Your child is going to camp.

Whether you’re a first-time camp parent who’s nervous about their child making friends, or a long-time camp parent who’s excited for a week without children, you all have one thing in common – you can’t wait to look for your child in the camp photos shared during the week.

While we see it most often with new camp parents, returning parents are just as guilty. You drop them off on Sunday afternoon, and by 7 a.m. Monday morning you’re checking the camp system or Facebook for photo uploads. Instead of worrying yourself sick while your child is gone, we want to set expectations for the camp photo process and experience.

When will photos be published? Here is what we can guarantee: photos will be uploaded three times per week – on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturday morning. This is in addition to cabin photos being uploaded by mid-morning on Monday (weather permitting). This doesn’t mean we won’t post photos every day – it just means we can promise you’ll get fresh photos at least four times a week.

What kind of photos can I expect to see? You’ll see your child’s headshot and cabin photo by mid-morning Monday. On Tuesday and Thursday evening, you’ll see photos posted of regular camp life – activities, swimming, walking around, all of the fun ‘camp stuff’. Saturday morning, you’ll see photos of the rest of the week and of the closing ceremony (you and your camper can look at these together!).

Why are there no photos of my child? Every child should have at least a headshot and a cabin photo. Throughout the week, our two camp photographers are working really, REALLY hard to make sure they take a variety of pictures. On any given week, we have more than 150 campers on site – that’s a lot of kids! Some of them love the camera, and some don’t. Think about your child’s camera behavior at home. When you pull out your phone for a photo does your child groan and say ‘moooommmmmm’? If so, they’ll probably do the same thing at camp. With so many memories to capture, our photographers aren’t going to fight your child for a photo. If it’s a big concern for you, talk to your child about being camera friendly during their week at El Tesoro.

Why are there 400 photos published one day and only 50 on another? Some days we have one photographer taking photos, some days we have four. Our full-time camp staff photographers might be working together on a particular day or switching out shifts while the other covers an activity. Some days we are visited by our Marketing Team. When they are here, they are looking for that ‘perfect cover photo’ you see on materials we mail out, but also generate a different number of photos that can be shared. So, the photos will vary every day, and every week.

Why is my child in *insert clothing item here*? Some parents are concerned about their child’s clothing choices when they see them in photos. If your camper is in jeans, they probably just came back (or are headed to) their horseback activity. We know it’s hot – we promise we won’t let them stay in jeans all day. Maybe you packed your child’s clothes with matching outfits organized by day and you don’t see that reflected in the photos. Or maybe you packed your daughter with bows, and her hair looks messy with no bow in sight. While at El Tesoro, we encourage independence. If your child wants to wear a brown shirt with brown shorts, we aren’t going to stop them. If they want to go bow-less and rock a messy pony tail, we’ll let them. A little rugged camp dust never hurt anyone, but rest assured, they are being well-cared for.

My child looks unhappy. Have you ever had an unflattering photo taken of yourself? Believe it or not – it happens with campers. It never fails – a camper will be having a GREAT time but in the split second it takes to snap a photo, it looks like they are frowning (or mad, or exhausted, or something else). We can’t guarantee your child will be smiling in every single photo. Just know if anything serious was going on with your child, we would contact you.

We love camp photos as much as you do but remember this – the safety and well-being of your child is our number one priority. No matter what. If it came down to helping a child with an activity and stepping in to ensure safety or taking a photo – we are going to pick safety every single time. Sometimes even our photographers put the camera down to help a child be more ‘in the moment’. Photos might last forever, but so do memories made at camp – and that’s something we’re committed to building through personal interactions with our well-trained staff.