School video and photography packages: what should schools compare?

A practical guide to comparing school video and photography packages, including what should be included, what questions to ask, and how to choose a provider that understands school life.

School video and photography packages can be one of the most useful investments a school makes in its public-facing communication. The right package can support your website, prospectus, admissions activity, open evenings, social media, newsletters, recruitment campaigns and trust-wide storytelling.

The challenge is that providers can describe very different services using similar language. One supplier might mean a one-day photo shoot. Another might include planning, photography, video clips, editing, licensing, staff portraits, event coverage and versions of the content prepared for different platforms. Before comparing prices, it helps to be clear about what you actually need the package to achieve.

Start with the purpose of the content

A strong brief starts with outcomes. Are you trying to improve admissions enquiries, refresh an old website, show the atmosphere of the school, support recruitment, communicate trust values, or capture a specific event? The answer changes the kind of supplier you need.

If the work is mainly for a new school website, you will need images that show real learning, facilities, relationships, leadership and pupil experience. If the work is for social media or open evenings, short-form video may matter more. If the work is for a prospectus, you may need carefully planned hero images, staff portraits and high-resolution files suitable for print.

You can compare relevant suppliers on EDexa here: compare photography and video for schools.

What a school photography and video package might include

Not every package will include all of these, but these are useful things to check before choosing a provider:

• Pre-shoot planning call or briefing session
• Shot list planning for website, prospectus or admissions use
• School photography covering classrooms, facilities, pupils, staff and leadership
• Short video clips for social media, open evenings or website pages
• Longer promotional video or school film
• Staff portraits or leadership team photography
• Event photography or performance coverage
• Editing, colour correction and export in different formats
• Clear usage rights for web, print and social media
• Safeguarding-aware working practices while on site

Questions worth asking before you compare price

Price only makes sense when you understand what is included. A low quote may be fine for a simple shoot, but it can become expensive if editing, additional formats, usage rights or extra visits are charged separately.

Useful questions include:

• How much planning is included before the shoot day?
• How do you help schools create a realistic shot list?
• How do you handle consent, safeguarding and pupils who cannot be photographed?
• How many edited images or videos are included?
• What file formats will the school receive?
• Can the content be used on the website, prospectus, adverts and social media?
• What happens if the weather is poor or key pupils/staff are absent?
• How quickly will final assets be delivered?

Look for school-sector experience

Schools are not the same as corporate offices. A provider needs to work around timetables, safeguarding rules, staff availability, pupil movement, assemblies, lunch, weather, noise, permissions and the general unpredictability of a school day.

The strongest providers usually have a calm process for the day itself. They know how to get natural images without disrupting lessons, how to help staff feel comfortable, and how to capture real school life without making everything feel staged.

Match the package to the channels you use

A school website hero image, a printed prospectus image and a short social media video all need different treatment. When comparing packages, ask whether the provider will supply assets cropped or exported for the places you actually use them.

For example, your school may need:

• Landscape images for website banners
• Portrait images for social media
• High-resolution images for print
• Short vertical clips for reels or stories
• Subtitled video versions for accessibility
• Compressed versions that load quickly online

Common red flags

Be careful if a provider is vague about usage rights, cannot explain how they work safely in schools, has no relevant school examples, or focuses only on equipment rather than planning and outcomes. Beautiful cameras do not automatically create useful school marketing content.

It is also worth being cautious if the package does not explain editing, turnaround times, the number of assets supplied, cancellation terms, reshoots, or what happens if the school needs content in additional formats later.

How EDexa can help

EDexa is useful because you can start with the wider category, compare suppliers, open profiles, review related options and build a shortlist before making contact. If you are planning a website refresh, prospectus update, open evening campaign or admissions push, the photography and video supplier you choose can shape how your school is seen for years.

Start here: compare school photography and video suppliers on EDexa.