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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be hacked off about school photos?

93 replies

twirlymum · 16/11/2010 12:23

DD is in year 5, DS in in the nursery at the same school.
School photos were last week. I had the option of having their photo taken together, which I thought would be nice.

The proofs came yesterday.
As well as the one together, they also had photos taken on their own, so I have three proofs.
The one of them together is quite nice. DD's hair looks a little bushy, but it's ok (especially as DS can be a horror when asked to sit still).
The one of DD on her own is beautiful, and her hair looks ok (even though the photos were taken minutes apart!).
The one of DS on his own is the best picture I have seen of him. He is smiling, and looks angelic .

For one photo it is £11.50, for two it's £15.75 and for three it's £17.75. BUT this only applies when you have two or three of the same picture. I've just phoned the company, and had a bit of a moan, and mentioned that I think it's very expensive anyway. The woman told me that it's the school's fault, as they have different prices available, DC's school has chosen the most expensive package.
So now I will have to pay almost £35 for three 7x5 photos. Plus £2 per picture for p&p as they don't combine postage.
I know I don't have to buy them, but they are nice (for a change!)

OP posts:

nannynobnobs · 16/11/2010 14:36

I never bought DD1's first school photo; she looked pale, grey and ill and had a weird smile that made her teeth look like some odd horror movie grin. I took photos of her at home instead.
DD2 had a 'nursery photo' taken a few months ago. Twelve!! They handed us twelve different posed shots and said any we didn't want to buy would be returned to the photographer, presumably to burn on a big bonfire or stick darts in. What a way to extort money from parents. I bought four nice ones to send to relatives and scanned the rest. considering I thought they were taking ONE I think they did well to get me to buy four.

Rockbird · 16/11/2010 14:47

I was quite surprised. DD had some taken at nursery in the spring and, if you spent over £35 or something they sent you a cd with all the photos on. So I bought one package, which I would have bought anyway, and was able to print off loads more for family.

bobblehat · 16/11/2010 14:52

I really like school photos and always buy them. But ds2's was awful this year, he had his eyes shut and out of focus too. Surely everyone uses digital these days so they can see what they're like. It's the first year I haven't had one. Ds1's was nice so we're having that. They're at different schools so don't have one together.

gottasmile · 16/11/2010 14:56

I agree bobblehat, my ds has his mouth positioned in the "ch" of the word cheese.

He does this so often now I tell him to say eese not cheese!!

Rhian82 · 16/11/2010 14:57

DS's nursery shots are always really good. They do four shots, and offer each of them in colour or black and white. There's a good selection of sizes, and though they're expensive, they're not extortionate. They've also just started offering a CD with all the images on for £49. We split the cost with the grandparents, and now we can all print as many copies as we want. Good deal that way.

Tidey · 16/11/2010 15:03

I hate DS's school pictures. The school changed the photographer a couple of years ago. The prices rocketed up, they don't seem to be able to get a decent picture of a child smiling (all the ones I've seen look like they're grimacing) and the group ones are the aforementioned 'informal' style where the children are all lounging about on the floor or pointing into the distance like they're catalogue models. I haven't bought any for the last two years.

YANBU for being cross about the price OP, but at least they are nice pictures!

Snapper99 · 04/01/2011 17:10

The price of school photos crops up every so often on here. As a school photographer myself, can I make it clear that school photography is not a liscence to print money. From the money you pay, 20% goes to the vatman, 25% goes to the school. The remaining 55% pays for the cost of producing the proofs, printing the orders. Then there is the small matter of the overheads of running a business.
If it was so lucrative, everyone would be doing it.
The organisation on the day is down to the school. The tog doen't know who the siblings are. Schools send out forms forthe parents to request what they want taken, Few reply.
Togs can't adjust clothing or hair for fear of being accused of sexual assault.
The school in your case chose the dearest option because they wanted the max commision. They could have chosen no commision, and the price would have been less.
Regarding scanning the photo and not ordering.... Apart from being illegal, it is moraly unfair, because it pushes up the price for the honest parents. If evey parent scanned the tog would go out of businees overnight.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 04/01/2011 19:16

I would suggest maybe finding a local photographer to do some shots for you instead. Not a big studio but a freelancer. It might be a little more expensive but you'll no doubt get exactly what you want rather than relying on the school to sort clothing/hair etc or children to pose nicely.

Often you can do the shots at a local park or similar and the benefit is the whole family can be in them.

katiestar · 04/01/2011 19:22

Yes a cheap photographer is a much better bet.There's a really good guy round here that would work out cheaper than that and you'll have the pick of dozens of shots not just one!

risingstar · 04/01/2011 19:31

my oldest dd is 16 and the price of the smaller packages has noticeably increased. no doubt the photo companies have had a huge increase in people buying one 7x5 and then copying it for all and sundry

cloelia · 04/01/2011 19:54

This rings very true with me as I have just five minutes ago looked at my DD's hockey team shots which for the first time have been taken by a well known school photography company ... one photo, yes one, £17.50!!!!! Ridiculous.

onceamai · 04/01/2011 20:03

It's expensive and it's OTT but if you can scrape together enough for some really good photos do try to - next year's could be horrendous. I've only ever bought the good ones - perhaps one of a rubbish one just to appease the dd.

