Sixth Form & A-Level Results Day Photography: Capturing Relief, Joy & Achievement

Results day has a very particular kind of energy that is hard to describe unless you have stood outside a sixth form common room at half past eight in the morning and watched it happen. There is nervous laughter, there is a queue of teenagers checking their phones for the school portal to update before they have even walked through the door, and then, in the space of a few seconds, there is either relief so visible it changes someone's posture, or disappointment they are trying very hard to hide from their friends. A-Level results day is one of the most emotionally honest mornings most families will experience together, and it is over almost as quickly as it begins. That is exactly why it is worth having a camera there that is not just a phone being fumbled for after the moment has already passed.

Why This Moment Deserves More Than a Snapshot

I want to be honest about what results day photography actually is, because it is different from most of the sessions I photograph. It is not a posed portrait session in the way a graduation shoot or a family session is. It is closer to documentary or reportage work — capturing something real and unrepeatable as it unfolds, with very little control over timing, lighting, or where anyone happens to be standing. That is precisely its value. In twenty years, the photograph that matters will not be a perfectly composed studio portrait of a calm eighteen-year-old holding an envelope. It will be the blurry-around-the-edges, entirely genuine image of them reading the results on their phone screen with their mum's hand on their shoulder, or hugging a friend who got the same grades they needed, or laughing with relief that the two years of revision are actually, finally, over.

For families, results day sits at the intersection of several things worth documenting: the end of school life as your child has known it since they were four or five years old, the outcome of an enormous amount of pressure and work, and very often the first concrete confirmation of where the next chapter — university, an apprenticeship, a gap year, resits — will actually begin. It is a milestone photograph in the same category as a wedding or a graduation, even though it rarely gets treated that way.

What to Expect on the Morning Itself

Results day in England and Wales falls in mid-August, and schools typically open from around eight or half past eight in the morning for students to collect their results in person. The window where the real emotion happens is short — usually the first thirty to forty-five minutes after the doors open, before everyone has scattered to celebrate, commiserate, or head off to Clearing calls. If you want photography from the morning itself, this is the window that matters, and it is worth being realistic that this part of the day moves fast and is genuinely unpredictable.

I generally recommend one of two approaches. The first is being present outside the school gates or in the school car park for that initial window, photographing the moment results are opened and the immediate reactions among friendship groups. This only works with the school's permission and with an understanding that I am one photographer among a crowd of parents also filming on their phones, so I position myself to get genuine, unobtrusive shots rather than getting in anyone's way. The second, more reliable approach is a short session later the same day or the following morning, once the initial adrenaline has settled slightly but while the outfit, the mood, and the occasion are still fresh — often at home, in the garden, or somewhere with meaning to the family, sometimes alongside a UCAS confirmation email being opened on a laptop for a proper reaction shot.

Both approaches produce genuinely different but equally valid photographs. The first captures spontaneity that cannot be recreated. The second allows for a calmer, more considered set of images — a portrait of your son or daughter as they are on the day they stopped being a school pupil, which sits alongside their first-day-of-school photograph in a way that feels complete.

Locations That Work Well for Results Day Sessions

For families in and around Cambridge, I generally suggest keeping the location simple and personal rather than choosing somewhere purely scenic. The garden or driveway at home, the front step where school-leaving photographs have perhaps already been taken over the years, or a favourite spot in the family's own neighbourhood tends to produce images with more emotional weight than a generic beautiful backdrop would. If the sixth form itself is a place with strong personal history — six or seven years of memories for some students — a short session near the school gates or a familiar corner of the grounds can work well too, subject to permission.

For families who want something a little more considered, Cambridge itself offers wonderful backdrops for an older teenager stepping into adulthood — the Backs, the Market Square, or one of the college gardens all photograph beautifully and give the images a sense of place, particularly if university in Cambridge or nearby is part of the plan ahead. I am always happy to talk through location options as part of planning any session, whether that is a documentary-style morning or a calmer, portrait-led one.

