Back-to-School Photo Shoots in Surrey: Not just your usual school photo…
Looking for an alternative to the traditional school photograph?
My Back-to-School Photo Shoots in Epsom, Surrey, offer relaxed, contemporary school portraits
With siblings welcome even if they attend different schools or nurseries.
Since my children started school, the first day of their school year became a barometer for how they changed. The different hairstyles; the bigger uniform that grows gradually too small; changing footwear; toothless; big teeth; braces…
I’ve loved tracking the changes with our doorstop or studio portrait shoot. There is something about the start of a new school year that makes you realise quite how quickly children change.
These photographs have become increasingly precious as they have grown older.
And that is really the idea behind my Back to School Photo Shoots in Epsom: a more relaxed and personal alternative to the traditional school photograph — and the opportunity to create a beautiful record of your children as they grow.
An alternative to traditional school photos
We all know the traditional school photograph.
Your child is ushered in, sits or stands in the designated spot, smiles for the camera and moves on.
It records what they looked like, but it doesn’t necessarily capture very much of them.
My Back to School sessions are deliberately different.
They’re relaxed studio portrait sessions where we have a little more time to bring out your child’s personality and create photographs that feel natural, contemporary and worthy of a place on your wall.
Think of it as the school photograph you actually want to put up.
Back to School sibling photographs — even if they’re at different schools
This is one of my favourite reasons for offering these sessions.
When children are small and attend the same school, you may be able to order a sibling school photograph.
But what happens when one starts secondary school while another is still at primary school? Or one is at nursery and another at school? Or your eldest has moved on to sixth form or college?
You lose the opportunity to have that annual photograph of them together.
With a private Back to School Photo Shoot, siblings don’t need to attend the same school or nursery.
Bring them all.
I can photograph your children individually and together (and you can join, too) giving you both individual school portraits and a sibling photograph that simply wouldn’t be possible through their schools.
Make your Back to School portrait an annual tradition
One photograph is lovely.
A photograph taken at the beginning of every school year becomes something else entirely.
Over time, you create a visual record of childhood: changing uniforms, missing teeth, new hairstyles, longer legs and those subtle changes in expression as a little child gradually becomes a teenager.
That is why I would love these Back to School sessions to become an annual tradition for families.
Book a session this year and you’ll also receive a voucher towards your Back to School Portraits next September.
What is included in a Back to School Photo Shoot?
The 2026 Back to School sessions take place at my photography studio in Epsom, Surrey.
Each session includes:
A relaxed 20–30 minute studio portrait session
Individual and sibling photographs
Three professionally edited digital images
Three accompanying 7×5-inch prints
A voucher towards your Back to School session next September
The session fee is £185 + VAT.
Additional digital photographs and prints are also available if you would like more from your gallery.
Sessions are available until 15 October 2026, making them ideal not only for the first day of term but throughout the first few weeks of the new school year.
What ages are Back to School Photo Shoots for?
They aren’t just for primary-school children.
Back to School portraits can mark all sorts of stages:
Nursery → Reception → Primary School → Secondary School → GCSE year → Sixth Form → College
In fact, some of the later stages are the ones we often forget to photograph.
We take endless photographs when our children are tiny, but considerably fewer as they become teenagers.
Yet those years change incredibly quickly too.
What if my child doesn’t like having their photograph taken?
Please don’t worry.
I’m a professional portrait photographer and I photograph children, teenagers, families and adults with all sorts of personalities — including plenty of people who tell me they hate being photographed!
A private studio session gives us something a school photography session often can’t: time.
There is no conveyor belt of children waiting behind them. We can chat, settle in and work at their pace.
The aim isn’t to manufacture a perfect school-photo smile. It’s to photograph your child.
Where are the Back to School Photo Shoots?
The sessions take place at my portrait studio in Epsom, Surrey, with parking available.
The studio is convenient for families across Surrey and South-West London, and siblings from different schools are very welcome.
Book a Back to School Photo Shoot in Epsom, Surrey
Because every year marks a change — and each year is fleeting.
Whether your child is starting nursery, beginning a new school, moving into secondary school or simply heading back for another year, a Back to School Portrait is a lovely way to capture who they are right now.
And if you return each September, you’ll gradually create something rather special: a photographic record of their school years, one portrait at a time.
PLUS, Payment Plans are available
If you would like to spread the cost throughout the year, then I can offer 3, 6, 9 or 12 month payment plans. Please get in touch to find out more.
