School photos remain an essential tradition for students across France, and one company in Beauzelle, just north of Toulouse in the Haute-Garonne region, has been capturing these memorable moments for three decades. "Comme une image" (Like an Image) specializes in school photography and recently opened its doors to reveal the behind-the-scenes process of creating these iconic class pictures.
The company operates from a small facility where about twenty people work busily: photographers, photo editors, employees responsible for packaging photos, and shipping staff. This bustling workplace has been in full swing since early September, marking the beginning of class photo season. François Miquel, the energetic photographer who founded "Comme une image" 30 years ago, orchestrates this entire operation. His school photography business captures images for approximately 25% of daycare centers and schools throughout Haute-Garonne.
The company handles every aspect of the process from A to Z: taking photos in schools, printing pictures, and packaging orders. In mid-November, the laboratory reaches peak activity levels. "We're practically running three shifts!" exclaims the owner. The major rush for class photos lasts three months, as Miquel explains: "Christmas holidays are coming, and families like to send photos to grandparents to wish them well."
These class photos often feature children dressed in their finest attire. "We have schools where it's really the big day! Children wear little bows, some even have small ties – it's so adorable!" smiles François Miquel. However, photos taken at daycare centers tend to be much less perfect, much to parents' dismay. "They often tell us their child has a stained t-shirt or a bit of snot running from their nose. But we can't wipe children's noses – if daycare staff are busy with other children, we work with what we have!"
The style of these class photos can sometimes appear outdated, but that's precisely what gives them their charm, according to François Miquel. "Yes, it sometimes has a somewhat kitsch aspect. For example, we take situational photos: children sit at a small wooden desk with a pencil, pretending to write. But these kinds of poses are always popular and fun!"
"Comme une image" offers families both individual portraits of their children and traditional group photos. These images are "70% retouched," affirms François Miquel. "In a group photo, you can be sure that at least two children have their eyes closed. So we take four or five shots and swap the heads of those with closed eyes to create a perfect group. Thank you, Photoshop!"
These touch-ups are performed by staff like Julie, one of the retouchers who works with impressive skill. "I select the head I want to integrate into the group photo, then I paste it onto the base image. Here, for example, I'm reworking this little girl's overall strap area so the connection looks good. And I'm repositioning her hair properly – she needs to be perfect and the retouching must be invisible."
There are also little jokers who don't escape the attention of Dominica, another retoucher. "In this photo, I have a boy with his middle finger on his cheek. So I'm going to retouch his hand to add a finger to his face." Whether intentional or not, there's no question of letting an ambiguous gesture pass through.
Generally, children encountered by "Comme une image" photographers easily allow themselves to be photographed. However, some middle schoolers can be challenging, as François Miquel notes with amusement: "The rebels are mainly the ninth-graders: they act a bit grown-up, they don't want to be photographed from certain angles, and it's an awkward age. They're sometimes a bit difficult, but we manage to laugh with them."
But what accounts for the enduring success of class photos? Through his years of experience, François Miquel has analyzed this attachment: "They're fabulous memories: we don't keep ID photos because we look terrible in them, but we keep class photos. It's fun, even if we have a bad expression or are acting silly. It's an ingrained routine. And even though we have 10,000 photos of our children on our phones, school photography is different. It comes from school and marks a year: a memorable first grade, a difficult ninth grade, entering high school."
François Miquel also sees economic reasons for the success of class photos: "Very few people will go to a photographer and be able to buy $200 or $300 worth of portraits. I wouldn't say it's equivalent – it's not studio photography. But people still get nice portraits for $18 or $20." In France, families spend an average of 21 euros ($23) per year on class photos. Generally, 30% of this amount goes to the school, with the remainder going to photographers.
