"When it comes to picture day, it's tempting to micromanage every aspect of our kids' outfits, hairstyles, and even how they should smile. But I think our kids will have a more successful and stress-free picture day if we let them choose what to wear (within reason!) and at least have input on their hairstyle," parenting blogger Samantha shared her thoughts with Bored Panda.

"I do try to tell my kids to think of something funny at the photo moment of truth because those awkward fake picture day smiles are the worst. And if the school photo turns out badly, at least it's a funny memory of a moment in time. With our phones always ready to take high-quality photos at any moment, I feel like school pictures aren't as important to our personal collections as they were in the past," she said.

According to Samantha, it seems a bit archaic to pay so much money for "a bunch of prints in different sizes that will likely mostly end up shoved somewhere in a drawer of your house."

"That's why I order the smallest package they offer that includes prints for the grandparents and one for the designated school picture frames in our house. If your school offers the option of purchasing the digital picture and printing your own copies, all the better," Samantha told us.

"And I never get sucked in by the optional retouching and name on the print, etc. Those little pimples belong on our kids! Memories, right?"

There’s quite a bit of pressure to participate in school picture day. Not taking part might send the signal that someone’s an outcast. Kids can be quite cruel and push someone away if they’re not part of these sorts of activities or if they behave differently. Meanwhile, some parents might start gossiping if someone won’t participate, too.

That being said, taking part in something you don’t want to do just because everyone else is doing it is a very inauthentic way to live. In other words, if picture day is something that genuinely stresses you out more than you enjoy it, the healthiest thing to do might be to skip it. However, that does come at the cost of strengthening your relationships with your classmates. There are pros and cons to conforming to these sorts of social expectations.

There are lots of sky-high expectations for picture day. To put it bluntly, most of us want to look good and be appreciated. Look, the fact of the matter is that human beings are social animals.

Our ancestors depended on their tiny communities (social networks) and positive relationships to survive and thrive.

You needed to deeply trust the neighbors you went hunting and foraging with. Meanwhile, in this day and age, even if it’s easier to survive on your own due to technological improvements, social isolation does have hugely negative effects on your physical and mental health.

In other words, there’s nothing wrong if you crave other people’s attention, admiration, love, and respect. It’s completely natural. Heck, you could even argue that this drive pushes you toward having a thriving social life.

This, in turn, makes you more resilient to stress, and makes you healthier, and happier, and allows you to live longer, according to research. Forging strong, positive social connections, and then maintaining them over the years and decades to come, is what makes life worth living. Of course, there are some caveats.

Like with all things in life, balance and moderation are key. There can be too much of a good thing. If you crave other people’s admiration and acceptance to the exclusion of your individuality, goals, dreams, ambitions, and character quirks, then something has gone very wrong.

There’s a ton of pressure to conform, whether at school, college, or the workplace. If you generally find that you can’t relax around the people in your social circle and that you can’t be ‘yourself,’ then it’s probably a sign that you need better friends. Real friendship is built on authenticity, trust, reciprocity, and mutual respect.

Repressing your identity and constantly having to conform to other people’s expectations is no way to go through life. Though it’ll help you blend in with the crowd, you most definitely won’t feel truly fulfilled. Why go through all the effort to put up a front if you won’t ever truly be happy?

It’s much more fulfilling to invest in relationships where there’s a give-and-take dynamic. Those true friends are the peeps you want to take a group photo with (if your school does those, rather than just individual ones).

Meanwhile, being part of the ‘popular’ clique of students might sound glam, but it means nothing if nobody accepts you for you.

When it comes to having someone take a good photo of you, the two best pieces of advice probably anyone can give you are to be authentic and confident. Of course, that’s easier said than done. But rather than being all in your head (how your hair’s not how you want it, how you don’t like your ears, and how you have crow’s feet), it’s best to let go of all of that, relax, and ease into the process.

Let the photographer guide you. Smile like you would around the people you love most. Being ‘perfect’ is overrated anyway.

If you’re super worried about being unable to relax in front of the camera, you can always try DIY exposure therapy. Have your family or friends take photos of you until you get used to the snaps, flashes, and directions.

It might be awkward to look at your own photos but evaluate yourself critically (and with lots of empathy to boot): which camera angles are more flattering than others?

In the meantime, put in some basic effort to look more presentable. Those photos are expensive.

The least you can do is take care of your hygiene, wash your hair and face, brush your teeth, and put on some nice clothes. Your parents will probably appreciate that. And who knows, in the far-off future when you’re looking through your old albums and yearbooks, you might enjoy that photo, too.

Starving yourself for your school photo day is never the answer. It’s not healthy.

However, what you can do is generally live a healthier lifestyle. Not (just) for the photos but to live a higher quality life. Move more, consistently do more exercise, spend time outside, reduce your screen time, get plenty of quality sleep, drink more water, avoid sugary and processed foods, and take care of your skin.

Do all of that and you might accidentally develop the confidence to completely relax in front of the camera.

What are your thoughts on school picture day, dear Pandas? What was your experience with them like back in the day? For all the parents out there, how do you handle all of the chaos, expenses, and stress?

We can’t wait to hear about your experiences and thoughts, so if you have a spare moment, drop by the comments section.