Today I am sitting at my desk, begrudgingly writing out cheques for my children’s annual crappy photo shoot, A.K.A., their school pictures. It pains me to pay for these because they are spectacularly bad, although not as spectacularly bad as last year where I refused to purchase them all together.
I seriously don’t get it. We live in a digital age people. Can these photography companies not look at the picture and say, “Maybe your mom won’t like the way you’re grimacing there. Let’s try again.” No, of course they can’t because they don’t care. They run the children through at breakneck speed to get it done fast. They know that most of us will fork over the cash anyway. See they have us parents in an interesting position. First, if you don’t get the the picture then it’s like you’re losing a piece of your child’s history forever. Oh I know, we all have five gazillion pictures of our children, but not in front of the cheesy blue screen or the incredibly fake looking book stack. Second, your children, the loves of your life, look so damn hurt when you say “That is the worst picture of you EVER”.
I’m not kidding, one year my daughter looked like she was in the middle of a bowel movement for heaven’s sake. Face all scrunched up, eyes squeezed closed. I actually asked her “Were you pooping in this picture?” She laughed out loud, because she gets her mother’s sense of humour thankfully. But on the flip side they actually sent that garbage home to me. You’d think they’d be a little embarrassed. This is their business after all. Apparently, school photography companies are above all that.
I’m fairly confident I could get better pictures in the photo booth at the mall. In fact, I just talked myself out of those cheques. Pictures at the mall and a new pair of shoes. I’ve got better ways to spend my money.
Bad Teacher
I have never, ever ordered the school pictures. Fortunately I have an amazingly talented friend who just happens to be a photographer so I get her to come and take our pics. Even before then I would rather spend $40 at the Superstore and get the pics there than the overpriced terrible pictures that come home from school. I honestly don’t know why they even still do them.
I’ve been thinking the same over the past few weeks. Both my kids school photos were bad, DS was worse, so he’s going for a retake. But DD’s was actually really good BUT she had 1 string of hair (probably more than 1 string) that’s sticking out from the side of her head. All they had to do was tell her to brush it down with her hand. Was that really so hard to do? Arghh–gets me so mad. I know they are on a schedule but the product is crap yet I still feel obligated to buy. Although this year, I’m not buying any packages, just 1 photo so that she’ll get the class picture.
This year, the photographer was better and the pictures were kind of adorable (or maybe my kids can’t take a bad pic 🙂 ) – however, the prices went up astronomically. I ordered 4 3x5s of each pose to satisfy the grandparents but still felt taken for a ride. These school photographers certainly have a captive audience – very proud of you for resisting!!!!!
I know this friend you speak of 🙂 We used her this year as well.
I have never seen my daughters school pictures. Not only are they overpriced but I have to pay for them PRIOR to seeing them. If I don’t like them, I then have to contact them and ask for a reshoot. If I don’t like the 2nd set I then have to ask for my money back.
If you ask me, they made it too hard. I have a camera and can take beautiful pictures of my daughter. And now, like you said, who doesn’t have a digital camera to see what the picture is going to look like? I know so many people who love to take pictures, that my daughter gets pictures done all the time. Doing actual things!
I will never spend money on school photos.
Exactly!!! Just a little effort would be nice! Do any of these people have kids?
Ha! Thanks. My kids may resent it later in life as every picture in their school memories book has PROOF stamped on it 😉
They did that one year at my kids last school. I didn’t purchase either. Seemed like a scam to me. Brutal.
*sigh* and yet I get suckered each year. I feel guilty if I don’t buy the darn things, I envision my daughter, in a decade’s time, will turn to her therapist and say “you know, my mother never bought my school photos? Can you believe that!” So I buy the overpriced, ugly things.
I know! It’s crazy the guilt we put on ourselves over these AWFUL pictures. I told the kids this year, I wasn’t doing it and I really thought they’d kind of fuss but to my delight they just shrugged and walked away. Maybe they’re getting used to me LOL
The prices are ridiculous, the blue background is only topped in awfulness by the fake clouds, and nobody wants the bazillions of pictures they try to sell you. In order to avoid the sad-sack devastated look on my kids’ faces I’ve ordered the CD version for the past couple of years, but after reading this I’m done. I take better pics with my phone.
Is that your school pic C?
LMAO! No, that’s not me 🙂
Eeek….your children will hate me 🙂
It’s a freakin scam.
You can’t get the 8 x 10 unless you buy the super size mega package with the pics on key chains and trading cards and tacky napkins and calendars. Then there are the 367 tiny wallet sized jobbies and the fact that two separate years one of my kids had a tongue suspiciously out in the class picture.
There should be a law. ; 0
I haven’t bought school pictures in forever. It’s the biggest waste of money ever! And now they do fall and spring photos??? Maybe if it was a fundraiser for the school… But even then I’d like to see some quality. After all I can take better photos with my digital camera and I would never dare call myself a photographer. Okay, rant over. Enjoy your shoes!
LOL, thanks Maija. It cracks me up how many people feel the same way about this.
I think I should have had you write this blog 🙂 That was hysterical. Want to guest post over here someday? Come to the dark side Pam 🙂
the funny (and somewhat ironic) thing is that I LOVE the school photos.. but it is for their imperfections that I love them. They are a hilarious moment in time that I must have!
That said, I have witnessed the photos being taken and was horrified at the complete lack of effort , by the photographer, to get a smile out of the children. As a photographer who goes “all out” for her little subjects, this was shocking to me.
yet, I buy the photos (the smallest package) because they are so bad that they are good. lol!
I was lucky enough to mainly have ‘good’ pictures for 3 kids k-11th.. I look back and laugh at how different they looked or how our photographer captured that one look I would see so often. I say k-11 because we get their senior pictures done by a photographer of our choice. I myself am glad that I always was happy with them (btw last year my daughter was NOT happy so we sent them back and they retook them free of charge). I just always bought too big of a package so I could probably wall paper one room with all the leftovers of 3 kids and 12 years each of pics lol .
OMG that made me laugh Becky! So true. What do you do with all those pictures LOL
I love your attitude towards it Sarah. They really are terrible tee hee.
As a mother, an awardwinning profeasional photographer and someone who’s taken school pictures…I wholeheartedly agree!
When I signed on to do them, it was on the understanding that they would not look like “school pictures”, and they never did.
If you’ve never seen what the actual school photographers do these days, let me fill you in:
They have a computer programme they use which pre-frames the shots. On their monitor is a grid with a silhouette of a head and measurements. They make the children sit so they fit the parameters of those prefab measurement, and they do it as fast as possible to maximize their time. Usually only 2 shots are taken.
This is not art or capturing your child, it’s about making a buck.
And the sad thing is we all, including me, keep paying for it!!
I think there’s a place for school photos, but I agree it’s time for the industry to catch up.
Both my kids looked like robots last year. I send them for photo day but don’t buy. We did one year because they were OK but I would rather go get family photos at a proper studio or something than pay for school ones. They’re rushed and air brushed.
Well this year I forgot it was picture day. Or more like my kids didn’t tell me. Anyways one of them left wearing my clothing. Big old sweatshirt and one of my scarves. Oddly her shot is not as bad as her sisters in which we neglected to brush her hair yet again and wore something really sad. Pictures at Superstore are better than that. I am packing my house up getting ready to stage and sell and truthfully – how many extra pictures have I got from school over the years – oh about two boxes full. Brutal.
Paula
@inkscrblr
thriftymommastips.com
That made me laugh Paula because it’s so true! You just get so many and who really keeps those school pictures anyway except the parents.