By Amy Crelly

We all have school photos from our childhood years that we’d just assume burn, bury or send through the shredder—twice. I figure there’s no protecting kids from the unfortunately-timed blink or from hair pixies (those mischievous little sprites whose job duties include turning even the most carefully combed or braided hairdos into some crazy, instantly-dated shock of frizz and flyaways), but there must be something parents can do to spare their kids some amount of cringing and wincing when they look back on their school days. It turns out there are several things, including these tips from one of Sacramento Parent’s favorite local photographers, Alexandra Frankel, of Alexandra Frankel Photography:

What to wear:
• “Try to send kids in solid colors,” says Alex. “They photograph better than patterns.”
• “Keep clothes simple,” she adds, “and unadorned with logos—I think logos are distracting.”

How to “do”:
• “I would encourage them to give their hair a quick brush before the individual portraits,” says Alex.
• In keeping with that advice, avoid complicated or fragile hairdos. Keep in mind that you never know what time of day your child will come in front of the camera (or how those hair pixies might bend your bobby pins to their own nefarious will). Besides, you want to capture kids in their everyday look, not a beauty pageant version of themselves.

Why smile:
• Braces are beautiful! Okay, not really, but they are darn cute, in that duckling-swan kind of way. Parents who praise their kids’ gorgeous silver smiles can help children avoid feeling self-conscious and smile more often, more easily, more beautifully.
• Remember to avoid packing snacks or drinks that might stain little lips, tongues or teeth. You want to remember your son when he was six, not his love of Cheetos or neon-red punch. (Bonus: This leaves no photographic evidence that you ever fed your child anything but 100% fresh, organic, locally-grown, vitamin-packed perfection.)

Your child’s school photo may not deliver the most gorgeously-lit, spontaneous, personality-packed portrait, but you will treasure it, no doubt, if for no other reason than the fact that your little one will never be that particular age again.

Of course, if chicken pox, playground bruises or booger pixies rear their ugly little heads… There’s always Make-Up Day.