Class reunions - the gatherings some look forward to, and others dread (or avoid completely). But these reconnections can be fun, exciting and enlightening with careful planning and an open mind. If you're planning a class reunion, here are some simple tips for pulling together a photo montage or digital slide show for the big event.

Part 1: Gathering Photos

It might sound obvious, but the first step is to gather some photos of your own. Do your best to include lots of different people, and scan your images to make them easy to work with.

Once you've collected some of your own photos, start reaching out to people you've stayed in communication with. (Another great place to start would be the reunion planning committee.)

Use social media to your advantage - as you're finding old classmates on Facebook and other forms of social media, post some pictures and tag people in the photos. It's amazing how even a short walk down memory lane is often enough to encourage people to break out their own favorite photos and memorabilia from school days gone by. You can even set up a Facebook group for your class (or your event) and let people post photos to that page.

As you ask people to share their photos, be specific and clear about what you want. If you want candid pictures of them with friends, ask for that. If you prefer a mix of candid shots and formal pictures (such as those taken at dances, or for the yearbook), then ask for it. Whatever you're envisioning - pictures of teachers, pictures taken outside of school, groups of classmates, etc. - giving people examples helps them choose which pictures to include.

Likewise, if you want to include at least 1 per person but no more than 10 per person, then specify that as well.

The best way to encourage your classmates to submit their photos is to make the process as easy as possible.

You might choose to offer different options - for example, people can mail their pictures with their name and address on the back, and you can scan the photos for them and return their pictures by mail (or have them pick up their photos at the event), or you can allow people to scan and email pictures to you, or you can encourage people to post their old high school photos on Facebook, and you can grab images from there. The easier you make it, the more likely folks will participate. If you've made it as easy as possible, and you're still lacking enough images for a decent slide show, you might consider offering a prize or incentive to the person who submits the most photos. Of course, this could possibly backfire, as you might wind up with 100 photos of Mary Alice and no one else, but it's worth a shot.