To dislike her first school photo

[Downandout21]

It really is awful.

I was so excited about her first one but it just hasn't turned out great.

I'm thinking about taking my own photo of her in her uniform, but how do I then get them printed in the school package form?

I didn't like my son's first one at all. Teen years later and I love it!

That’s an excellent suggestion

We've not bought either of DD's first two as they are truly awful. Last year we honestly wondered if we had the wrong one as it looked absolutely nothing like her (including her hair looking ginger not blond). This year at least looks like her but her eyes are completely screwed up as they've evidently told her to "say cheese" and she's complied rather too well!

You’ve been lucky.

Or you possibly have bad taste in photos.

That’s what we’ve had. I’ve only known it was Dc because it looked MORE like them than anyone else in the class on closer examination, but still kind of double-take: “ who IS that?”

I think it must be because the Dc are being instructed how to look and it’s wholly unnatural for them to pull that expression. Then something about that ginger-blonde lighting as well.

The children are excited and the whole process is a bit like herding manic cats! 😅
Brilliant description 😂

My DS always looks uncomfortable and a little surprised in School photos 🙀

The thing is, DS’s school photos really are not a snapshot of how he looked that day. I see snapshots of how he looks in school (in the newsletter) and he looks normal. The official photos look bizarre and nothing like him.

Why would I spend £30 on a photo of my son making a strange grimace with his hair combed forwards into his eyes, when I have tonnes of nice photos of him at home? (the group ones look fine, we buy those).

That's a weird take. That's not even vaguely what I suggested.

I have never been able to get my children to pose in any way without moving so quickly or pulling stupid faces that I have no photos myself other than school ones that are a decent close-up of their faces smiling nicely and naturally.

That's no suggestion in the least that my children are "better". How horrible. Just that we have a good photographer who has been able to capture them nicely somehow and made them sit still and relaxed in a way I've never ben able to. Gave up trying years ago really.

I don't think a photo of my children smiling nicely but also relaxed and well lit means I have bad taste in photos but by all means assume that if you like.

They aren't my favourite ones, I have loads of natural ones in various places that are great. But they are the only posed ones that they look good in I've ever seen.

Aw that's nice I don't get why people are being so mean. I'm happy you love your school photos I expect your kids were very proud sitting nicely to have them taken. Treasure them. It doesn't last forever x

The hair thing I get but that grimace is him learning to smile??

it’s them telling him to hold a smile for longer than is natural. Which is fine, but does make him look absolutely deranged, and we have plenty of photos of him smiling naturally.

If the photos were free I wouldn’t burn them or anything, but they aren’t cheap and I’m not going to pay for photos that don’t even look like him.

I know it seems important now, but it really isn’t. She’ll get loads of photos across the school years. You’ll have loads of other photos too.

If this one is not great then it could be a funny story in years to come.

My eldest was SCOWLING in his 🤣🤣 still gave it to all the grandmas for Christmas, and now he looks down disapprovingly from the mantelpiece

Aww I buy them all.

It was just a joke @DappledThings.

As I said in my first line, you’ve clearly been lucky. I’m glad you’ve had some nice ones.

The rest was just a throwaway line because for many of us you’d need bad taste to like them. But I’m glad yours were nice, and have no reason to assume they weren’t great if you say they were, as I haven’t seen them. We have a couple of nice ones - so i know it is possible.

DD is in Yr6 and we’ve only ever bought one. She’s always grinning like she’s had an electric shock! 😂

They’ve had a joint one taken this year as DS has joined her school, I might get it if it’s a good one, but not holding out much hope!

tbh the one we did buy is still sat in the envelope as I never bought a frame for it.

I definitely don’t buy the class ones either, £20 for a picture of someone else’s kids - no thanks 😂

Tempest by any chance? Never had a good one from them of any of mine. Over rated, over priced and underwhelming.

When I worked in a primary school office I persuaded HT to go with a local photographer who had done a brilliant job with the mother & toddler group. Far better photos & still donated a percentage to school funds.

They're pretty handy for being able to identify any one of 2000 kids that you've got in a school at any given moment.

(The companies provide a licence and download for the MIS).

When I was at school, we HAD to have the school photo taken whether we wanted to or not. There were quite a lot of kids who, by the age of 15 or so, didn't want to do it and said their parents definitely didn't want to buy one. But they were told it was compulsory anyway, because it was important to have a clear photo on record of every child each year, just in case they ever went missing or a photo was needed of them for some other reason. (In my school I would say it was more likely there might be a warrant out for their arrest - but I digress.)

So maybe it's still done for that reason?

Otherwise it all seems really, really pointless in the era of smartphones. The prices are ridiculous and I already have a million better photos of my kid that year.

School photos are often terrible! Terrible lighting and they only spend seconds with each kid. A professional photography session will spend an hour at least and take hundreds, edit them much more carefully etc. In the ‘80s my Mum used to take us to Olan Mills: she never bought the school ones.

My son's was bad too because dh put gel in his hair and by the time the photo was taken, ds has ruffled his fair so much is was a mess!

I contacted a local photographer to take a new picture in his uniform.

Yes tempest for my son's one!!

School photos are notoriously awful. Adults now, we all laugh about them.