A good photography day is quiet. The students barely notice it happening, the staff are not chasing anyone down a corridor, and by the end of the morning there is a set of portraits everyone is pleased with. That calm is not luck. It comes from a handful of decisions made weeks earlier.

This guide walks through those decisions in the order you will meet them, from the first email we send you to the moment the finished frames arrive at reception.

Start with the calendar. The best days sit early in a term, before trips and exams crowd the timetable, and away from the week of a big production or fixture. Give us two or three options and we will hold the one that works for our photographers too.

Think about the room next. A hall with high, even daylight and space to set up away from a thoroughfare is ideal. We bring our own lighting, so a windowless room is not a problem, but we do need a working power socket and a clear ten metres.

Finally, tell your families early. A short note in the newsletter two weeks before, with the date and what to wear, does more for the quality of the photographs than anything we can do on the day.