As a professional school photographer, you will travel back and forth from your studio to schools for your photography sessions. Depending on his feelings as a professional photographer, he would recommend driving a small roofed van, station wagon, or minivan. All three vehicles are well suited to the lifestyle of school photographers.

Due to the nature of my school’s photography business, I like the Ford Ranger with the extended cab. I usually take one or two employees with me when I work in schools. This little team and my Ford Ranger works perfect for us. My Ranger has a matching red canopy. It is not the cheapest vehicle; however, during office season it gives me the freedom to run other errands. I can pick up some lumber from Home Depot or a bunch of gravel for my garden projects.

The drawback of a van is that the canopy is not as secure for storing your photographic equipment. If I know I’m going to a tough neighborhood or downtown with a higher crime rate, I don’t take my truck. This is one of the main drawbacks of the hooded truck solution.

The minivan is another good option for small school photographers. The minivan still allows you room to carry your photography equipment and employees. You can secure all of your photography gear inside the minivan, backdrops can slide under the seats, and the car seats can be removed if you need to bring larger gear.

A full-size van may be overkill, but it can also make a good mobile studio. My father is a professional photographer on the island of Kauai, in the state of Hawaii, and he loves his Sprinter van made by Dodge and Mercedes Benz. It can carry a whole crew, lots of photo gear, and the Sprinter has a diesel engine for excellent MPG. His van gets better gas mileage than my little gas-powered truck.

I’m not a big fan of SUVs for professional photography, but I know quite a few photographers who like them for their multipurpose use. Some SUVs ride as smooth as a luxury car and are very comfortable. The Honda Pilot is a great example. However, SUVs also burn fuel like a truck and at current gas prices; I tend to want to stick with the smaller SUVs like the Toyota Highlander or Ford Escape. Granted, smaller SUVs might be a better option.

I would stay away from sedans unless the back seat can be folded down. I’ve found that unless you have a wide trunk, carrying a bottom is sometimes difficult if the back seat doesn’t fold. If you had a roof rack and a roof rack on your sedan, then it might be a good compromise to buy the four-door sedan.