NOT to want to pay £29 for a school photo???

[PiedWagtail]

My school has got Tempest to do 'modern' class photos - long thin ones with the kids in small groupings with props - they cost £12.50 for a print, or £29 framed. They're awkward to find a place for, too big, too expensive (to get both my ds's class photos would be £58!!) - who can afford that?

Just emailed the school sec with my feedback and she said they have just had positive feedback - so AIBU??

What are your school pics like and how much are they? I just want a record of my dc in each school year, and their friends, and don't want to pay a fortune for it!!

[MCos]

Ha! You are getting a bargain.
DD2 made first communion last week. They got photos taken in school during the week. The 'Special' of unframed class photo, plus framed individual photo and 8 wallet sized photos comes in at a whopping Euro 60! And the class photo is NOT a good one.

[Khaleese]

Only last week i thought that i must ask mum for my school photos. The reason....i wanted to work out the class size!

No one need arty shots, they are awful, i don't even like the head and shoulders ones.

Just a cheap class photo so children can remember their friends or work out class size

[MrsMook]

We used to have a photographer in every other year to take a group picture of our Brownie unit. We got nothing for it, but the palaver of chasing orders and money. A couple of years ago we decided that we could do it ourselves. So we pop across the road to the park on a nice day, use one of our decent cameras (they'll only be printed in a modest size) take several photos of the pack all lined up with the flag and toadstool (after a bit of uniform swapping to make sure they look respectable), pick the best then offer parents a couple of size options and things like mugs, key rings, and order online with a sensible profit margin for the unit.


(Hopes traditional shots come back into favour for my DSs' school days. Can't stand contrived poses on a white background.)

[fotos4schools]

This post makes for interesting reading. It is really important to hear what parents/guardians think with regards to school photography. As a professional school photographer it is fundamental that other photographers understand what you say on forums such as these in regard to their work and pricing.

Personally, I believe in both the traditional individual portraits and traditional class photographs. These are timeless and will never go out of style. It also shows children at their best and everyone is equal and the same. I understand that some photography companies pricing is a bit steep but normally they use a middle man for their proof cards and printing. The cost to the photographer is actually quite expensive and so that is why the cost is passed on to the customer. This is mainly due to logistics as their is a high volume of images from various schools to process.

I feel that you are the ones parting with the cash so you should have a say in what products are offered and what prices you feel would be appropriate. I have attached our school price list to see what we offer. We do not use a middle man so this allows us to keep our prices as low as possible and pass the saving on to you the parents.

Individual School Portrait Pack:
A- One 12"x8", two 9"x6", two 6"x4" (prints only) =£12

B- One 12"x8", two 9"x6", two 6"x4", two large photo keyrings (prints only) = £17

C- Two 9"x6", two 6"x4" (all prints mounted using luxury heavyweight linen strut mounts) =£14

D- Two 9"x6", two 6"x4", two large photo keyrings (all prints mounted using luxury heavyweight linen strut mounts) = £19

E- Digital high res copy with no copyright = £30

CLASS PHOTO PRICES
A- 12"x8" print only = £5.00

B- 12"8 print in heavyweight linen strut mount = £7.50

This is just my price list to let you compare but all the sizes are standard so it is easy to get frames for them either in the supermarket or online.

I also do nursery photography where I offer more premium products as well such as canvas wraps, acrylic blocks and framed prints. With my framed prints these are all hand crafted locally and come with choices of mouldings and sizes. This is maybe why some companies charge more for their framed products as there is a lot of skill and work that goes into them.

Hope this helps and gives you folk an indication of what one company charges and hope it makes for some light reading.

[fotos4schools]

CORRECTION! Pack C & D for individual portraits consists of: Two 9"x6", THREE 6"x4" NOT TWO as previously stated. Prices are still the same. Apologies.

[VersaPortraits]

As a school photographer myself, for many years. Tonight I'm came across this website and read the majority of comments. It's always good for photographers to read forums like these as it helps us keep in touch with what parents want. From what I've been reading so far its seems that the majority of you prefer the traditional photos compared to the contemporary ones, especially for group photos.

The problem school photographers have, is its not always our choice which photos to offer. The final decision will always be with the school. Mainly the office staff or head will have the final decision. We can only relay our feedback to the school and try to guide them into what we think is best for the school and parents.

The problem with contemporary group photos is the amount of time it takes to get a finished product, which in turn explains the rise in cost. The photo itself takes longer, plus you have to edit and stitch all the little groups together in photoshop. Unfortunately, this takes time. Our contemporary group prices start from £12 for a rolled in a tube option and £14 for a mounted version. We don't charge postage and also offer a 10% discount if ordered within 2 weeks. for the total order 20% is vat, 20% is the schools commission and 40% is the printing and postage costs, leaving the photographer 20%. 20% may seem a lot but please bear in mind we also have equipment, diesel and other overheads to pay for. Traditional groups are much easier, generally if your photographer is good at what he does, then they are quick and easy to set up and require minimal editing, meaning our prices can start from as little as £8 including a mount.

