School Photography in the Age of AI: Do schools need to rethink how they use images online?
It’s not often that a newspaper article makes school photographers sit up and think, “well… that changes things.” But that is exactly what happened when I was sent this article from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/08/uk-schools-remove-pupils-photos-online-ai-blackmail-threat-grows
I have to admit I never saw this issue coming and it was quite a surprise. We all worry about how Ai is going to effect our jobs but this was definitely a surprise.
So what has happened?
So essentially a government advisory group recently put out guidelines (not yet taken on by the government) to advise schools on how they should use images of students online. This comes off the back of a couple of schools being targeted by blackmailers who have scrapped images from schools websites, used Ai to create abusive versions of them and then threatened to release those images if a ransom wasn’t paid.
In the space of a week I was sent 2 articles and had 1 school phone me up worried about the implications…. It was a shock to me and it must have been a shock to most schools.
I also heard that at a recent Schools Marketing and Admissions Conference most of the day was taken up discussing this issue. Apparently all the schools agreed that keeping genuine, authentic photography was vital.
Trying to ignore just how low some people are willing to sink the concerns around AI-generated fake images, and the potential misuse of pupil photographs taken from nursery, prep, school, college, academy and university websites and social media, have understandably made many schools pause and ask an important question:
Should we still be showing students’ faces online?
It’s a fair question.
Schools have always looked for authentic photography to tell their story. Real students, real lessons, real smiles, real school life. I have spent much of my career learning to work with students of all ages to get the best out of them on camera and make their reactions look and feel authentic so people feel a connection to the school before they even arrive.
But with AI now able to produce nearly anything schools need to know that they are keeping their students safe when they use their images online.
The challenge for any school or college is finding the balance between safeguarding and storytelling.
What are the options?
Option 1: Generic Photography Without Showing Faces
Generic picture of a hand writing in a book
One approach is to avoid identifiable pupils altogether.
That means photographs of the backs of heads, students walking away from camera, close-ups of hands writing, feet running on sports day, or students working where faces aren’t visible.
There are definite advantages here. It’s the safest option. No identifiable pupils. Minimal risk.
But the downside is that if every school starts using the same style of anonymous imagery (or even the same picture library images), school websites may begin to feel very generic. You lose most of the school’s personality. There is no warmth, no smiles, no connection. It might even start to look like various healthcare related websites that always use generic picture library images. The uniqueness is gone. Parents want to imagine their child in that environment, and that becomes harder if every image feels anonymous.
Pros: Easy and safe option
Cons: School websites stop being a true insight into a school as they start to look generic
Option 2: Using AI to Change Faces
Yes I know I have just suggested using Ai to stop Ai but could Ai actually solve an Ai problem?
The idea is simple: photograph your real students as normal (or keep the existing photographs), then use AI tools to subtly alter their faces so they are no longer identifiable.
Quite a clever sounding solution. You get to keep your current photography style. Your website still looks essentially the same. Your students still look like students so the authenticity is kept.
Pros : Don’t have to reshoot or change anything – just find the photos that show faces close up and get Ai to alter them.
Cons: It can be slow, expensive, and not always convincing. Sometimes the altered faces look slightly “off”. Not enough to notice immediately… but enough to feel a bit strange. But, in my view most importantly, students like to be recognised for their achievements on stage etc so seeing someone elses’ face replace their own would be a really sad move.
Schools work hard to feel genuine. Artificial faces might undermine that.could
Option 3: Creative Photography (My Favourite Option)
This, for me, feels like the right way to approaching the issue.
Creative photography allows schools to keep authentic images of real students, while reducing risk through thoughtful technique.
That might mean:
shooting from slightly behind students
using shallow depth of field so only one student is sharp and others blur into the background
focusing on hands and equipment whilst slightly obscuring faces
using wider environmental images where faces are less prominent
choosing angles that feel dynamic but less identifiable
Pros: Done well, these images still feel real and would still tell your school’s story. Schools keep their identity and uniqueness
Cons: It may require a reshoot and a rethink of how future school photography is approached going forward. Photoshoots would be slower as more thought needs to be put on ever shot to ensure pupils are not identifiable. I have not had to do this yet but I imagine each shot would have to be carefully managed which would take longer and result in fewer photos being taken during the time your photographer is with you.
So… What Should Schools Do?
I don’t think schools need to panic. This issue has only affected a small number of schools but it is definitely a safeguarding threat that obviously needs to be taken seriously.
Step 1- Schools should review their current online images and see what is being used at the moment.
Step 2 – Remove any names so photos can’t be directly linked to a particular student.
Step 3 - Have a conversation with the SLT / Safeguarding team about your schools future photography strategy and decide which path you want to take.
That might mean:
auditing current website images
reviewing image permissions
avoiding names attached to photos
rethinking social media galleries
planning future shoots more creatively
The reality is that schools still need photography, students need to be celebrated and parents still want to see school life.
So the answer probably isn’t “stop using photos” but instead it is simply a chance to start photographing schools differently.
And as photographers… adapting is what we do – we have spent our careers doing it!
I am currently in discussion with a few of my regular schools about how they want to go forward and I am happy to have a chat with any school, college, academy, university or prep school about how creative photography might be able to help overcome this current challenge