discoveries vol16 iss02

VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 2

Y E A R B O O K

SISTERACT FIND OUT HOW THESE

TWO SISTERS FOUND THEIR PATHS IN YEARBOOK...

SISTERACT

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY

CREATING A CULTURE

RECRUITING A POWER STAFF

NO-HASSLE GROUP PHOTOS

& MORE

Y E A R BO O K D I S COV E R I E S . CO M 0 1 V O L U M E S I X T E E N I S S U E O N E

DISCOVER MORE

WHAT’S INSIDE

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Y E A R B O O K

04 PHOTOS IN FIVEIf you’ve experienced the frustration of having a lot of images that look the same and tell the same kind of story, life isabout to get better. Have the photo staff seek out these five varied kinds of images for every assignment and you’ll have everything you need to tell the whole story.

06 CREATING A CULTURE OF YEARBOOKDoes it ever feel like the yearbook staff is invisible? Doesyour community imagine that the yearbook just appearswhen it’s done? Take some tips from a staff that makes itclear the staff plays an important — and ongoing — role inevery school year.

08 TEXTBOOK PERFECTGuidelines for yearbook design, copywriting and coverage are often not hard and fast “rules.” They are suggestions that offer the greatest opportunities for success to the highest number of students. More than the guidelines themselves, it’s the principles behind them that make better yearbooks.

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10 RECRUITING DIVERSITYMany yearbook staffs are made up mostly of high-achieving upperclassmen who are also involved in athletics and other activities. Seeking out younger students, the less involved and a group that’s socially, ethnically and economically diverse will make covering all facets of the school easier and more logical.

12 RAISING THE BARJust because the staff at your school has “always done it that way” doesn’t mean that’s the answer forever. This adviser tells how the environment, the process and the outcome changed when the expectations did; the current staff does yearbook differently than ever before at their school.

14 GROUP PHOTO GUIDELINESGroup picture day can be the worst day of the year for an adviser whose staff does not have a plan. With tips (and extra content) from an experienced adviser who has the process down to a science, you can be organized, more efficient, even calm on that once-feared day that affects so many spreads.

16 YEARBOOK ETC.Yearbook makes the world a much smaller place. Matt Stamey is reminded of this truth often. Now a professional news photographer, Matt learned about his camera and about life working on the yearbook. Plus, some fun yearbook-related projects.

02FEATURE

STITCHHerff Jones’ newest platform allows schools to cover and access the school community anytime, anywhere.

Telling the stories of the whole school just got easier — and faster.

With Stitch, you’ll have access to images and voices of the entire community, and you can share content whenever you’re ready.

As a companion to the print yearbook, Stitch provides more

images to choose from when creating spreads, more ways to

publish photos of events as soon as they happen, more space to

run stories beyond those in the yearbook, more current skills for

your staff and more opportunities to reach every student in the school.

Best of all, this increased campus exposure for your staff and their

work comes at no additional cost.

TM

Come see more atHJSTITCH.COM

It’s easy. It’s fun. It’s your students. It’s Stitch.

HELLO, MEET...

MY STITCHEach student controls his/her account by identifying favorite activities, adding and managing photos and personal notes, accessing polls and more. The ever-expanding collection of apps makes Stitch so much more than a website. Build collages, manage and edit photos, add notes to favorites and organize content for future use.

PHOTOSTREAMSee an image you like? Submit a shot you’re proud of? Click the “Favorite” icon to add it to your list and vote it up in the rankings. The more popular the image, the more prominently it appears in the Photostream. In the yearbook staff’s quest to cover the year, photographers shoot thousands of images. At most schools, 80-90% never make it to print. Stitch gives the extras, as well as those submitted by others, the chance to be seen, shared and enjoyed.

STORYLINESWith hundreds, maybe thousands, of students passing through the halls each day and leading lives that extend into the community and beyond, there are endless stories to tell. Personal profiles mingle with coverage of achievement and events. With Storylines, stories can be shared quickly and with more depth than ever before. There’s no limit to the stories you can publish.

