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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that this is a total rip off ?

34 replies

Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:05

We take DS to swimming lessons - he is 13 months. We got a letter through recently to see if we wanted to take part in underwater photo shoot thing. It will cost £30 to turn up then the smallest photo is £47 quid. Its says on the publicity blurb that the best images are really the bigger ones - so it would be over £100. I really liked the idea of getting a photo but it just feels like such a rip off. Do you reckon I will regret it if we don't go for it ? am I just being mean and is this just how much this sort of thing costs ?

OP posts:
nickytwotimes · 21/02/2009 19:06

It is a rip off, though it probably is what these sort of things cost. I owuldn't waste my money.

choosyfloosy · 21/02/2009 19:08

Erm - don't do it. Unless you have so much spare money that you use old £50 notes to light your fire.

I cannot think of a deathbed situation which would be improved by an enormous picture of my underwater ds on the wall, as opposed to, say, a perfectly ordinary snap taken by me or my dh.

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 21/02/2009 19:09

Like everything else, its a question of priority and how you spend your money.

If that is what the photos cost and you want one, you'll have to pay it.

It does sound expensive though, and you can buy (maybe hire) underwater cameras. DIY?

NorthernLurker · 21/02/2009 19:10

In five years time will a picture of your baby looking happy/bemused/alarmed under water be one of your most treasured possessions? If so then go for it - but you are being ripped off. Pretty much all photography of children is a rip off - the price is inflated by our desire to record pur pride and delight and by the feeling that if we don't buy the photo the child will feel unloved. It's all crap - in your shoes I would spend the £100 on a family day out with a meal and take unlimited photos of my own!

Heated · 21/02/2009 19:11

He's your pfb, right?

I would have considered this with my first and now have regained perspective with my 2nd!

pointydog · 21/02/2009 19:12

total utter waste of money

tiggerlovestobounce · 21/02/2009 19:13

Try this
a bargain by comparison

alandimi · 21/02/2009 19:13

I think I'd regret spending £100 on one photo - sounds like a waste of money.

I'd go buy yourself a disposable underwater camera (they do them for summer holidays) and do it yourself, could be good fun, get lots and lots of different shots which you can make into a huge collage and it would whole lot cheaper!

Original poster
Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:18

liking your responses
of course he is my PFB! and no we def haven't got more money than we know what to do with.
thanks for the link Tigger
As its a well known company I did wonder if I might get some people answering the thread who had them done saying how fab they were and it would be a shame to miss out.
We have got a friend with a cool underwater camera who has offered to take some shots for us - got to be cheaper to take him out for lunch !!

OP posts:
eyeeye · 21/02/2009 19:22

disposable underwater camera costs about £8 and you can have 24 shots and get them enlarged to your heart's desire.

Just because he's your first child doesn't mean you have to turn into a 'nana

diedandgonetodevon · 21/02/2009 19:24

Sounds like a rip-off. I'd go for alandimi's idea and do it myself on holiday.

We've used disposable underwater cameras before when we were snorkelling and the pics were pretty good quality plus you'll have the satisfaction of having the pics plus 100+ quid in your pocket!

SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:26

I'm weeping with laughter at the suggestions of the disposable underwater cameras

myfunnynametaken · 21/02/2009 19:28

SoupDragon - Why?

expatinscotland · 21/02/2009 19:28

£100!

For only £80 we had a local shop take a photo of our daughters sitting on a couch and turn it into a picture of them as two fairies, on a canvas, in a frame. And it's big, too!

That sounds a rip off.

piscesmoon · 21/02/2009 19:30

A complete waste of money.

SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:34

Because it will be absolutely impossible to get a shot of your child with one and it will be cr*p unless taken in bright sunlight. It is difficult enough with a digital camera in an underwater case - I know, I've tried.

The photographer will be wearing a weighted diving belt to keep them underwater, they will have £1000s of equipment and lighting. There really is no comparison.

I have had it done for all 3 SmallDragons and the photos are out of this world but we could afford it and we only got 5x7 prints (or possibly slightly bigger). The poncey expensive ones are definitely a waste of money - a small photo is sufficient. Unless you are noly going to have 1 child or get one of all your children at once... actually, no. They're rubbish and tacky then too, as are the large Venture ones.

piscesmoon · 21/02/2009 19:36

Do you actually want an underwater picture!

Original poster
Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:40

Having seen them I did want one yes as they do look good but I resent the feeling of being taken for a mug just because I have a child.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:43

IIRC, mine were a similar fee for the shoot but the photos weren't that expensive - unless you went poncey and OTT.

SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:46

DS1 but the actual photo is much better and only roughly 5x7.

I think the prices you're being quoted for prints are OTT though.

Original poster
Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:46

hmm - maybe if it was the same well known swimming classes for babies they have upped the prices. The smallest one you can get is £47 plus the £30 fee. Given the equipment etc I wouldn't mind paying for the shoot but I think the pictures are well overpriced.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:47

x posted

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:47

To get a decent shot you also need excellent water quality (so if you were go for it, go for a slot early in the day).

Original poster
Sazlocks · 21/02/2009 19:49

thanks - I think we will try our friends camera idea first and see how we get on.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 21/02/2009 19:49

Are they based in Sussex?

DS1's were don't by Little Dippers, as were DS2's I think. By the time I got to DD, they had a separate franchise called WaterBabies for the photos who were then taken over by, er, someone else (H2O something I think) last year.