# Sports day, annual day, graduation: how schools can get every family their photos (and raise money doing it)

> How schools and PTAs can get sports day and annual day photos to every family with a QR code and face search, and raise money for the school fund.

Canonical: https://sellphotos.online/blog/school-event-photos-fundraiser
Last updated: 2026-11-05

A QR code at the gate, a quick photo on the parent's phone, payment straight to the school or its photographer. A practical guide with a safeguarding checklist.

Every school event ends the same way. Someone took 1,500 photos. Thirty of them land in a class WhatsApp group, compressed and out of order. A parent asks for "the one of Aarav at the relay" and nobody can find it. The rest sit on a laptop in the staff room until the next event buries them.

Parents want those photos, and most would happily pay a small amount for a good one of their child. The school has a fund that always needs topping up: library books, a sports kit, the annual trip.

This guide connects the two with a QR code and face search, with no photo company in the middle and no app to install. It covers two set-ups, a worked example, a safeguarding checklist and a two-week rollout plan.

## What a parent sees

![Five steps: upload the photos, share a QR code, guest takes a photo, pays the school or photographer, downloads the originals](https://sellphotos.online/blog/images/inline/how-it-works.png)

1. At the gate, on the stage screen, or in the class group, the parent sees a QR code: "Find your photos from Sports Day."
2. They scan it and the event gallery opens in the phone's browser. No app, and no account just to look.
3. They tap **Find my photos**, read a short notice, and point the camera. For a child, there's a **Find someone else** option that uses the rear camera, so a parent can take a quick photo of their own child's face at home.
4. The gallery narrows from 1,500 photos to the dozen their child is in.
5. They pick photos, or buy "all my photos" in one go, pay by UPI, bank transfer, Zelle or Venmo, and upload a screenshot of the payment. They sign in with Google or an email code only at this step.
6. Someone on your side checks the money arrived and approves the order. The full-size, unwatermarked photos are then ready to download.

Until that approval, every photo they see is a watermarked preview. The originals never leave the store unpaid.

## Two ways to run it

The platform has no revenue split built in, and it never holds the money. That keeps it simple, but it means you choose one of these two set-ups and agree the details yourselves.

### Model A: the school runs its own store

The school (or the PTA/PTO, or the parent committee) opens a store in its own name. A staff member, a parent volunteer with a decent camera, or the school photography club shoots the event. Payment details are the school's or the PTA's: the school UPI ID in India, the PTA's bank account or Zelle in the US.

Every rupee or dollar a family pays goes straight into that account. The only cost is the yearly plan.

This works best when:

- You already have a capable volunteer or staff photographer.
- Someone in the office can check the account and approve orders once a day for a week or two.
- The fund is managed by a body that can take payments: a registered PTA, a school trust, a parent association with its own account. Check this with whoever handles the school's accounts before you start.

### Model B: your photographer sells, and contributes to the fund

Many schools already work with a local photographer for annual day or graduation. In this model the photographer opens the store under their own name, sells directly to families, and keeps their own payment details. You agree a contribution to the school fund in writing beforehand: a percentage of sales, or a fixed amount per event.

Because the photographer can see every approved order and export the order list as a CSV, settling up is a short meeting, not an argument. Agree on that report as the basis for the contribution before the event, not after it.

This works best when:

- The school doesn't want staff handling photo payments.
- You want a professional at the finish line and on the stage.
- The photographer wants a guaranteed audience and a fair, transparent arrangement.

## A worked example

These numbers are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not a forecast: how many families buy depends on your school, the photos, and how well you tell parents about it.

*Example: a sports day at a school of 600 students. One photographer, about 1,800 photos.*

| | India (INR) | US (USD) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price per photo | ₹100 | $5 |
| "All my photos" price | ₹400 | $20 |
| Assume 150 families buy "all my photos" | ₹60,000 | $3,000 |
| Assume 60 families buy 2 single photos | ₹12,000 | $600 |
| **Sales** | **₹72,000** | **$3,600** |
| Commission taken by the platform | ₹0 | $0 |
| Yearly plan (Starter) | $99 a year, charged in your local currency | $99 a year |

That is 210 approved orders. The Starter plan includes 5,000 photos and 250 checkouts a year, so it covers one event like this one. If you plan sports day, annual day and graduation in the same year, look at Plus (20,000 photos, 1,000 checkouts). Your bank or payment app may charge its usual fees; the platform takes nothing from the sale.

![Money flow: the family pays the school or photographer directly; sellphotos.online only charges the yearly plan](https://sellphotos.online/blog/images/inline/money-flow.png)

In Model A the whole sales figure lands in the school's account. In Model B the photographer receives it and pays the agreed contribution.