As a thought - are the copies available via the internet and can you buy them later on when things aren't so tight.

What a silly time of year to do them in any event - money's tight and they would have made perfect Xmas presents for gps to justify the cost just a few months earlier.

theoldtrout01876 · 04/01/2011 20:50

I used to scan em in to the computer,return them to the school,then just print my own :o.

Snapper99 · 06/01/2011 20:24

Old trout.

So you think it's ok for the tog to go to all that trouble an expense to provide you with an image, which you then scan and he /she/the school fund gets nothing.
You are a shining example to your child.

Rising Star.

You are quite right. I noticed that the sales of the cheapest single print have risen dramaticaly over the last few years, and assumed people were scanning. So I raised the price to only just below a pack with many pics in.

Years ago packs were supplied on a sale or return basis. Many parents thought it was ok to simply keep them and not pay.

Unsrupulous parents have forced school togs to take these counter measures.

The answer is simple... if you don't like the pics or think they are too expensive, then don't buy them.

Snapper99 · 06/01/2011 20:28

Onceamai

It's impossible for every schhol to be photographed in the autum term. There just aren't enough togs. And what would the togs do for the rest of the year?

Some schools opt for the spring term because the togs give them even more commision if they do

QueenGigantaurofMnet · 06/01/2011 20:32

yes DC go to different school and yet the company that takes the photos is the same.

DD's school offers a MUCH more expensive package than DS'

It also peevs me that both my children are adorable and yet they look like something from the hills have eyes in all their school photos.

Snapper99 · 06/01/2011 23:01

I don't understand the last sentence of your post, Queen.....

Bogeyface · 06/01/2011 23:05

The cost of school photos really annoys me. Ours have started sending 2 lots per child with 2 different poses and then 2 lots per group so in theory if I were to buy the cheapest single photo (10x8) of each it would cost me over £90 for each childs pics and then both group pics.

We didnt buy them.

And then we have the class photos on top, but I only buy the first year at reception and then the last year before high school as they will be the ones they look back on the most. But as ds is in reception, that would be over £100!

Bogeyface · 06/01/2011 23:06

pmsl Queen! I have a picture from when DS was little like that!

linziluv · 06/01/2011 23:29

I've just paid £65 to have 4 photos of DS put on a CD! Absolute joke but they were actually outstanding so actually works out cheaper when relatives want one than having a couple of smaller photos.

charliesmommy · 06/01/2011 23:43

You should have a photography party with some of your friends and their kids.. I am sure a good local photographer would be able to arrange that if you got x amount of people, the host could have a discount, and it would work out cheaper than the school photos.

I am a freelance photographer so I might actually think some more on this and tout the idea to my friends..

Breezy1985 · 06/01/2011 23:44

I have 2 DC and we get 2 single shots and 2 shots together, i just got one 10x8 of the 6 differant ones and it cost me £60, then there was the group photo as DS is in reception flipping £26 for one photo!!

Though they've had the school photos done twice last year, and i spent more the first time round..

UKcanuck · 07/01/2011 08:48

As an adjunct I agree that the price of school photos is high, but what really peeves me is the lack of standardisation of sizes/packages. I have 3 DCs and would like to get a single, 10x8 shot of each one. I have 3 10x8 frames where I put their "school" photos during nursery and primary school; but over the years the photogs used by the schools have changed and now it's impossible to buy a single 10x8 print without getting a whole raft of other prints that I don't want, which is wasteful and expensive. Also, 10x8 seems to have fallen out of fashion in school photogs the 3 different schools for my DCs are now offering only 10x7 prints. When did that come in as a standard size?

Realise this is slightly off-topic but this has peeved me for years, to the extent that when the children bring home their school photos my husband runs for cover before my rant starts.

UKcanuck · 07/01/2011 08:50

reposting because my punctuation meant I struck out my own message! Should have previewed!

Realise this is slightly off-topic but this has peeved me for years, to the extent that when the children bring home their school photos my husband runs for cover before my rant starts.

starfishmummy · 07/01/2011 09:20

Adding my mini rant

I was a bit miffed to find out that DS's recent school photo was a class one. This was not mentioned in the letter we had before the event so we didn't know until afterwards.

It is a nice picture, and it's a special school so there are only 6 kids on it (I remember being in those long old fashioned ones with all the other 599 pupils) but it isn't really what I wanted!!

And due to a mess up by the photographers we have just been sent the finished print, sale or return (no proofs) and pester power is at work!

His one last year was individual and is really nice (if I snap him he tends to pull faces!) and I was looking forward to another.

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