The portrait section is one of the most looked-at parts of the yearbook. When students get their book, they flip right to the portraits to find themselves and their friends before looking at anything else. That’s why this section matters so much.
If you find yourself wondering how to improve your yearbook portrait section, the answer is to add personality, storytelling and smart design choices into the pages. With just a few changes, you can turn a basic portrait section into something creative and fun. Let’s walk through five ways to make it shine.
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Add Student Profiles and Q&As
One great way to make the portrait section more interesting is to include student profiles and short interviews. A student profile tells a short story about a person at your school. It might be someone who has a special talent, unusual job or unique story to share. These stories help your yearbook show what makes your school community special.
Profiles come in all sizes. Some schools give a full two-page spread to one student and use high-quality portraits and long-form writing. Others share several short profiles across the section. This allows the yearbook to include more students while keeping the design clean and organized.
Another fun idea is to create a Q&A. Ask students a few quick questions about a theme or topic and list their answers next to their photo.
Pro Tip: When designing a profile about someone, place it on a different spread than their regular portrait. This helps when you’re making the index. The student will get listed on two different pages, showing they were featured more than once in the book.
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Use Modular Design to Break Up the Page
Portrait rows can become boring and repetitive if they all look the same. Modular design lets you break up those rows with small, colorful pieces of content. These are called “mods,” and they can include all kinds of visual elements; photos, quotes, graphs, mini interviews, polls and/or illustrations.
To make room for a mod, remove a few portrait rows or columns. Visit Yearbook Help for help with knockouts and other technical tips or ask your local Walsworth Representative.
Mods help you include more students in the yearbook and share fun facts or trends. Consider questions like, “What’s your go-to lunch item?” or “What was your favorite class this year and why?” These short, one-to-two sentence answers make them easier to gather and design than traditional, longer form stories.
Mods should tie into your book’s theme. Bernardo Heights Middle School’s 2025 theme was “All In,” so they used headlines like “All Day, Every Day” and asked students what they stayed committed to throughout their day. A themed mod adds personality and helps the portrait section feel like a real part of your book, not just rows of headshots.
Good mods still take planning. You need strong photos, thoughtful design and meaningful copy to make them stand out. But once you get the hang of them, they add variety and visual interest.
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Include Grade-Level Specific Content
Each grade in your school goes through different experiences, so why not highlight that in your portraits? Grade-specific coverage means you include stories, quotes or modules connected to what students in that grade do or feel.
For freshmen, you might focus on how they adjust to high school. Sophomores learn to drive and get involved in clubs. Juniors prep for big tests and begin thinking about college. Seniors likely apply for jobs or plan for life after graduation.
When you match the content to what’s happening in each grade, students feel like the book understands them. It also makes the portrait section more interesting to read.
One smart example comes from Legacy High School. They created grade-specific mods like “Typical Freshman” and “Your Average Sophomore,” where students talked about funny or true things people say about their grade. These kinds of mods work well because they are relatable and help students feel included.
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Use Dividers to Guide the Reader
Without structure, portrait pages can feel endless. That’s where dividers come in. A good divider moves the reader from one section to the next, like from freshmen to sophomores. This simple idea makes your book easier to read.
Most schools design dividers that include the grade name in big letters and sometimes add the number of students in that class. You can also include names of class officers or a fun fact about the class.
Some schools go further and turn dividers into full theme pages. These can include quotes, memories, photos or themed designs. Think of your portrait dividers as part of your main theme package, not just filler.
Dividers come in different sizes. You might use a full two-page spread, a single left page or just a tall column at the start of the section. Your choice depends on how much content you want to include and how many pages you have available.
The key is to keep your design consistent. Use the same fonts, colors and layout ideas that appear throughout the rest of the book and choose a layout that works for your yearbook. A strong divider helps students find their grade quickly and keeps the portrait section looking polished.
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Add a “Not Pictured” Section at the End
Even with the best planning, not every student will make it to picture day, so always include a “Not Pictured” section at the end of your portraits. This section lists the names of students and staff who missed photo day so they aren’t left out of the yearbook.
Alphabetize the list by last name to keep it organized. You can usually get a complete list of students from your school’s front office or computer clerk. Compare that list with your portrait pages to figure out who’s missing.
Including this list shows that every student matters.
Bonus: Turn Portrait Content into a Learning Tool
Gathering all this content might seem like a big task, but it’s actually a great way to teach your yearbook staff new skills. At the start of the year, give students low-pressure assignments related to portraits. They can practice interviewing, taking quick headshots, cutting out photos or designing a simple mod.
Give each staffer a job to do. This helps them learn your team’s style guide, how to write clearly and how to stay organized. Plus, they’ll feel proud knowing they contributed to an important section of the book.
By using these five tips, you’ll make your yearbook’s portrait section more exciting, more inclusive and more connected to your theme.
