Running a youth sports league means picture day is one more thing on a very long list. Here's exactly what to expect and what we need from you, start to finish — so it's the easiest item on that list instead of the hardest.
8–12 weeks out: lock your date
Spring season (March–May) and fall season (August–October) dates go first, so the earlier you reach out, the more choice you have. Fill out the booking form with your league size, sport, and preferred date window and you'll hear back within one business day with availability and a tailored pricing sheet — no negotiating, the numbers are the numbers.
Once you're ready, a signed one-page agreement holds your date. No deposit, no minimum athlete count, nothing your board can't review in ten minutes.
What we need from you
Two things, both simple:
- A place to park. Roughly 40 feet of level space — a parking lot, a field edge, anywhere a 34-foot trailer can sit, asphalt or grass. We're self-powered, so no outlet required.
- A roster. Athlete names, jersey numbers, team assignments, and parent email addresses, submitted through our CSV template.
2 weeks out: the roster deadline
This is the one date on the calendar that actually matters. Download the roster template, fill it in from your existing team lists, and email the completed .csv to booking@thepicturedayrig.com at least two weeks before picture day. We use it to generate each family's individual gallery access code and to load athlete data into the camera system for shoot day — miss the window and picture day may need to be rescheduled.
The template asks for nine fields per athlete: first and last name, jersey number, team name, sport, and a parent's first name, last name, email, and phone number. Parent email is how families get their access code, so it's worth double-checking before you send the file. If anything changes after you submit — a late roster add, a corrected email — just send an updated file to the same address.
Before picture day: tell your parents what to expect
We'll send you a parent communication template you can forward as-is: what to wear, what to expect on the day, and how ordering works. Forward it once and most of the "when are pictures?" emails never happen.
Picture day itself
We arrive 30 minutes early and set up two shooting stations that run at the same time, so we can move up to 100 athletes through in an hour. A 200-athlete league typically wraps in a single afternoon. Larger associations can split across multiple days with the same crew and the same studio, so quality stays consistent no matter which day a team shoots.
The rig is climate-controlled and self-powered, so weather isn't a factor — picture day doesn't get rained out, iced out, or baked out.
How parents order
Families order and pay on-site through thepicturedayrig.com — no envelopes, no cash, no order forms for your volunteers to collect and lose. The Picture Day Special is $60 prepaid for at least 9 individual digital images from 3 poses, plus the team digital file. After the shoot, parents can also order online using their access code through GotPhoto.com, where print packages will be available starting at $15 (beginning Winter 2026), with no minimum purchase required.
Your league collects nothing, pays nothing, and owes nothing — before, during, or after.
After picture day: delivery
Proofs go out within 72 hours. Final digital images and any print orders deliver within 14 days. You'll have the same point of contact the whole way through — the crew that shows up on your field is the same crew still handling your league's order two weeks later.
The short version
Reach out 8–12 weeks ahead of your season, sign the one-page agreement, send your roster two weeks before picture day, and forward the parent email we send you. That's the whole list. We handle the rest.
Let's run picture day for your league.
Tell us about your league and we'll come back within one business day with availability and a pricing sheet.