to hoist my bosom in aghastedness at 'fun' class photos?

[Porpoise]

DS3 (8) came home last night with a "fun" class photo.

Instead of the usual serried ranks of sweet but slightly uncomfortable-looking kids, we have...

... them in groups of five, each 'artfully' arranged with some kids lying on the floor, others kneeling, others standing - all doing a thumbs up.

And they've all taken their shoes off.

The teacher is standing on her own in the middle, striking a bit of a Sandy from Grease pose.

And the whole mile-wide monstrosity is decorated round the edges with Union Jack bunting.

Anyone else had something like this done at their school? Did you actually fork out money for a print?

Sparklingbrook "I have school class photos of both DSs going back to 2003. They are in the loft. I can honestly say I have never ever looked at them, and don't feel the need to. I can't imagine DS1 (nearly 13) saying 'Mum can I see my Year 1 class photo' any time soon."

DD is just coming to the end of Y11 and they had a formal pose of everyone in the year and their form teachers. She does want to save that as some people will be leaving or going to other places for sixth form so she plans to write the names of everyone on a piece of paper and stick it to the back so in years to come she can remind herselg who everyone is

at Katisha

Actually, it's more like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=NKD&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1607&bih=893&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=9WeHGwwcM6NMwM:&imgrefurl=www.fancydressball.co.uk/ladies-fancy-dress/ladies-grease-costumes/grease-sandy-last-scene-costume-36108.htm&docid=ujMDLEq7Xk-s6M&imgurl=www.fancydressball.co.uk/big_images1/grease-sandy-last-scene-costume-36108.jpg&w=342&h=800&ei=VCS-T-vFHKK10QXZxqBN&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=636&vpy=12&dur=2282&hovh=344&hovw=147&tx=93&ty=226&sig=110351287593831527716&page=1&tbnh=161&tbnw=69&start=0&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:131" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this one

Without the wig, sadly.

Dd1 (year 6) had all hers out to look at last week.

I think that's a good one to get 5Foot5. The way it's worked out I don't think DS1 went up to high School with anyone from his early school days, so they are the ones that will remain in the loft.

The most annoying this about these poses (that were advertised as "celebrity poses" at DS school) is that these photos will date far more so than the traditionally posed ones.

We have had balloons and hula hoops as props. Ghastly!

Yes I bought one

No you must buy and keep them all so that when your children are 35 or so they can spend several hours scanning them and posting on facebook.

I got their baby books, scan photos, hospital tags and bracelets, newspapers from the day they were born and 'new arrival' cards down from the loft last week.

The DSs lack of interest was just . Don't know why I bother keeping anything.

I have not seen these. Our school still the does the traditional ones and I am glad if these new ones are like Venture pics.

I personally find Venture pics really naff. They have become the trend that we will all laugh at in a few years - a bit like we do at the peach and green living rooms in the early 1990's.

I also find the price of these kind of photos hilarious and cant beleive people take out finance to pay for them.

my friend has one of these one her living room wall - she is the teacher doing the sandy pose in her first year of teaching lol!

Oops. Apologies for the use of the word Ghastly. Sounds goddam awful. Must be the heat.

As the school is so keen on this why not suggest one of the entire staff, socks off striking a jaunty post with the Head in the middle? One for the local paper maybe.

YANBU

hula hoops and balloons does sound ghastly, Alliwantisaroomsomewhere

I think I'd actually pay double to see DS3's school head posing like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=8jD&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1607&bih=893&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=W6S91yVHcSSzEM:&imgrefurl=shireblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/grease.html&docid=7xjvzFbUtZ_inM&imgurl=3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ouPUgBPylc/T3DWl9oLVNI/AAAAAAAAAgM/JBDqBl4dQq8/s400/grease21.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=kSq-T9qQFMXe8AOI7Pkx&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=367&vpy=602&dur=23&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=107&ty=197&sig=110351287593831527716&page=1&tbnh=153&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:24,s:0,i:189" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this

I love them. At my daughter's school (age 16-19) they have proper class photos at the end of the first 2 years and can do what they like for the final year. All the photos then come out in a year book which is wonderful keepsake.

What they usually do is dress up and pose in a fun way connected to the programme they followed. So this year for example:

Those on the agriculture programme have posed outside sat all over a tractor in dungarees and checked shirts, with mud on their faces and straw in their hair. They've got pitch forks, shovels, strimmers and even a cow and a goat in the picture.

Those on the medicine programme are all dressed up as doctors, nurses and are in the process of badly bandaging up a bewildered looking school caretaker.

The staff photo is taken in the staff room and has them all in various 'end of year states'. I particular like the headteacher lying on a couch in the background with a cloth over his forhead and the school counsellor holding his hand. :o

But my favourite is the choir photo. They're in their choir robes outside the cathedral where they sing, running down the street in very well posed chaotic terror, with a giant t-rex coming out of the cathedral door after them. Love it.

That would be the PERFECT staff photo

Actually the staff one might not have been posed for. The photographer may have just taken them by surprise :o

I think they're fucking dreadful and I absolutely refuse to buy them.

we've had one of these 'contemporary' pictures sent home this week too

for 'contemporary' read '4 seperate pics photoshopped onto one page where it's more than obvious your DD is Not Happy as she's tilted her head so far out of frame she looks like a slack-stringed puppet'

and £12 a pop, that's a really expensive piece of nostalgia

but she has got her shoes on - it's the class teacher that hasn't

Our school allowed us a vote, trad or modern. The overwhelming majority wanted modern.

So in her reception class photo DD is standing like a bemused Jesus at the last supper, arms outstretched, the smaller, shoeless children kneeling at her feet. We call it 'The God Complex' and show it to visitors to see if they react correctly.

NB the correct reaction is 'WTF?'

ShowofHands. That beats my bunting Greaseathon hands down - or rather stretched out.

Ha ha ha the mental image of this is hilarious! Please, please buy it. That photo can later be proudly shown off to first girl friend, at 16th, 18th and 21st birthday party and of course at his wedding! That photo could bring a lifetime of laughs.

DDs came home last week. It is formal, but so tiny I can't see her and can't afford the £14 to buy it.
The worst one she ever had was taken in Bangkok, they had brushed her hair foreward, put powder and lipstick on her and given her a flower to hold.
It was worse for the boys, they had a gun to point at the camera.

They're complete rubbish, and you have to buy it already framed for an extra £35 because they don't make frames that shape.
My youngest (who is actually a very gregarious, popular boy) appeared in his reception photo in pride of place in the very centre, all on his own holding the class monkey! He looked a right billy no mates and was really upset because all his friends were grouped together.

Agree, horribly naff. The thumbs ups, the hands on hips... cringes with embarrassment...

The trouble is that some parents like them (the same ones who have Venture photographs taking up an entire wall of their sitting room).

We had this mile long photo and the dreadful photoshopping thing at my sons school last year. The tallest boy ended up looking like he was of distinctly average height! Had to trawl through lots of toe-curlingly awful proofs to get a semi-decent head shot of my son. All the children look SO self-conscious and awkward. Also - what is with the small groups in stupid poses thing? They were not my son's friends AND we didn't even get the bunting. They did at least have shoes on YANBU! (hoists bosom).