STITCH CONTROLTraditions. Regulations. Personalities. Every school is different. Stitch gives you the freedom and flexibility to find the perfect balance for your students, staff and community. Through Stitch Control, the Stitch staff and adviser approve all images that are shared through Photostream, make decisions about when to create and post issues of Storylines, build the layout and learn how to manage high-level online communications with minimal time invested.

Your school's story, brought together like never before. Richer content, better engaged students, and a platform for every voice.

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YE ARBOOK DISCOVERIES .COMV O L U M E S I X T E E N I S S U E T W O

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FIVEONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO A YEARBOOK PROGRAM IS GETTING PHOTOGRAPHERS READY TO GO AT THE START OF THE YEAR. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR MY MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM THAT HAS A 100% STAFF TURNOVER EVERY YEAR. IT IS CRITICAL TO GET PHOTOGRAPHERS READY TO COVER EVENTS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I USE A SERIES OF SHORT, MEMORABLE RULES TO MAKE SURE WE GET ALL THE PHOTOS WE NEED STARTING ON DAY 1.

The first lesson I teach is to get complete coverage of an event. A great yearbook spread can be created if you photograph the event from different levels. Our five levels of photography ensure that we have what we need. Required photos are: Scene, Group, Person, Action, Detail. For a sports event this would incorporate the field or court (scene), the fans and crowd (group), the coach (person), the highlight plays (action) and the equipment (detail). An academic shoot would include the classroom (scene), the participating students (group), the teacher or student leader (person), the event or class activity (action) and the equipment for the activity (details).

The other rule that my photographers learn early is to “shoot big.” This rule works in two ways. The first is a camera setting. Always set your camera to a high resolution and leave it. This will give you photos that you can use and crop in many ways. I also expect photographers to take lots of photos. Five to seven hundred photos from one event is reasonable. A little luck is involved in great photography. The more pictures you take, the better your “luck” will be.

Photographers will still need to learn the rules of composition. They will receive instruction on depth of field, aperture values and shutter speeds. This will take time. Teaching the five levels first will have your staff taking good photos quickly, ensuring that coverage is solid from the start.

Having all the images you need to tell the whole story is easy if you just think of

BY JED PALMERPHOTOS IN

SCAN THIS TAG OR VISIT HTTP://BIT.LY/OEHCHGTO VIEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF PHOTOS IN FIVE.

ONE | SCENE Time to shoot wide. Show the surroundings and give your reader a sense of space. This might be the stadium, the gym or the classroom. This is often the photo that is left out but will be most remembered10 years from now if you use it on a spread. You want 15% of your shots at this level. Photo by Carter Butte

TWO | GROUP These are your storytelling shots. Use them to show interactions between people. Crowd shots during games and pep rallies work well for this level of photos. Look for a subject that stands out, but maintain the framing elements. Aim for 20% of your shots at this level. Photo by Jasmin DeLuna

THREE | PERSON Every event is going tohave an individual who stands out. This might be the coach, teacher or a student. Be sure to capture the person from head to toe. You may choose to crop the photo later, but you want options. Individual shots make great COBs. Try for 20% of your shots at this level. Photo by Carter Butte

FOUR | ACTION These are the shots that every photographer lives for. The game-winning score and the emotional reaction live here. This is where science experiments explode with color. These shots require perspective. Shoot from multiple angles and target 30% of your shots at this level. Photo by Jasmin DeLuna

FIVE | DETAILZoom with your lens, and with your feet. These are the often-missed photos that round out your coverage. Using light and framing are critical here. Shooting tight takes practice, but one great shot could put your spread over the top. Try to have 15% of your shots at this level. Photo by Adam Fioretto


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INVASIONYEARBOOK

PUBLICITY GALORE!This staff is always looking for ways to involve the school in their process and their promotions. A special customer bracelet offerenticed buyers.

THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!From posters on campus to human signs at school events, the staff constantly reminds students and parents that the yearbook staff is working and books are on sale.

There’s no doubt about it. Some schools undergo a

EVERY YEAR.

