If you grew up in Spokane between 1978 and 2010, Bill Robertson probably took at least one of your school photos. Robertson doesn’t know exactly how many students and teachers he’s photographed over the years, but he’s made each one of them smile.

Robertson doesn’t do much school photography these days. He’s been focusing more on sales for the past 10 years, which means less time behind the camera. He partially retired in January and will retire fully by the end of May. The Journal sat down with Robertson—at a distance of six feet—to find out what it’s like to be a school photographer, the challenges of photographing hundreds of children in a day, and how the profession has changed over 40 years.

Journal: How did you get started in school photography? 

Robertson: I had photography as a hobby when I was younger. I was doing construction with my dad at Robertson Construction during high school and for a year or so out of high school. Then construction bottomed out, so there wasn’t enough work for both of us. I started looking for something else. Leo’s had an ad for a photographer, and I applied for that. Lawrence Morgan—everybody called him Leo—was the owner. He owned Leo’s for 66 years, and bought it from the original Leo, who lived in Coeur d’Alene and shot in the ‘20s and through the Depression. He hired me on, and that’s where I learned everything.

They gave me a camera and a Volkswagen Rabbit. My job was to go out and photograph real estate properties for the Multiple Listing Service. Leo’s had a contract with MLS to do all the photography of properties. I drove all over Spokane County and all over Spokane photographing houses and properties. He trained me to do school photography during that time.

When Lawrence handed over the camera ... it was in Spangle, Washington, and it was at a Seventh Day Adventist high school, which is still there. I had gone with him maybe once or twice and collected the envelopes as he photographed. At that school, he just gave me the camera. He showed me beforehand how it worked and everything, but basically it was “’Here you go, start photographing kids.” That was very interesting. I was sweating bullets.

How does school photography differ from other photography?  

School photography is high volume. Nowadays, Leo’s photographs thousands (of students on picture days). I learned to be an entertainer, because it’s kids. High school to preschool, every age group is different in the way you approach them to get them to smile.

There are some long days. You may have to drive to Lewiston, set up your camera gear, be ready to go by 7:30 in the morning, photograph until the end of the school day, then drive back. You’re photographing 400 or 500 kids a day. It wears you out, but I loved it. It’s a challenge, but it was very rewarding. I enjoyed a lot of the days out. I wasn’t stuck behind a desk, and I’m not an office desk person. This fit me really well.

What have been some of the high points of your career?

Making kids smile was always a high point. Sometimes they’d come in not feeling well. Sometimes, they’d come in crying. Getting a good smile before they left was always rewarding.

Some of my high points are when I am recognized by somebody and they say, “You made it so much fun.

What were some of the challenges of your career?

There were stressful moments with travel and getting through a picture day. Sometimes equipment wouldn’t work, so I’d get to Walla Walla and something wouldn’t work, so I’d have to improvise, which meant getting into a camera and doing electrical (work) on it. I’ve driven I don’t know how many times out of town and forgot light stands or something else, which made the day very challenging. 

Photographing 500 kids in a day is a challenge. And getting good, natural expressions from that many kids in a day is a challenge. Finding a way to interact with that one child for less than 60 seconds and get a natural smile that their mom and dad would like is a big challenge.

How has school photography changed over the years?

When I first started with Leo’s, the first camera I had was a 35 mm film camera to do the property pictures for real estate. The school cameras were large metal cameras that were probably 15 inches by 10 inches, they had a lens, a motorized back, and they held probably 200 to 1,000-foot rolls of 35 mm film. It was motorized, so you’d hit the trigger button and it would advance through to the next frame as you were photographing the kids, and then you’d have to take that back to the studio into a darkroom, unload that canister in the dark, then put it in to the lab, where they’d process it and start printing packaged pictures.

Since it’s gone digital, all those cameras went away. That has been an amazing change — being able to see the kid’s picture right after you photograph them, after doing years and years of “I think I got a good expression. I think I caught that.”

Is there anything you wish you had known before you got into school photography?

I was unaware of some of the longer days. That’s different for every school photography company. When I started, we were doing Walla Walla, Tri-Cities, all of Northern Idaho, and down into Oregon. I did a lot of travel that I wasn’t aware I’d be doing when I started. I was going everywhere there was a school. But then again, I wasn’t in the office. I got paid to drive, and I saw a lot of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho that I never would have seen.

What’s next for you?

I have to work with my hands. I’ve done probably four or five different furniture projects, refurbishing old furniture and then selling it. That keeps me busy for now. 

It’s nice to be at the point where I don’t necessarily have to worry about exactly figuring it out. I can enjoy the days until I get to a point where I figure out what I want to do. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.