From Poses To Backgrounds, These Are The Best Back-To-School Picture Ideas

Freshly sharpened No. 2 pencils. Composition notebooks. It’s the most wonderful time of the year — when kids go back to school, that is. And to commemorate the start of the scholarly season, you’ll most likely want to whip out your camera to capture the moment. So assuming your kid will cooperate, (because sometimes they just don’t), these back-to-school picture ideas will help you capture an important milestone.

As sensational as your summer might have been, there’s nothing like a new school year to make you heave a huge sigh of relief. There’s a special buzz in the air when back-to-school items hit the store shelves. Combine that with the anticipation your child feels, there will be plenty of moments that are worth documenting.

So make sure your phone is charged, and get ready to snap some awesome back-to-school pictures that you’ll want to look at long after your child has boarded the school bus, and don’t forget to accompany it with a zinger of a photo caption if you’re sharing it on social media.

Back-to-school picture pose ideas

No matter what position you pick, you’ll want your back-to-school images to have an academic angle to them. And that usually comes via props you can use for the pictures.

• Carrying books. They can hold some of their new notebooks, or even pretend to be reading a new book.
• Wearing a backpack. It’s the best accessory for your child to wear in their back-to-school portrait.
• Holding an apple. It’s the perfect prop and they can deliver it to their teacher once they get to school.
• Holding a sign. When you look back on the images, it’ll be hard to decipher if the picture you’re looking at is from the first or fourth grade. Etsy has a ton of cute pre-made back-to-school signs, or you can always go the DIY route.
• Posing with parents. If you’re feeling cheeky, jump in the air with happiness that your kids are starting school, while they make a sad or frowning face. Break out a bottle of champagne to spray or throw some glitter or confetti up in the air.
• Sitting on a stack of books. Pose your little bookworm on a stack of books.
• Getting on the school bus. Call their name for them to turn around and give you that final wave.
• Packing their backpack. A shot of them pack up their stuff for the first day is so cute.
• Saying goodbye to younger siblings. Photograph that memorable moment when your school-aged child says goodbye to a younger sibling by waving goodbye, or giving them a hug or kiss on the cheek.
• Walking with their backpack. Especially when they’re younger, get a photo of your child walking from behind, when all you’ll see is a backpack — and a pair of feet.

Back-to-school background ideas for photos

No matter what style you select for your back-to-school background, you’ll want to keep it simple and uncluttered. Here are some options:

• A brick wall. The clean lines make a brick wall a classic choice, especially since it can look like the façade of a school, too.
• Outside your home. They can stand by the front door, or sit on the steps or on your pretty porch. They can hold a notebook or an apple as a way to show it’s the start of school.
• In a field. You just can’t go wrong with a photogenic field or grassy area. Position a batch of books in the grass and have your child sit on top of them. Or you can have your child “reading” a book among the flowers and other flora for a more natural back-to-school photo.
• Outside the school building. It can be on the side of the steps (and away from the other students), or even in the schoolyard.
• By the school bus. The school bus is the most quintessential back-to-school backdrop. Set your phone to Portrait mode so that it blurs out the background.
• In bed. Can’t get your tween out of bed? Snap a shot of them with their head under the covers and post it with the caption: “We’re all so excited for the first day of school.”
• In front of a chalkboard. If you have a chalkboard wall, you can easily DIY a cute first-day-of-school sign in chalk on the board.

Back-to-school Instagram captions

Let’s say that you managed to snag a pretty decent shot of your child before they either scowled at you, turned their back, or had a meltdown before getting on the bus. Well, the hard part is over, right? Not necessarily. You’ll want something quippy to accompany said cute back-to-school photo if you’re planning on posting it. But if the words are failing to flow, these universal back-to-school Instagram captions can cover it all.

• School daze.
• And so the adventure begins.
• Head of the class.
• Work hard, nap harder.
• Too cool for school.
• It’s the most wonderful time of the year — for this mom.
• How many days until summer?
• Aiming to get an A in nap time.
• Ready to rock the new school year.
• Who’s ready for the first day of school? This kid.

These back-to-school picture ideas can help you elevate your images while also documenting your child’s educational adventure. Be sure to replicate the image again on the last day of school so you can see how far your child (and your whole family, really) has come in a matter of months.