To think that school photographs are abominably expensive?

[Birdly]

Just got the DC's class photos. Lovely pix of them with their friends and teachers in a cheap as chips cardboard frame - £10.50 each! EACH!

So that's 2 DC and, ideally, I'd like to give a copy of each to my mum. That's £42.

Has the world gone mad?

Excellent point, Tyler. They cost so very little per head to produce these days.

I don't mind the school getting a bit of the profit but, really, it all looks a bit greedy on the part of the photography companies.

Boo hiss!

Oooo don't get me started on this one.

Our school was using the crappiest of the crap school photographer for the last 3 or so years. The pictures were out of focus and dreadful(kids actually grimacing,taken at completely the wrong time). The pictures were sooo bad there were queues at the school office and he often came back to try again. One class teacher offered to have a go herself, actually my 6 year old could have done better.

Thanks to this I have no school pics of my kids as the pics were extortionate even though crap,there was no cheap option pack.

I think it was outrageous that even though the school knew the pics were shite they kept on rebooking the guy/fleecing parents.

Thankfully the school has seen the light and got rid of said photographer who is part of a very well know outfit.

Anyhow I sent off for a pack that never turned up,had a nasty e-mail saying I wouldn't get a refund because I'd sent photos back in the past.We were told they were on approval but obviously that got forgotten.The website didn't want to know because it was franchise.

I think schools have a responsibility to parents to ensure that we're not getting ripped off. They shouldn't be selling stuff that is basically shite or way overpriced. or from a non reliable company. Our school jumpers at £10 a shot are shite too but because they are the school jumpers we have to buy them. Honestly a lot of school photos are soooo shite you could do better on a cheap digital camera yourself to be honest.

Complete rip-off - and as to accredititation - you are having a laugh!
Who cares about CRB or PLI in this context - phographer turns up, has no unsupervised access to kids - goes away, prints off a few banks the dosh and leafs through the brochures to choose his next yacht.
We were soft enough to fall for tteh scam when DS1 was in recpetion - now we don't bother - posed phots pretty awful anyway - action shots much more vivid we can take just as good with a digital on hols.
Scool class photos just dire...

wait til they get to uni...they are even worse. More expensive and not particularly good. They took 2 of my son in his graduation gown which were only just ok except he looked as if his degree certificate was being held like a truncheon. The 2 family ones were dreadful. one ,i was laughing and the other ,his dad wasnt smiling at all. It costs nothing to look at digital photos and then redo it ,especially on such an important day. I am hoping that some of his friends have got better ones of the family group as i am loathe to buy them.

TOTAL RIP OFF.

Wish i could rehire the gown,but that is £40 for half a day. Its all such an emotional rip off.

Thanks for your comments

All SPP members think that CRB checks are important to our profession. No, you don't need one to work in a school as a photographer but would you like a convicted sex offender on school premises? I certainly would not like that to happen at my children's school.

School photography is not as profitable you may think. With all the school holidays and times when school do not need photographs taken, a school photographer only has work for about 7 months of the year. As for sales, they are dropping every year as more and more parents take their own photos and/or copy their school photos rather than buy reprints. I'm not pointing fingers about copying, but because it's so easy to do, people do it without actually knowing they are breaking the copyright law.

Also, your school takes a HUGE cut from photo sales - up to 30%. In fact they make far more money than the school photographer does. This goes to providing extra facilities for your children.

As for the skill of the photographer, quality of poses, quality of product, service and price, that's all down to individual photography companies. That's where our accreditation system wins. Sadly, not all companies have high standards and many employ part-time photographers during he busy periods to shoot jobs. This is because of the low profit margins in school photos. You get what you pay for.

Why was my first post delete?

Hmm, our local school have just spent £500 on a school photographer and the cheapest photo is £13.50 for a whole school photo.

Am sure a parent could've done it cheaper.

At our school, the photographer takes the pics and you get a small proof copy sent to you printed on the orderform, along with a description of various packs. I pay about £10 for a pack of various size pics to send out.

