Open-day photographs should show prospective families what the school actually offers: classrooms, facilities, teaching, pupils at ease. Existing pupils' permissions and the school's approved access limit what can be photographed and shared. Agree a shot list tied to what families ask about, keep a clear list of pupils who must not appear, and decide before the day which images are for promotion.
An open day is the school's chance to meet families who may become part of it. Photographs from the day are often reused for months: on the website, in the prospectus, on social pages. That longer life is why the planning matters.
This page belongs to our guide on school and early-learning event photography. For a formal occasion with recipients and presenters, see school prize-giving photography.
Start from what prospective families want to know
Families tend to ask the same questions: What are the classrooms like? Do pupils seem happy? What facilities are there? Who will teach my child? The strongest open-day images answer those questions honestly.
Write down the ten questions your admissions team hears most. Then list the image that would answer each one. This becomes your shot list, and it keeps the photographer from spending hours on pictures that do not help.
Documenting the day and creating promotional images
These are two jobs that often get mixed.
| Documenting the day | Promotional images | |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | Visitors, tours, talks as they happen | Classrooms, facilities, pupils in activity |
| When | During open hours | Often before or after, in quieter rooms |
| Control | Little, since people move freely | More, with agreed pupils and spaces |
| Use | Recap, newsletter, internal | Website, prospectus, advertising |
| Permissions | Visitors and pupils may appear incidentally | Each pupil's permission matters |
Ask us whether both can be included for your date. If time is short, decide which matters most. Our guide on using recognisable event photographs in paid advertising explains the extra permission questions that come with promotion.
Existing pupils and permissions
Pupils who appear in open-day images are the school's pupils first. The school holds the permissions, and families may have agreed to some uses and not others. Ask the school to prepare a list of pupils who must not appear in shared or promotional images and to give it to the photographer in advance.
A hypothetical example: a class is performing a short demonstration for visiting families, but three pupils' parents declined online publication. The photographer can still cover the demonstration, but frames should be chosen so those pupils are not identifiable in anything that will be shared. Our page on pupils who must not appear in published images describes how to handle this.
Approved access and visitors
Open days involve areas of the school that are normally closed to strangers. The school decides where the photographer may go and when. Staff, visitors and pupils should know that photography is taking place. A notice at entry and a note on the programme are practical steps.
Visiting children and parents have not agreed to be part of the school's communication. Avoid close images of them unless the school has asked their families. See photographer access during a school event for more on access arrangements.
Showing the school honestly
Prospective families can tell when a lesson has been staged. Ask teachers to carry on with a normal activity and let the photographer observe. A few arranged moments are fine, but captions should be accurate about what is shown. Honest images also serve the school better when families visit and compare what they saw.
Timing the day
Open days tend to have waves: an arrival period, a talk, tours and an open session. Classrooms look best when pupils are working, so ask the school which lessons will run and when. A photographer who visits at the wrong time may find an empty room.
A short list of agreed times for each space makes the day smoother. The coverage hours planner can help you decide how many hours the day needs.
What to tell the photographer
- The programme, tour route and areas open to visitors
- Your shot list tied to families' questions
- Pupils and staff who must not appear in shared images
- Which images are for promotion and which are internal
- The person who approves the final selection
The school event photography worksheet and photo sharing and privacy plan help prepare these answers. We confirm the date, venue, crew and deliverables in writing. For web use, see photographs for company websites, which covers general principles that apply to institutional sites too.
Checklist
- Obtain the open-day programme, tour route and the areas open to visitors.
- List the questions prospective families ask most, and the images that answer them.
- Confirm which classes and pupils may appear in promotional images.
- Display a notice for visitors about photography.
- Decide whether the photographer will visit classrooms during teaching.
- Identify staff members who must approve their own images.
- Agree which images are for promotion and which for internal use.
Send us the open-day programme, the areas open to visitors and the school's photography rules, and we will propose a plan that supports your communication to prospective families and confirm the deliverables in writing.
Plan our open-day coverageCommon questions
Do we photograph the day itself or create separate promotional images?
Both are possible, but they are different tasks. Open-day coverage records visitors, talks and tours as they happen. Promotional images of classrooms and facilities often need quiet rooms and planned moments. Decide which you need and ask us whether both can be included for your date.
Can prospective families appear in the photographs?
Visitors have not agreed to be part of the school's communications. Ask the school to display a notice at entry and to tell the photographer who has asked not to be photographed. Avoid close images of visiting children unless their parents have agreed.
How do we show the school fairly without staging it?
Ask teachers to continue normal activities and let the photographer observe. Staged lessons look staged, and prospective families notice. A mix of ordinary moments and a few arranged ones is usually most honest, as long as captions say what the image shows.
Can we use the open-day images in advertising?
Promotional or paid use is a separate permission from internal use. Check what each pupil's family agreed to, and what the quotation allows. Our guide on using recognisable event photographs in paid advertising explains the questions.
Plan our open-day coverage
Send us the open-day programme, the areas open to visitors and the school's photography rules, and we will propose a plan that supports your communication to prospective families and confirm the deliverables in writing.
What happens next: You send your event details on WhatsApp. Our team reads the brief, asks what is missing, then confirms in writing whether the date, venue and coverage can be booked, with a quotation. Opening WhatsApp does not send anything, and a message is not a booking until both sides confirm.
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