I have a great deal of difficulty remembering students' names, especially within the first day or so. I find it helpful to review the roster in our campus system which posts a photo of the student. Therefore, it is easier for me to have a pretty good idea of who is who on the first day, and students are sometimes surprised to find that I already know who they are.
Some students do not want to be photographed by the instructor, and it kind of makes me uncomfortable to ask them. This is a memory technique that doesn't make either of us uncomfortable.