BY LAURA ZHU

ALL EXAMPLES FROM TOBY JOHNSON MS, ELK GROVE, CA

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INVASIONEVERY YEAR.

BY LAURA ZHU

KEEPING THE YEARBOOK VISIBLE ON CAMPUS HASMANY ADVANTAGES. WHEN THE SCHOOL IS AWARE OFTHE YEARBOOK STAFF AND ITS WORK, SALES OFTEN INCREASE. MORE STUDENTS APPLY TO BE ON STAFF AND THE SCHOOL IS PROUD OF ITS YERDS.

The yearbook doesn’t just show up at the end of the school year at our school. It builds momentum and a following, beginning before the school year even starts.

We first sell the yearbook at our Jaguar Jubilee two weeks before classes begin. Parents come to walk their students around the campus. They pick up PE clothes and they can pre-order the yearbook.

Nearly one third of our sales are made on Back-to-School Night though, the second Wednesday after we get back. It’s our big push; we get the whole yearbook class involved — some students are wearing sandwich boards that show the prices of the yearbook and where to buy them, others have the PE teachers’ bullhorns and are directing parents to the purchase window, and even more students have tables set up around campus showing previous yearbooks and answering parent questions.

And the staff has other plans to generate excitement about the yearbook. Early in the fall, there’s a Club Tailgating Day; it’s the afternoon before Homecoming. Yearbook sets up a table and sells pizza. Last year, to jump on the popularity of silly bands, the yearbook class had custom sets of stretchy bracelets for sale. It was a great fundraiser and even siblings of our students bought them. Each set included school letters: T, J, M, S, a 7 and 8, two Jaguars in school colors, and then a couple of asterisks.

Why an asterisk? The asterisk was the graphic element for the 2011 yearbook and we used it all year long. We ordered custom posters through Herff Jones and we made sure that our photos represented the entire student body. We created spreadsheets to track who was in the photos, which classes and clubs were being represented, and

to make sure we were equally representing boys and girls, seventh graders and eighth graders. A lot of thought went into them.

We also created our first Facebook page for the Toby Johnson yearbook. With the Sneak Peek app, we were able to share some of our theme pages, some clubs pages, and showed actual live-progress on a couple of our other pages. We believe that sharing our book creates excitement which leads to sales. Once students know they’re in the book, they make sure they buy it.

Plus, we have a huge showcase in the electives wing, and we post color PDFs there all year. We also post the index in the yearbook classroom windows as soon as it’s done so students can see what pages they are on… even if we haven’t shown those pages to the public yet. That’s another big boost in sales for us. We aim to get every student in the book twice but often do even better than that.

All of our efforts have paid off; the yearbook staff has shifted social status in the past couple of years. Being a yerd is something to be respected. Each year, more students apply to be in the class and that will probably keep going up. Every student who was on the TJMS staff who applied for the high school yearbook class as a freshman has been accepted! We’re letting people know what goes on in the class, what hard work is done throughout the whole year and it doesn’t hurt that we’re starting to win awards for our books. Of course, all the awards are made public on our Facebook page.

We successfully created a culture of yearbook at our school, but we know it’s an ongoing process. We’re still trying to find more ways to connect with technology. In 2011, we introduced smart tags into our book… and now we’re looking for the next ‘coolest thing.’ When we find it, we’ll be sure to let our school know all about it!

LET’S GET BACK TO BASICSHere’s a good example of a SOLID BASIC DESIGN.

Ample external margins frame the design.

Consistent one-pica internal margins separate all the elements of the spread.

A clear dominant is surrounded by other photos in a variety of shapes and sizes.

An eye-catching headline, complete with a subhead, grabs the readers’ attention.

Captions for each photo are consistent in width and feature lead-ins that repeat the headline font.

Readable, informative folio tabs complete the design.

A GRID PLAN allows designers to have more freedom and employ white space as a design element. With grid design, rails of white space can be used to package spread contents, building a roadmap for the reader. But those fundamental guidelines still apply.

Secondary packages, also called mods, add coverage as well as presenting a design challenge. Using grids — lots of narrow columns — allows the designer to employ white space to separate these secondary packages from the main photo/headline/copy package. This design method both follows the basics of design and introduces some more sophisticated design principles.