On our individual photos we also offer a mix and match service, enabling you, the parent to mix different photos into one pack. Saving you money.

I wanted to post on here, not to gain potential new business but to give you a little more detail of our side. Not all photography companies are trying to 'rip parents off' some of us just want to do a decent job whilst earning a living.

Hope this is helpful :)

[Pinkflipflop]

YANBU

Take the photo yourself and download a photoshop app.

They are fantastic!

[shakeandvac]

Oh,I feel your pain about the so called 'arty' ones, they're awful!
At our school, the Infants class photos have all the children lolloping about - someone will be leapfrogging over a box, while others will be laid out on their front with their feet in the air.
What happened to old fashioned, classic photographs?!
For those saying "Just buy the bloody print, I put mine in an album" - have you SEEN the actual size of these monstrosities we're talking about?!
They're absolutely huge. They're really long and thin, and roll up into a long tube.
They wouldn't fit in an album.
Without a frame, they'd just be like a really long poster.

[NoComet]

Dear photographer, what I want is a disc, with the copyright of all the photos you took of my child or children for about £20-30

Not a separate disk for £20 for each child or each pose.

As long as you do that I will by the £7.50 print and scan it for Grandma.

I'm sorry, but DHs parents are dead, neither of us have piles of relatives. If I buy a big pack I just end up with a draw of waste prints I can't bear to trow away.

I want two to make two reasonable sized prints and the ability to do photo books, calendars and add the photo to my Xmas letter to aunts and uncles that like to know our goings on, but have enough pictures of their own grand kids.

[ADREW77]

Does anyone know the size of the photos tempest do for the class bought the class photo and now looking for cheap frame on the internet but cant remember the size!! Its the one rolled up in a tube! Thanks!

[dundy]

The school photos are rather boring for me and I also feel pressured to buy them each year at certain time and despite if I like them or not. My kids are getting very upset and feel left out if I don't buy them. On top of everything I am a photographer myself and it causes almost physical pain :). I have spend ages to convince the kids but now we have agree that I will make some nice photos of them in their favorite activities and outfits to keep in the milestone book and we only buy the class photo. Each year at roughly same time we take some photos to track down and enjoy later in life
I am in South London and the schools in the area are all with attitude :):)

[dundy]

if anyone is interested message me

[dementedma]

For ds first high school ones yesterday. In one he is sitting at a table with his arms in the foreground so they look about 10 feet long. The other is a close up one but at an angle which I actually like. Cheapest pack is 22.50!

[Daisychainsrus1]

i am really really really so annoyed with my DC's school.
my uncle is a governor in another school in Wales and he told us over the weekend that someone had reported it to them that some of the big school photographors had been giving the teachers rugby tickets to get the school photo work from the school. Who pays for the rugby tickets ????? we do!!! when we are paying expensive amounts of money for the photographs, I am so so angry they have enough in wages already, do they really need to have free tickets to do our shopping badly for us?

[Waltonswatcher1]

I absolutely loathe school photos - if anything dire happens the press get hold of them and that association has stuck in my head .
They are no way as nice as a relaxed fun family shot - IMHO .

[fatlazymummy]

I've never heard of these new arty photos.
Anyway, I don't really see the problem. I only buy school photos if I really like them,and then it would probably be the cheapest pack.
The kids don't get upset. When they were very young I would have just made some excuse up but as they get older they don't care.

[emms1981]

They did these at my boys school, I bought ones of the boys before Christmas but they did class photos later, I don't really want pictures of other people's kids so I didn't buy them ....

[Daisychainsrus1]

I don't mind the pictures they are allright, i prefer the old style though and they are a memory for my DC's to have when they are older and they can reminice,
but i do damnwell mind paying extra for the teachers to have trips to rugby grounds paid for, it must cost a lot of money to pay for rugby games.

I have spent so much money on school pictures over the past years

why should i pay extra so that a teacher that i don't like can watch a silly game with an odd shaped ball?

[mellicauli]

We had some great ones this year. DS (4) Major Sulk Holding Beach Ball and DS (10) Wallace & Grommet Grin.

No way was I parting with hard earned cash for that!

[Darkesteyes]

Just dug out an old infant school class photo of mine from 1979. The little envelope under the cellophane at the back looks so pristine it could have been put there yesterday.

The price of the photo.........85p.

[pocketbear]

Hi everyone. Can I ask where people have found frames for their photos please? I have 2 tempest photos to frame, 7x16 and 7x28, and the awkward sizes is making it really difficult to find a frame! thank you