[Progresso] - loading pupil photos in bulk

[Ditto]

We load pupil photos in to progresso. Very useful at registration for cover staff. Our photographer provides the JPEGS and we resize them using IrfanView, before bulk(ish) import as guided by progresso's documentation. The killer in the process is mapping the pupil's face to their Learner ID and renaming all the files. The photographer has said they have a solution with another school where they use some kind of bar-coding, but it comes at a cost. We might be able to just ask for photos to be taken in a predefined order (but allowing for gaps) and I can run a script to rename, but that feels error prone. Additionally, the photographer tends to take clusters of photos so that makes life even trickier.

 

I'm interested to know how other progresso users have tackled this conundrum, or indeed any other MIS user which supports pupil photo upload.

[bobsmith]

In over 10 years doing this at different schools, we've always had the photographers use barcodes or similar to name the photos at their end before they reach us.

 

I've seen the photography teams turn up with laptops to do all this.

[djrscally]

As with bob, the photographers we've used have always handled that themselves; their software names the pictures they take with the Learner Code - all I have to do is use powershell to slap "LNR" at the beginning and that's it.

 

I'd use a different photographer who'll handle it for you.

[Ditto]

Our photographer is offering a 'bar code' option, but if I understand correctly, it's seems to involve the lab and adds slightly to the photographers time for which there is a nominal charge. Is this standard practice. Do you pay for the photography, receive commission for providing access to what must be a sizeable market (photos for parents) or have some other arrangement?

[djrscally]

Well, these days our admin team just does it themselves actually. No special software - they just name the file after the Learner Code as they save it.

[bobsmith]

Our photographer is offering a 'bar code' option, but if I understand correctly, it's seems to involve the lab and adds slightly to the photographers time for which there is a nominal charge. Is this standard practice. Do you pay for the photography, receive commission for providing access to what must be a sizeable market (photos for parents) or have some other arrangement?

If the photographers make enough sales then we didn't pay for the service, but in recent years it started costing as parents weren't buying the photos.