons to capture. The school completed arrangements for obtaining permissions from parents and guardians during this stage.

Professional Photographer: We deployed our highly experienced photography team to capture genuine and engaging moments. The team has extensive experience in educational photography.

Engagement Techniques: Our creative director and photography team used specialised techniques to make students comfortable. This produced enthusiastic and engaged, yet natural expressions.

Diversity of Settings: Varied locations were chosen to match the different activities, with the choice of composition and lighting tailored to each setting.

Timeliness and Coordination: We carefully scheduled the shoot to minimise disruption to the school’s routine, with staff members assisting in organising students and activities.

Results

As a result, the photography shoot at Abbey Hey Primary Academy delivered a remarkable outcome:

Engaging Visual Content: Hive produced a collection of visually stunning images that showcased the vibrant and diverse life at the school. From pupils immersed in reading to energetic PE lessons.

Versatility: The images created are valuable for the school’s marketing materials, website and social media content, showcasing the school’s dynamic environment.

Long-lasting Impact: We are delighted that Abbey Hey Primary Academy are so pleased with the images captured on the day, and they hope to work with us again to refresh the images in 3 to 5 years time.

Conclusion

The photography shoot at Abbey Hey Primary Academy was a great success. The project showcased the power of photography in telling the story of a vibrant school community. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Abbey Hey Primary Academy and further enhancing the school’s visual identity and storytelling through future projects. They also plan to recommend us to other school’s within their Trust, which we are always pleased to hear about!

Get in touch

If you would like to find out more about our photography services, please get in touch!