Preparing Without Over-Planning

The honest advice I give every family booking results day photography is: do not try to script it too tightly. The whole appeal of this kind of session is authenticity, and an over-rehearsed reaction reads as exactly that in a photograph. What is worth doing in advance is deciding roughly where you will be standing when the envelope or the phone screen comes out, making sure whoever is collecting results knows a camera will be nearby (nobody wants to be surprised by a lens in a moment as raw as this one), and thinking about who else should be in the frame — siblings, grandparents, a best friend who has been through the same two years of exams.

Clothing is worth a brief thought but should not be overthought. Most students turn up on results day in whatever they would normally wear, and that is exactly right — this is not the day for a styled outfit, it is the day for looking like yourself. If a follow-up portrait session is planned for later in the day or the week after, that is the moment to think a little more about what someone is wearing, but even then, simple and true to their own style photographs far better than anything overly formal.

It is also worth preparing for the full emotional range of the morning, not just the celebratory version. Not every result is the one a student was hoping for, and a good results day photographer treats that with the same care and discretion as the celebrations — sometimes what a family wants documented is simply being together on a hard morning, and sometimes a family decides, quite reasonably, that they would rather not have a camera there at all if things do not go to plan. I am always guided by what feels right for the individual family on the day, and that flexibility is built into how I approach this kind of session from the outset.

Getting Genuine Reactions on Camera

The best results day photographs are almost never the ones where someone looks directly at the camera and smiles. They are the ones taken a beat before or a beat after that moment — the read of the screen, the exhale, the phone call to a grandparent, the pile-on hug with three friends who all got their firsts. My approach on the morning itself is to stay close but unobtrusive, using a longer lens where possible so I am not standing directly in someone's eyeline at the exact second they open their results. This keeps the moment real rather than performed for the camera.

For the calmer, planned portion of a results day session — whether that is later the same day or a separate short sitting — I bring in some of the same approach I use for graduation and school-leaver photography: genuine movement, real conversation, and prompts that produce natural expressions rather than a fixed smile held for too long. A parent asking their child what they are most looking forward to about the next chapter, captured mid-answer, nearly always produces a better photograph than "say cheese."

Deliverables and Turnaround

Given how time-sensitive this milestone is, I prioritise a fast turnaround for results day sessions — a first set of edited images is typically ready within a few days rather than the standard timeframe, since many families want to share photographs with wider family or on social media while the news is still fresh. Images are delivered through an online gallery with full-resolution downloads and print ordering built in, so grandparents who could not be there in person can order their own copies directly.

If your son or daughter's next step is a university place, results day photography pairs naturally with a graduation session a few years down the line, and I keep in touch with families across that whole span where they would like me to. It is one of the nicer parts of working in and around Cambridge — photographing the same young person at eighteen with an A-Level results slip and again at twenty-one in a gown outside Senate House.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I book? Ideally several weeks before results day in mid-August, since the morning slot is naturally in high demand and I can only cover a limited number of families in that short window.

Can you photograph at the school itself? Only with the school's permission, which I am always happy to help arrange or discuss ahead of time. Many schools are supportive of a photographer capturing the morning discreetly; some prefer photography kept to the car park or grounds outside the building.

What if results do not go as hoped? That is entirely your call on the day. Some families still want the moment documented as an honest part of their story; others would rather not, and I am completely comfortable stepping back if that is what feels right.

Do you offer this as part of a wider package? Yes — results day photography can be booked as a standalone session or combined with a portrait sitting later in the day. Full details of session options are on my pricing page, and I am always happy to talk through what would suit your family best.

Results day only happens once for each student, and it passes in far less time than the two years of studying that led up to it. If you would like to talk about photographing this milestone for your family this August, whether that is a documentary-style morning at the school gates or a calmer portrait session once the news has settled in, I would love to help. Yana Skakun Photography is based in Cambridge and available for sessions across the UK — get in touch to check availability, or read more about my approach to portrait work on the about page.