How to Prepare For a School Picture

Co-authored by Christina Santelli

Last Updated: October 26, 2024 Fact Checked

It’s normal to feel a little nervous about taking your school picture. You might feel pressure to look perfect or you may have had a bad previous experience that you don’t want to repeat.

Fortunately, if you spruce up your appearance, work on being photogenic, and practice good hygiene, you’ll be prepared to take a great school picture.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Enhancing Your Appearance

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1
Plan out your outfit. Look through your clothes and think about which outfits look best on you. Think about what colors you get complimented while wearing and what shirts you’d wear on a date. Make sure to stay away from busy patterns, white, bright colors, and clothing with words or big logos.^{[1]
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- When in doubt, wear a dark, solid color.^{[2]
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- Don’t wear anything too low-cut.^{[3]
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  Christina Santelli. Professional Stylist.}
- Go with opaque fabrics. Also, avoid anything shiny, as it will create glare.^{[4]
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- Make sure your clothes are neat and free of wrinkles!^{[5]
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Keep your accessories simple. Big earrings, watches, bracelets, necklaces, scarves, or other accessories will just distract from your face and smile. If you want to wear accessories, it’s better to choose small, simple ones that don’t immediately demand attention.^{[6]
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- Go with a thin gold or silver necklace chain with a small pendant instead of a chunky colorful necklace with a thicker chain.
- Make sure to wear a watch that’s appropriate for your wrist size and isn’t too flashy.
- Even just changing your eyeglass frames can give you a fresh, cool look.^{[7]
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  Christina Santelli. Professional Stylist.}
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Keep your makeup natural-looking. Have your makeup look as clump-free and natural as possible. Be conservative with the amount you use or else it might appear “cakey.” Keep in mind that you want a subtle enhancement, not anything too extreme.^{[8]
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- Stick to just one light coat of brown mascara to give your eyes a subtle enhancement.
- Stay away from extremely bright or dark lipsticks.
Hold off on making any major changes to your appearance, such as switching to a new acne cream or dyeing your hair an exciting new color. While you might love these changes, there’s also a chance that they won’t end up looking the way you expected or wanted.^{[9]
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Try not to get too stressed about looking amazing. If you just lost your front tooth or you have a couple fly away hairs you can’t quite secure, it’s okay. In the future, you’ll want to look back on the picture you take and see what you really looked like at this age. A couple of endearing imperfections aren’t going to ruin that.^{[10]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Being Photogenic

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Practice your smile. Stand in front of your mirror at home and practice smiling. It might feel a little silly to do, but if you want your pictures to look a certain way, you’ll need to figure out how to create your most attractive, natural smile in advance.^{[11]
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- Take a few practice selfies, too. Looking at an actual photo of yourself can really help you figure out what adjustments to make.
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Practice angles and choose one. School pictures are usually taken straight-on, but very subtle changes in your head positioning can make a big difference. When you practice smiling in the mirror or in selfies, test out slightly different head positions to find out which one makes your facial features look best.
- If possible, avoid cheesy poses such as resting your head on your fist.^{[12]
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- Make sure you sit or stand up straight when your picture is taken.
If you’re a good listener, you’ll get a much better photo. The photographer is a professional, so do your best to do as they say. Listen and respect the photographer just like you would any other adult.^{[13]
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To avoid having a fake or forced smile, make sure to think about something that makes you happy while your picture is taken. Consider thinking about playing with your dog or eating your favorite food.^{[14]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Practicing Good Hygiene

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Take a shower regularly. Being clean will help you look and feel your best in front of the camera. Shampoo and condition your hair and create a lather with your soap or body wash. Go over your whole body with the soap from top to bottom. It’s best if you take a shower either the night before or the morning of picture day.^{[15]
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Cleveland Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

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- It’s best for your skin to keep your shower short (5-10 minutes) and the water lukewarm or cooler.
- Pat yourself dry with a towel and moisturize your body with body lotion afterward.^{[16]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  
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Comb and brush your hair. At the very least, comb out any tangles so it looks neat and nice and give yourself a straight part. If you want, straighten, curl, or scrunch your hair to make it look a little more special.^{[17]
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American Academy of Dermatology
Professional organization made of over 20,000 certified dermatologists

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Take care of your face. Clean your face every night, and if you have a foolproof method that prevents acne for you, follow it. This will improve your chances of having a clean, clear, beautiful face on picture day.^{[18]
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American Academy of Dermatology
Professional organization made of over 20,000 certified dermatologists

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- Use a gel-based or foamy cleanser if you have normal to oily skin.
- Use a creamy moisturizing cleanser if you have dry skin.^{[19]
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  American Academy of Dermatology
  Professional organization made of over 20,000 certified dermatologists
  
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Make sure to floss and brush your teeth every day in the morning and at night. Doing this will remove bacteria from your teeth which will keep them whiter, help prevent gum disease, and keep your teeth from decaying. Make sure to brush for about 2 minutes every time to make your smile look bright.^{[20]
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Before taking your picture, you may have some ketchup on your cheek from lunch or some stray hairs sticking up. Pack a comb and hand-held mirror in your backpack the night before so you can give your appearance one last check and touch up before getting in front of the camera.
A fresh trim will look great in your school pictures. For a clean-cut, put-together look, get a haircut just a few days or a week before picture day.
Make sure you’re drinking enough water and getting enough sleep in the days leading up to picture day.^{[21]
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HealthyChildren.org
Health information from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Go to source} Keeping yourself hydrated and well-rested will give you an energized smile and healthy-looking skin.

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Question

How do you choose a dress for school pictures?

Community Answer

If you want to wear a dress for picture day but you can't quite decide which one, go with one that is darker in color (instead of bright or white), fits well, and best complements your shape, skin tone, and/or eye color.

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How do you pick which hair style you want and if it suits you?

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Try out a few different hair styles in advance. Try curling it, wearing it half up, half down, straightening it, etc. Then choose whichever hair style you prefer to have on picture day. If you aren't crazy about any of them, there's nothing wrong with just wearing it down with no product or styling. Just make sure that your hair is clean and that you comb out any tangles.

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How can you dress for a picture if your clothes aren't good?

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If you don't have clothes that you like or think are of good quality, just do the best with what you've got. Pick out your favorite outfit and wash, dry, and iron it. Even if the clothes are a little old, this will make them look their best. Then, take a shower, comb your hair and make sure that the rest of you looks tidy and put-together.

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Tips

Try to be confident. Don't say you look bad, because that will just lower your self esteem.

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Compare school pictures from previous years to know what you can do to look your best the next time.

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Try taking pictures of yourself before picture day. Then you can look at your picture and figure out what you can correct ahead of time to make it better.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Test out potential outfits for the photo by wearing different options to school in the month leading up to the photo shoot. That way, you can see how your classmates react to each fit. Pay attention to the number of compliments you get on each outfit and use that info to choose your photo day gear.
You know how a lot of people tend to have awkward smiles in their school pictures? Prevent that by practicing your smiling in the mirror. This way you'll be able to remember what a "good" smile feels like on your face when you're sitting for the camera.
If you're worried about a bad photo, remember that 10 to 20 years from now, nobody is going to care what your school photo looked like. That should help you relax, at least a little bit, when you sit for your photo.

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