Boycott school photos

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I'm sick of it every year. They cost a fortune. I know some £ go to the school but surely they can raise money without us parents having to pay a small fortune for photos of our own kids. Surely school photos are old fashioned now, we all have brilliant cameras in our pockets now and take photos of everything. I feel guilted into buying them and they are a rip off.

AIBU to think we should all start boycotting school photos? DH had a point when he said we were not asked for permission for this company to come take photos of our children. Why should we be cornered like this ?

I like the naffness of them. The fact that they've got the same, awful record of their school years as I have.

YANBU. Donate some of the money you would have spent to the school instead, or something else or do nothing if you prefer it's up to you.

Boycott them? How dramatic.

Sometimes I don't buy the individual ones as I have loads of great pics of my DD already, but I always buy the whole class photos because they'll be fun for her to look back on when she's older.

Yes Aja ! It's the naff-factor I can't resist.

It was only last week my DC 26&24 and DP had the photo box out and we had such a laugh at the school photos of our DC it was a priceless memory. I still print all my fave photos as I worry about the future and if digital photos are all lost one day in a massive cyber terrorist attack. they are not that expensive just have the cheapest package and look forward to having a good laugh in 20 years time.

Boycott them? Talk about over-reaction. Just don’t buy them, they’re not compulsory. As for giving permission, you’ll have done that on a general permission form that asks about photos in school - possibly signed as far back as reception.

I haven’t bought any for the past couple of years as they looked pretty much the same, i didnt need loads of pic sizes of the same pic and to buy a variety was just really expensive.
My friends son is in nursery and the photos were lovely! Not just the same old style sat down portrait but they took them into the playground and took various play pictures indoor activity ones and the main ones were of him sat on a tree stump with a big genuine smile as it didnt feel forced!
The pics were really lovely and she bought them all.
I think people just get fed up of paying loads for the same style portrait every year i think i will just buy the end of year 6 one when that time comes to look back on x

As above
My eldest dds are 23 and 21.
The class photos are priceless.
Dont want your child involved? Tell the school .

I love my ds school photos. We always get the solo one of him and the one of his class. Theylll be great to look back on in years to come

So, you want your child to feel excluded when their class goes together photo taken because you can’t manage not to buy the photos?

OP, please get your DH to go into the school and complain about the school getting the photographer in without consulting him. I’m sure the office staff could do with a good laugh.

I don't mind one or two school photos now and again (class photo in leaving year, that sort of thing), but I rarely buy them. I dislike the way the photographer comes without us being informed and then the photos come home with a payment form and you have to pay or return . And the photos are poor quality and extremely dull. I much prefer natural pictures of my children engaged in something they love. This isn't the UK, and I think I would hate it more if it was - I'm very uncomfortable with the fetishisation of perfect uniform in the current UK system and dislike the idea of photgraphs of my children as 'smart' dressed-up dolls.

I could maybe see the point of a traditional class photo. I think those modern photoshopped ones of them all holding objects are a bit daft

I dislike the way the photographer comes without us being informed

I’d be really surprised if there was nothing at all on the school website or newsletter about school photographs.

Schools normally want children to look smart for the photos and the reminders serve to get parents of children who are normally missing a tie, school sweatshirt, etc. to get themselves organised.

I mentioned upthread I used to organise this for a secondary school. The right to take and use photos for internal purposes was part of the school home contract. The dates were booked a year in advance and always noted on the online and paper school calendars. Nevertheless, many parents overlooked it so a staff member had to be on hand to hand out a comb/hairbrush/tie/wetwipes/clean blazer to students who were not wearing correct uniform or had come to school looking a little scruffy.

It was important that all students were dressed identically as possible in the future because (sadly) the school was in a very deprived area with high levels of gang and youth crime so the year group photos often had to be printed out to use as a starter, informal ‘ID parade’ either internally or to help local police. From that POV keeping them attired similarly was the fairest option. It also meant that even students whose personal circumstances meant that the correct uniform wasn’t always available to them looked as smart as their classmates when the photos came out.

Non-uniform system, SuburbanRhonda (and a casual dressing culture and a lot less store on 'looking smart' in general). Plus a bit of a - shall I say - lacking attitude to data protection, in parts.

I like them. Very rare to have mine smart and clean and not covered in leaves, mud or goo.

If you don't want them, don't buy them.

If you don't want your children being photographed in school by this person (who, by the way, does have permission if you agreed to photos being taken in school for school purposes) then write to the school.

Clearly a lot of people do buy them or it would have died out by now. I'm not overly keen on the new ones with the awful, busy background with that fake bokeh so I get out my own studio kit and take them myself; however, that's just me. My facebook feed at the moment is full of people posting the proofs of their children's school photos and gushing about how smart/happy/beautiful/grown up they look so by encouraging people to boycott this tradition is going to a) put the photographers out of business and b) deny the people I've mentioned the pleasure they get from these pictures.

Its ours today - I like them because I can't get the pair of my kids to look in the same direction at the same time so someone who can do that is worth paying out for! I think I bought 4 last year (they take a lot at ours) across the pair of my kids - the best individual one each, and two nice sibling pair ones - but I buy the digital format and just get the prints I want ordered elsewhere as the packs never quite have the permutations of photos you want for the relatives who want them.

My mother, charmingly, used to buy mine every year as she wanted an up to date photo in case I got murdered or kidnapped! Thanks for that charming reasoning mum!

And the reason they cost so much money is that this is the photographer's job. It pays their bills.

Yes, a decent print might only cost £1.50 but don't forget you're also paying for the photographer's insurance, maintenance of equipment, time, travel costs, photoshop subs, income tax and ni, printing costs, post and packaging, training and updating skills etc etc etc. It's not like they just turn up, take a few snaps and then go to pub for the rest of the day. After all that, the £9 or whatever it was that they charged last year for a 12x8" print at our school doesn't actually seem that bad.

When I was at school (back in the Jurassic), we were told the photos were compulsory whether or not the parents had any intention of buying them.

It was to ensure there is a large, clear, relatively recent photo of every kid just in case they go missing or something and the police etc need an identifying photo to publicise. Well, that was the story, anyway.

I can imagine a number of scenarios where the authorities might want easy access to a clear identifying photo of a kid.

I wouldn't mind them if they were any good. My child is objectively photogenic - I don't know what the school photographers do but they are incapable of taking a decent photo of my child. I have bought one out of the 5 years worth that have been taken.

They took 2 poses of my son. The cheapest I can buy them is £11 each and that's for 1 photo of each pose. I don't mind contributing to the school but I feel we are all being ripped off.

They're not making you buy them though so if you feel you're being overcharged or that they're not offering you the service you wish, go elsewhere.
Tbh I don't think that £11 is that bad for a print of that size; if you see my post above it explains why photographers charge what they do for the products and services they sell.