Ample external margins frame the design, but internal margins are reduced to half a pica for a tighter look.

Consistent white space (three picas in this example) separates the two secondary content packages from the main content.

Captions are clustered or grouped instead of being placed by each photo. Numbered photos match numbered captions, and each caption begins with a lead in that repeats the main headline, delineating the beginning of each caption for the reader.

There is clear visual hierarchy. The headlines on the mods repeat the font and style of the main headline, but they diminish in size, corresponding with their importance.

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The Patriot, Harvest Park MS, Pleasanton, CA

SCAN THIS TAG OR VISIT HTTP://BIT.LY/OEHCHG TO

VIEW MORE SPREADS THAT GET IT RIGHT.


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LET’S GET BACK TO BASICS

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The Clan, McLean HS, McLean, VA

MAYBE NOT WHEN IT COMES TO YEARBOOK SPREAD DESIGN. TOO OFTEN DESIGNERS GET CAUGHT UP IN THE RUSH TO PRODUCE “WOW” SPREADS, DISREGARDING THE ELEMENTS THAT GIVE POWER TO THEIR PAGES.

Consistency is often sacrificed and a clear grid plan might be scrapped. Designers claim they want to create spreads that are not boring, decorating their pages with a flurry of graphics and designing “freestyle.”

But just like any other craft, good design involves rules, and good designers know them. They employ the rules to create powerful spreads. Good designers can bring even the most basic spreads to life through the use of solid packaging, the wise use of white space and purposeful use of type.

Sometimes they bend or break the rules. But good designers always have clear reasons for what they do. They can produce designs that look freestyle and edgy but still adhere to the rules. So let’s take a look at what makes up a textbook-perfect spread.

LET’S GO BACK TO THE BASICS OF STRONG DESIGN.

A TIRED CLICHÉ, RIGHT?

BY LYNN STRAUSE

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...makes yearbook less fun. (top to bottom) Thestaff’s summer workshop included brainstorming and instruction in design and photography (including this exercise with flowing water).Planning celebrations into the schedule ensuresthat the staff has time to bond and has traditions to look forward to. Teamwork helps make deadlines easier. A completed deadline meant the staff got aday off from class, and they walked to alocal ice cream shop to celebrate. (oppositepage) Club members participate ininterviewing exercises. A team ofvolunteers aids the staffin production.

NORTHEASTERN HS, MANCHESTER, PA

ALL WORKANDNO PLAY...

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WHEN I TOOK OVER AS YEARBOOK ADVISER, THE STAFF WAS COMPRISED OF MOSTLY SENIOR GIRLS WHO SIGNED UP FOR THE CLASS BECAUSE IT GAVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO RELAX AND GOSSIP WITH THEIR FRIENDS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE RESULTING BOOK WAS MORE A SCRAPBOOK OF THEIR FRIENDS AND LESS A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

Not satisfied with the status quo, I wanted to transform the book into something of which all students and staff could be proud. I knew in order to achieve this goal, the class culture needed to change.

The first step in this process occurred over the summer when four returning staff members attended a workshop. Those five days of instruction resulted in the creation of strong editorial leadership because the girls returned to school armed with the confidence to implement their ideas and enough excitement to motivate the other staff members to embrace the ideas as their own. The result was a group that set goals and held each other accountable for meeting them. Instead of one girl doing all the work while everyone else wasted time, all members became active participants.

While this increase in leadership made a huge difference, some of the staff members still chafed at the idea that they actually had to do work. Though I could find no magic solution to this problem except perhaps graduation, I determined that these students needed more of an extrinsic motivation to meet the expectations. This is where celebrations and food came into play. It was amazing how effective the lure of food and a day off could be in motivating change.

These celebrations helped inspire and empower active staff members but did nothing to combat the decrease in the number of students who applied for the program once word spread that yearbook was no longer a hangout. To combat this, the returning staff members recruited new members by personally inviting them to apply. Though not all accepted the offer, those who did, joined the staff with a sense of prestige that later translated to a willingness to meet expectations.

