You have volunteered (or been volunteered) to create the leavers morph video. Brilliant. The software part is straightforward. The hard part? Getting 150 families to dig through photo albums, find a baby photo, name it correctly, and submit it on time.

This is not a technology problem. It is a people problem. And after working with hundreds of schools, we have learned what works, what does not, and how to avoid the most common headaches.

When to start collecting

Eight weeks before you need the final video. Not six. Not four. Eight.

Here is why: in any cohort of 150 students, roughly 70% of parents will respond within the first two weeks. Another 20% will trickle in over the next four weeks. The final 10% will require personal follow-ups, reminders from the Year coordinator, and occasionally a plea at the school gate.

If your ceremony is in November, send your first communication in early September at the latest. If it is in October, August is your starting point.

The first communication

Your initial message to parents should be clear, specific, and short. Here is a template you can adapt:

Subject: Baby photo needed for Year 12 leavers ceremony video

Dear families,

We are creating a special morph video for the Year 12 leavers ceremony. This video shows each student's transformation from baby to graduate — it is always one of the most memorable moments of the evening.

What we need from you:

One baby or toddler photo of your child (ages 0–4)
The photo should show their face clearly, ideally front-facing
JPEG or PNG format (if you only have a printed photo, a phone photo of the print works fine)

How to submit:

Upload to this Google Drive folder: [link]
Name the file: FirstnameLastname_baby.jpg (e.g., SarahJohnson_baby.jpg)

Deadline: [date — 4 weeks from now]

If you have any questions, please contact [name] at [email].

Thank you for helping make this ceremony special!

A few things to note about this template:

It explains what a morph video is — not all parents will know
It specifies the naming convention — this saves you hours of renaming files later
It offers a workaround for printed photos — many baby photos only exist as prints
The deadline is four weeks out — giving you four weeks of buffer before you actually need them

Choosing a submission method

You have several options. Here is how they compare:

Google Drive shared folder

Pros: Free, most parents are familiar with it, you can see submissions in real time, files are already named.

Cons: Some parents struggle with folder permissions. You may get duplicates.

Our recommendation: This is the best option for most schools. Create a folder, set permissions to "anyone with the link can upload," and include the link in your communication.

Email

Pros: Every parent knows how to send an email.

Cons: You will spend hours downloading attachments, renaming files, and sorting through "please see attached" messages. Email also strips metadata and sometimes compresses images.

Our recommendation: Avoid if possible. If you must use email, set up a dedicated address like "leaversphotos@school.edu.au" so they do not get lost in someone's regular inbox.

USB or physical prints

Pros: Works for less tech-savvy families.

Cons: Enormous effort to collect, scan, and return. Risk of losing irreplaceable photos.

Our recommendation: Only offer this as a last resort for families who truly cannot submit digitally. Assign a specific drop-off point and scan photos promptly so you can return originals.

School's parent app or LMS

Pros: Parents are already familiar with the platform. Notifications are built in.

Cons: File upload capabilities vary. Some platforms compress images aggressively.

Our recommendation: Good for the initial communication and reminders, but link to Google Drive for the actual upload.

Naming conventions that save your sanity

The single most important thing you can do is establish a clear naming convention from the start. Without one, you will receive files named "IMG_4392.jpg", "scan0001.pdf", "baby pic.heic", and "photo (2).jpeg" — and you will have no idea whose baby you are looking at.

Recommended format: FirstnameLastname_baby.jpg

Examples:

SarahJohnson_baby.jpg
LiamNguyen_baby.jpg
PriyaPatel_baby.jpg

Include this format in every communication. Bold it. Underline it. Put it in a coloured box. Parents will still get it wrong, but fewer of them will.

What you will actually receive:

Files named correctly: ~60%
Files named with just a first name: ~15%
Files with the phone's default name (IMG_xxxx): ~20%
Files named something creative like "my little angel": ~5%

For the misnamed files, you can usually work out whose baby it is by cross-referencing the parent's email or Google Drive account name. Keep a spreadsheet tracking who has submitted and who has not.

Dealing with HEIC files

If a parent takes a photo of a printed picture using an iPhone, the file will likely be in HEIC format. Most image processing tools can handle HEIC, but it is worth knowing about.

Quick fixes:

Ask parents to change their iPhone camera settings to "Most Compatible" (Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible) before taking the photo
Use a free online converter like heictojpg.com
On a Mac, Preview can open and export HEIC files as JPEG
SchoolMorph accepts HEIC files directly, so if you are using our platform, no conversion is needed

The follow-up schedule

Expect to send at least three reminders. Here is a schedule that works:

Week 1: Send the initial request (template above)

Week 2: Send a brief reminder via the school's parent communication channel. Keep it short: "Friendly reminder — baby photos are due [date]. We have received [X] out of [total] so far. Submit here: [link]"

Week 3: Send a more direct reminder. Name the students whose photos are still missing (or send individual messages to those families). Some schools find that mentioning the specific number remaining creates gentle social pressure: "We are almost there — just 35 photos left to collect!"

Week 4 (deadline): Final reminder. "Tomorrow is our deadline. If you haven't submitted yet, please upload today. We want every student included in the ceremony video."

Weeks 5–6: Individual follow-ups for remaining families. A personal email or phone call from the Year coordinator is more effective than another mass email at this stage.

Handling missing photos

Despite your best efforts, some photos will not arrive. Common reasons:

Family genuinely does not have a baby photo — the photo was lost in a move, a fire, or simply never taken
Family is dealing with personal circumstances — separation, illness, or family stress
Photo exists only as a print and parent has not gotten around to photographing it

Options for missing photos:

Accept a toddler or early childhood photo instead (ages 1–5 still work well for morph videos)
Use a Kindergarten or Prep school photo from the school's own records
As a last resort, create the morph video without that student and add them via a static photo slide

Never pressure a family. A brief, empathetic follow-up is fine; repeated nagging is not. The goal is inclusion, but not at the cost of making a family feel bad.

Photo quality tips to share with parents

Include these in your communication to improve the quality of submissions:

Face should be clearly visible — avoid photos where the baby is wearing oversized sunglasses or a hat that shadows their face
Front-facing is ideal — but three-quarter angles work too
Higher resolution is better — if photographing a printed photo, hold the camera steady and ensure even lighting (avoid flash, which creates glare)
Colour or black-and-white both work — the morph process handles both
One baby per photo — if the photo includes siblings, crop it so only the relevant child is visible

Your tracking spreadsheet

Create a simple spreadsheet with these columns:

Student name	Photo received?	Date received	File name	Notes
Sarah Johnson	Yes	15 Mar	SarahJohnson_baby.jpg	Good quality
Liam Nguyen	Yes	18 Mar	IMG_4521.jpg	Renamed
Maya Wilson	No	—	—	Emailed parent 22 Mar

Update this weekly. Share it with your co-organisers so everyone knows the status without asking you.

The golden rule

Start early, communicate clearly, and follow up persistently but kindly. The photos will come in. They always do — just rarely on time.

And once you have them all collected and named, the actual morph video creation is the easy part. Tools like SchoolMorph take care of the technical work, so you can focus on what matters: making the ceremony a night families will never forget.

How to Collect Baby Photos from 150 Parents Without Losing Your Mind