EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Oct. 5, 2020 -- Lifetouch, a national school photography provider, celebrates National Yearbook Week with the unveiling of the first ever America's Yearbook, a digital display of more than 5,300 user-submitted school pictures from the past nine decades that transports viewers to eras past and shows us all how much we [still] have in common. The yearbook brings together people from across the country, united in the shared nostalgia of academic glory days—the years that shaped who we are and helped us create memories that fill our hearts to this day. Nothing conjures up those all-too-fleeting years quite like school pictures.
Thumb through the digital pages of America's Yearbook and you'll notice something interesting: We're more similar and together in our shared experiences of picture day than you might remember. We all wore the same perfectly-normal-for-the-time but in retrospect perfectly hilarious outfits, showcasing our personalities. Looking at generations of students taking part in an annual rite of passage, all in that same, ready-for-our-close-up pose, it really puts a smile on people's faces.
"Lifetouch is all about memorializing and cataloguing these formative years in students' lives – there is no better time capsule than a school picture," said Stephanie Schmid, Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising at Lifetouch. "We hope that looking at this compilation of throwback outfits, iconic hairstyles and facial expressions teaming with unbridled personality will put a smile on people's faces, especially during this particularly unique time for us all."
To further celebrate National Yearbook Week, Lifetouch congratulates the five Grand Prize winners of the America's Yearbook sweepstakes. The five winners will receive free school pictures and supplies for the schools of their choosing. They include:
In addition to capturing memories that tell life's story, school photography is also an essential service for schools. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lifetouch is working closely with schools to schedule picture days following established safety protocols, CDC guidelines and with the help of Lifetouch's proprietary dashboard found here. As an industry leader, Lifetouch's dashboard has been an invaluable tool for the company in addressing the needs of individual schools and helping to safely schedule picture days for nearly 25 million students across the country. See the dashboard and learn more at https://lifetouch.com/data/ For more information on the company's safety protocols — including face coverings, enhanced cleaning and sanitization, social distancing, health check-ins, and comprehensive safety training, visit https://lifetouch.com/newpicturedayexperience/
For more than 80 years, Lifetouch has been the professional photography company of choice for schools and families. Headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN., the enterprise is organized around four primary business lines operating in local communities across North America.
Built on the tradition of “Picture Day”, Lifetouch captures smiling faces from preschool through high school graduation, as well as sports, special events, seniors and yearbooks; and also serves customers in JCPenney Portraits and Church communities.
Lifetouch is also proud to be a part of the Shutterfly family of brands.