Alumni family-day photography

An alumni family day is a different event from a dinner or a reunion. Grandparents, partners, parents and children all take part, often in the same activity. Photography has to work for adults who choose how they appear and for children whose images are the responsibility of the adults with them.

This page belongs to our guide to campus, student and alumni-event photography.

What does the association want to record?

Typical aims are the atmosphere of the day, alumni returning to the campus with their families, children's activities, the programme and the people who helped organise it.

Decide which of these matters most. A family day record is often shared more widely than a dinner record, because families want images of their children, and so it is worth settling who will see what.

Plan around the programme

Family days usually mix fixed items, such as a welcome, with open activities, such as tours, games and a picnic. Mark the fixed items first, then the activities that will draw the most people.

For example, a family day might open at 10am with a welcome, followed by campus tours, craft activities for children and a shared lunch. The photographer covers the welcome, joins one tour, spends time at the craft tables and returns for the lunch. Activities for children are covered only where the organisers and supervising adults agree.

Our priority photograph list builder helps organisers decide which moments matter.

Separate arrangements for adults and children

Adults decide for themselves whether they are photographed and how images are used. Children's images need a responsible adult's agreement within the institution's process. Treat them as two separate groups with different rules.

Practical steps:

1. Tell families beforehand that a photographer will attend.
2. Explain how images may be used and who will see them.
3. Offer a simple way to opt out, for adults and for children.
4. Ask the photographer to avoid children whose adults have opted out.

Our guide to children's event photographs and the questions authorised adults must resolve lists the points to settle, and the guide on when a child does not want to be photographed covers the child's own wishes.

Campus access

Parts of a campus have restrictions. Teaching spaces, labs and residential buildings may need permission to enter or photograph. Ask the campus authority which areas are on your route and what rules apply, and share the answer with us. The photographer does not supervise children or manage the route.

Sharing the photographs

Decide whether the gallery is private, who gets access and how long it lasts. Many associations give attending families access to a gallery and keep a smaller selection for the association's archive. Our photo sharing and privacy plan lays out the steps, and the school event photography worksheet can be adapted to collect the rules.

What to send us

Send the programme, the activities for children, the campus rules and your consent process. We ask what is missing and confirm date, venue, crew assigned, deliverables and quotation in writing.

Questions to ask us

Ask how we would work in a busy outdoor space with children moving fast, what happens if the weather forces an activity indoors, and how we would handle a parent who asks us to stop. We confirm what is possible for your date in writing. We do not use identifiable families as examples in our planning.

When the day does not follow the plan

Family days depend on weather, energy and attention. An activity may overrun, a tour may start late or children may lose interest and move on. Name one organiser who can tell the photographer about changes. If time is short, the welcome, one family activity and the shared meal are usually the core of the record. We confirm in writing how the booked time is used if the plan shifts.