AIBU to just use the free photoshoot and not buy any prints?

[PhotoPromotion]

I have a won a photoshoot for my family which I am very grateful for, as it’s not something we can afford to pay for ourselves.

The shoot we have won gives us different scenes and one free framed photo of our choice.

I would love a professional photo of us altogether, but my family are saying it is cheeky to take them up on the prize if I am not intending to buy anymore prints.

I am aware they do these giveaways in the hopes people will then go on to spend hundreds on the photos, but unfortunately that’s not money we have, and it is a prize I won fair and square.

They are making me feel entitled and embarrassed to go ahead with it and just get the free print.

AIBU?

These are normally scam to get you to buy expensive photos. Everyone wins.

We’ve done this before, it’s a reputable company; it’s not a scam.

You absolutely can leave with just the free print.

so you have done this before? with the same company? and just for the freebie?

They’re normally insanely overpriced in order to get you to spend more. I would not in any way call them reputable. I thought this scam had ended with digital cameras becoming more prevalent

Yes, but in the past we have spent a couple of thousand with them on two other shoots. We just can’t afford to now our family is bigger.

@Seedsout I am curious as to what you think the scam is here?

I think it's fine, as long as there is nothing in any contract for you to buy a minimum number. It's also not a 'free print', if this is a prize then presumably there is normally a cost to the photoshoot and the framed print. So this has been bought for you effectively and paid for by someone else. Its up to you whether you choose to buy more than one print.

When I did this before and said no thanks I'll just take the minimum number of prints (think it was 3 or something) they said they'd do me a deal on the cost of purchasing more, just something to bear in mind

Absolutely do it! They wouldn't do it if they didn't count on the possibility of not getting a sale. Be prepared for the hard sell though!

you spent a couple of …. thousand?!!!

YANBU to just take the photoshoot and free print. They will definitely have set up the 'competition' in the hope that whoever wins will like the photos and want to buy more, but if they choose to market this way they know there is a chance that some people will just take the freebie. However, when I won a similar thing there was a HUGE amount of pressure to buy more- we had to arrange a viewing appointment to look at all the photos with them (rather than just looking online). The encouraged us to invite grandparents to come along to view too and when we declined there was a lot of talk about whether they would be disappointed to have missed out on the chance to see the lovely photos etc. Even as someone who is renowned as not being a push over it was really hard to sit with the photographer, agree that the pictures were lovely, but at the end just ask for the freebie (not the book of photos/extra large wall picture/copies for the grandparents etc).

your home must already be covered in these professional looking very sleek photos

just go for something a lot more natural and candid these time around. Use family photos. and i reckon they will look SO much more genuine and joyful than the professional ones

We've done this. We said initially that we were only going to get the free print and that's what we did. The photographer still insisted on taking various combinations of photos and showing us a slideshow of the photos to music. We stick to the free print though. My friend also won a free photo shoot and print and she was just going to have the free one too. However she gave in and ended up spending over 2000 pounds on photos.

They will probably give the free with any purchase. Check first.

how do you know that this will company will absolutely give only the free print and no pressure… unless you have done precisely that in the past with this company?

so the family including children get dressed up and waste a weekend afternoon doing this… for one 6x4? 8x10? print?

If this is the well known company that I think it probably is, then they will no doubt try extremely hard to give you the hard sell on their absurdly overpriced photographs. I would have no qualms at all about taking the free print if you're confident that you can resist their high pressure sales tactics. It's hardly as if the company operates ethically in any case.

Don’t do the white shirt/blue jeans/bare feet thing. Nobody wants to see a photo of anyone’s bare feet.

Because we have done this before.

We’ve used this company a lot, both for paid shoots and one previous time where we just got the free photo we won.

At the moment we are not in a position to buy, but in the future I am planning on spending a lot with this company over the years as the photographer is brilliant.

The photoshoot is this weekend and I was just curious to hear other opinions. I probably will still go ahead.

You might think it’s a waste, but we don’t 🤷‍♀️

Horses for courses.

We do that too, but much prefer professional ones.

I think it’s a numbers game for them. I suppose if one in five get sucked in and spend thousands on some photos then they are quids in. Lots of people do spend the money that’s why the giveaway is an effective marketing tool.

Ive won this prize a few times I’ve never gone though as I would end spending £££s and wondering how the duck that happened.

You won a prize, you should make the most of it. They will try yo sell you other pictures and that's fair enough, but you are perfectly entitled to stick to what you won.

Go along and enjoy the day, you may buy a couple more you may not.

Exactly, it's all priced in.

If they don't want to spend time doing photo shoots for people who don't intend to take any more than the free print that's on offer, then they can stop offering photo shoots with free prints.

so you’ve done professional shoots loads of times. Sometimes paying thousands, other times just the freebie.

Why do you need more? why not go for more natural and family taken ones to mix it up a bit??!