If you'd like to see what a parent sees before you decide anything, open the [sample gallery](https://sellphotos.online/demo?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=school-event-photos-fundraiser) on your phone and tap "Find my photos". It takes thirty seconds and needs no sign-up.

## Safeguarding: do this first

Photos of children, and face search on those photos, need more care than an office party. Treat this section as the start of the project, not the end of it. None of this is legal advice: check your school's photo policy and the law where you are. In India that includes the DPDP Act 2023; in the UK and EU, GDPR; in the US, FERPA, COPPA and state biometric laws such as Illinois BIPA.

**Consent.** Use your school's existing photo consent process, and add a line about the event gallery and face search. Families who haven't consented should be kept out of the photos, or out of the upload. Your photographer needs that list before the event.

**Keep the gallery unlisted.** An unlisted gallery doesn't appear on the store's public page. Only people with the link, QR code or event code can open it. Share those only with families, through school channels.

**Turn on "Live camera only".** With this setting, a search must use the phone's camera there and then; nobody can upload a photo saved in their gallery. It's a deterrent against someone searching with a picture of another child, not a guarantee, so keep the gallery unlisted too.

**Switch face search off when you need to.** Face search is on by default and off with one switch per event. If you don't have consent for it, leave it off: parents can still scroll the gallery and buy. The store owner also has to confirm they have a lawful basis before turning it on.

**Set an end date, then delete the face data.** Give each event a last day for orders. After that the gallery is read-only and the cart closes. When sales are done, delete the event's face data from its settings. Families who already bought keep their downloads.

**Know how the face data is handled.** Search only compares against the watermarked previews, never the originals. The selfie itself isn't kept; it's turned into a face template, and search results last 24 hours. Anyone can ask for their face data to be deleted.

## The two-week rollout

**Two weeks before**

- Decide on Model A or Model B. If B, put the contribution in writing.
- Confirm consent and the list of children who must not be photographed or uploaded.
- Open the store, choose a plan, and create the event: name, date, prices, payment details.
- Set the gallery to unlisted, turn on "Live camera only", and set an end date about two weeks after the event.
- Download the event's print-ready QR code. Print it on a poster for the gate and the notice board, and put it on the last slide of the stage screen.
- Send the parent notice below through your usual channels.

![A sample A4 poster for the venue: Find your photos. Scan, take a selfie.](https://sellphotos.online/blog/images/inline/qr-poster.png)

**On the day**

- Poster at the gate, QR on the stage screen during breaks and at the end.
- One announcement: "Photos will be online by tomorrow evening. Scan the QR, find your child with a quick photo."
- Photographer shoots as usual, avoiding children on the no-photo list.

**The week after**

- Cull and export the photos the same evening, and upload. Watermarked previews are made automatically.
- Share the gallery link in class groups and the school newsletter.
- Approve orders once a day. Families get an email at each step, and unpaid orders get reminders, then expire after 14 days.
- On the end date, orders close. Delete the face data. Share the totals with the committee.

## A notice you can send to parents

> **Sports Day photos: how to get yours**
>
> This year our Sports Day photos will be in an online gallery run by [the school / our photographer, Name]. Previews are watermarked. You can buy single photos for ₹100 or every photo of your child for ₹400. [All proceeds / An agreed share] go to [the library fund].
>
> **To find your child's photos:** scan the QR code at the gate or in this message, tap "Find my photos", choose "Find someone else" and take a quick photo of your child's face. Only photos your child is in will show. You can also scroll the whole gallery.
>
> **Privacy:** the gallery is not public. It uses face search only if you choose to search, and the search photo is not stored. If you'd like your child's face data deleted, or don't want your child photographed, reply to this message.
>
> Orders close on [date].

## Questions schools ask

**What if a parent says they paid but we can't see it?** Don't approve until the money shows up. You can reject an order with a note and the parent gets an email.

**What happens to the photos after the end date?** Nothing is deleted. The gallery stays readable, new orders stop, and families who bought can still download.

**Can we give photos away free instead?** Yes. Set the event to free downloads. Free orders are ready as soon as they're placed, but each one still counts towards the plan's checkouts.

The first event is the hard one. After that, it's a poster, a QR code and a notice. Start with the [sample gallery](https://sellphotos.online/demo?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=school-event-photos-fundraiser), then look at the [plans](https://sellphotos.online/pricing?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=school-event-photos-fundraiser).

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**About sellphotos.online.** sellphotos.online is an online store for event photos: upload a shoot, share one link or QR code, and guests find their photos with a selfie and pay the photographer, or the school, directly. There's no commission; stores pay a yearly plan from $99.

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- [Blog](https://sellphotos.online/blog)
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