FAQ Photography & Film
FAQ Photography
What makes a good schedule for the photography day?
The schedule is a key element and depends a bit on which activities you need photographing. However, to summarise – about 25 mins per activity works well, but this also depends on the walking time between each set up too.
Do let us know if you need help creating the schedule as we’re more than happy to assist. We can really help hone it down to save as much time as possible for more setups.
A shoot day is very fast-paced to get through the list of shots you need, but also lots of fun, especially to get the best out of the students. The only prerequisite is lots of coffee!
How long do you stay for on a shoot day?
We work around a standard 8 hour school day, but its flexible based on your requirements. We sometimes begin with student arrivals and Breakfast Club or we can capture boarders in their houses into the early evening.
What about inclement weather?
Don’t worry about this at all, look through our galleries and I bet you can’t tell which photos were taken in January compared to June (apart from the frosty morning ones obviously!). For classroom shots it doesn’t matter a jot. Sports shots are great in the rain as it simply looks like character building stuff, and prospective parents seem to love this. For games like cricket we just have to be a bit more flexible on the shoot day and dash out between any showers. We’ve never not got the shots you need.
Do you bring flash?
Yes. We bring a couple of very small flash units to brighten up a room. We like light and bright images with vibrant colours and feel this technique makes each image pop. Let us know if there is a different look that you would like to achieve and we’ll amend the process accordingly.
Are you DBS checked?
Yes. We are fully DBS checked and will bring a copy on the shoot day along with formal ID. Please be assured all safeguarding requirements will be met.
How many photos do you take?
This depends a bit on how many activities we photograph on the day. There is no limit, but you will usually receive between 200 to 450 edited images.
After the shoot we edit the images and then forward a password protected website for easy photo viewing, along with a link so you can download all the high-res images in one go.
How much does it cost?
Please download our brochure and pricing guide to get the most up-to-date price list. If I write it here I most likely am going to forget to update it!
How long till we receive our photos?
Its usually within 2 weeks, but let us know if you have any urgent requirements from the shoot and we can send them over earlier.
How far do you travel?
We’ve photographed a French school… but that was in Battersea(!). We have however also photographed schools from Scotland to Dorset, so distance is no object. We are lucky enough to live in Surrey where there just so happens to be an abundance of independent schools, but we have no problem travelling to wherever you are based.
We’d like to book, so what are the next steps?
Amazing news! Lets start by getting a shoot date into the diary. Always best to book early as some summer dates book up fast (sometimes a year in advance with schools that book annual shoots with us). We can then chat on the phone/Zoom etc to discuss your requirement in a bit more depth so we go into your shoot day fully prepared.
FAQ Filming
How should we schedule a filming day?
The good news is that in terms of scheduling – a filming day is very similar to a stills photography day, so please view the notes above.
The main difference is the concept – rather than trying to capture a single moment in time with photography, with film we need to capture a dynamic performance. IE – what is this scene going to say? Don’t worry – we are experts at this and happily coax natural performances from students and staff whatever the requirement. The key (as always!) is in the planning and making sure we understand in advance what your goals for the film are. This way we can make sure each scene tells a mini story.
We know we need a film but don’t know where to start!
If a picture tells a thousand words then a film tells at least million. Your school website really does need high quality films to give prospective parents an idea of what life is like at your school.
Filming is always a collaboration and we’ll discuss everything at the planning stage. Depending on what your objectives are, you might want a concept film, a day in the life, or perhaps a suite of films narrated by each Head of Department. Each one is different and highlights your school’s character and attributes in a different way.
Can you shoot photography and video at the same time?
This is not really recommended. Apart from being very different camera settings, its not at all easy to rapidly switch mindset between capturing a moment for stills and then creating a performance from the students for film. To use a cooking analogy – imagine trying to make a roast dinner and meringues in the same oven at the same time(!). Sure its sort of technically possible, but imagine how complicated the process has just become – changing oven settings and waiting for it to cool down/heat up etc. In all likelihood it won’t lead to the best tasting food.
If you need both photos and film we suggest you book two days and do a day of each.
We have this amazing idea for a film, can you help?!
Yes, exciting! Creating a film requires lots of teamwork, and working your concept into a finished film will be an amazing collaboration, so lets chat to get the ball rolling.
Do you need more lighting for film?
We always bring lights, but its often easier (and quicker!) to shoot with the available natural light. There just isn’t enough time to spend ages setting up continuous lighting at 15 different locations on a shoot day. 95% of the videos we make just use available light. We also have some special tips and tricks to enhance the current lighting so it always looks bright and welcoming.
Can we narrate the film?
Absolutely! Narration by staff or even pupils is a great way of getting your school’s personality across. We often recommend using our teleprompter too, so the subject can read the autocue and it looks extremely professional (just like BBC news readers). An added bonus is that there are no ‘ums’ or ‘ers’ that you sometimes get with ad-libbed speeches.
Using a teleprompter is also very efficient. We don’t have much (if any) spare time on a shoot day, so if our goal is a 90 second finished film we only need to record 90 seconds of narration. The secret is having a prepared script beforehand (that Marketing can check), ensuring the subject has thought about what they are going to say. With a few practice runs it always looks flawless!