Though it has taken four years to establish a new status quo, now instead of accepting mediocrity, the staff commits to working days, nights and even weekends to create a journalistically sound yearbook that tells an accurate story of our entire school each year.

BY BETH ANN BROWN

How to transform an unmotivated staff into a dedicated team

STAFFSTATUS QUO

CHANGING THE

1 6 YE ARBOOK DISCOVERIES .COM V O L U M E S I X T E E N I S S U E T W O

When junior Marissa Miller’s first idea for her Fashion project didn’t work out last spring, she needed a new plan. The assignment, to create a garment made of recycled/recyclable materials, had her searching for inspiration. Because her art teacher, Cortney Weisman, also advises the yearbook at Ward Melville HS in East Setauket, NY, there were some old yearbooks in the classroom. So Marissa asked about using those to create her life-sized masterpiece. Constructing the dress took approximately eight weeks.

PERFECT ATTIRE FOR AN EDITOR AT THE YEAR-END BANQUET, NO?

When photographer Matt Stamey joined the yearbook staff atManhattan (KS) HS nearly 15 years ago, he had no idea that he

was setting his course for decades.

In the last six months or so, Stamey has found a number of opportunities to work with yearbookers in Gainesville, Florida, where he is a staff

photographer at the Gainesville Sun. His involvement reiterates the “small world of yearbook” concept that advisers and staffers often discover.

When yearbook staffers at Joaquin Miller Junior High in San Jose, CA were planning a week of activities to draw attention to their fall sales, they had lots of ideas. Posters were obvious. Announcements? Check. But they wanted something more personal as well. So they invited the faculty to bring in their yearbooks and share them with their students. Success! Nearly 30% of all teachers brought in one or more of their own books and revealed memories, funny styles and more. In addition to the fun, it was good for sales; they sold more than 100 books that week and are aheadof pace on another sold-out volume.

THE ULTIMATE IN YERDWEAR

FUN, INTERESTING & SALES-PROVOKING

FOR MORE, GO TO HTTP://BIT.LY/SFZW9S

CHANGE...

MORE THETHINGS

of promotion of theAN ENTIRE WEEK

yearbook and of yearbook sales – engaged students and teachers in

reminiscing and discussion ofdays they’ll remember.

Y E A R BO O K D I S COV E R I E S . CO M 0 3 V O L U M E S I X T E E N I S S U E O N E

Students know some ADVANTAGES OF BEING ON THE YEARBOOK STAFF.

Staffers are aware of what’s going on at school. They have access to

GREAT PHOTO AND COMPUTER EQUIPMENT. YEARBOOKERS LEARN REAL-LIFE

SKILLS and get to LEAVE THEIR MARK by CREATING A BOOK THAT

LASTS FOREVER. But there are even more great answers to the question

WHY YEARBOOK?

SHE’S WHY...

Need to help parents or administrators understand the lasting value of yearbook? Our brochure and video make the powerful

message clear. Staff size affected by changing requirements? Recruiting an amazing staff has never been easier; these fun materials help

students understand all of the skills they will learn in yearbook.


WATCH OUR INFORMATIVE VIDEO,WHY YEARBOOK?, THROUGH THIS TAG OR ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT: WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/HERFFJONESYEARBOOKS

MONICA MIGUEL, ESQ.Private Practice Attorney, Specializing in Family and Real Estate LawCopy Editor 1996, 1997 - The Torch, Monsignor Edward Pace HS; Opa Locka, FLConducted a successful campaign to reinstate a yearbook on campus at Florida International University BBA/Finance - Florida International University 2002JD - University of Miami School of Law 2005

Yearbook teaches so many lessons that lead to success in professional

life. There’s no other class that teaches project management,

time management and respect for deadlines in the same ways. I was already a stickler for grammar rules when I became a yearbook copy

editor, but it definitely made me an even stronger writer.”

discoveries vol16 iss02

Documents

yearbook design

print yearbook

e s i x t e e n

d i s cov e r i e s

school community

photo staff

r b o o ksisteract

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