And unless you specifically pay for the right to reproduce the pics at home, etc, you CANNOT do this. You may be the parent, but as the photographer took the picture, he or she owns the copyright, not you.

Buying one pciture and then going off to get more done elsewhere because it is cheaper is actually against copyright law!

If you're talking about whole school groups, you're talking mega-money before you even start. No photographer is going to risk loosing money on a shoot are they!

Staging has to transported and then erected by specialist staff - a whole day job. £500 is about right, but then your school gets commission on sales so they get that back and make more on top.

Regarding this comment, they would not be SPP accredited members. That's what schools like about us.

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"Our school was using the crappiest of the crap school photographer for the last 3 or so years. The pictures were out of focus and dreadful(kids actually grimacing,taken at completely the wrong time). The pictures were sooo bad there were queues at the school office and he often came back to try again. One class teacher offered to have a go herself, actually my 6 year old could have done better.

Thanks to this I have no school pics of my kids as the pics were extortionate even though crap,there was no cheap option pack.

I think it was outrageous that even though the school knew the pics were shite they kept on rebooking the guy/fleecing parents.

Thankfully the school has seen the light and got rid of said photographer who is part of a very well know outfit.

Anyhow I sent off for a pack that never turned up,had a nasty e-mail saying I wouldn't get a refund because I'd sent photos back in the past.We were told they were on approval but obviously that got forgotten.The website didn't want to know because it was franchise"

one uni photo....unframed .just on cardboard mount £25.50 for an 8 x 10. Think im in the wrong job.

It is a company the uni have used for years. Professional photos...i could have done better myself if i could have used the backdrop and lighting.

Angry ripped off parent.

YANBU, they're usually vile too.

Universities demand extortionate kickbacks - far high that schools demand! That's why the prices are so high.

I think there is a general misconception here. Your school makes more money than the photographer - they will be the ones "thumbing through the brochure for a new yacht".

And, if you don't like the photos, get your school to change! There are plenty of companies around that produce stunning work and are run by dedicated school photography professionals.

The school photography industry has become dominated by a growing number of large companies that to remain competitive, often aim for quantity over quality and sadly this has led to low expectations from both schools and parents.

Independent school photographers are usually able to offer a far more friendly, flexible and efficient service than you are used to. Also, they will endeavour to produce the best possible results in order to achieve the highest possible sales - which is good for their businesses and also good for you.

One of our members asked me to post this:

======== FROM AN SPP MEMBER =========

"The Mona Lisa is only a piece of canvass and 10pence worth of ink, but it is priceless. Why because of the artist.

School photography does not just involve coming into your school and just taking some snaps.

There is expensive equipment that has to be taken into account, seasonal working time and of course a commission to the school.

Photographs are expertly printed using expensive software and a skilled workforce.

To be fair its our Job and we are constantly negotiating with the school for the very best price for the product. In certain circumstances where photographs are cheaper this can be replicated in the quality of the image and more importantly the service and print quality of the finished product. Most school photography companies use professional papers which are designed to give a lifetime of longevity, unlike the high street and online labs who use cheaper and inferior paper.

Also when you have people unlawfully copying the product the photographer then has to increase his prices to honest parents to maintain his livelihood.

Over the past few years school photography has changed and a majority of parents get a proof rather than a sale or return Package, that mums felt they were pressured into buying. Now its up to you to buy these products if you want. The difference between these two services has drastically decreased the photographers turnover.

Most photography companies will strive to give the best prices, with very little profit, but like everyone we have to make a living. Also it is worth pointing out that actually school photographs have been getting progressively cheaper over the last two decades (compared with inflation), with the advent of new technologies."

========= END ===========

any more tooting of your own horn and we'll be deafened!

I don't understand why the individual (not class) photo can't also be sold as a jpeg file, allowing the parent access to a high res image they can then print at home, for say £10. This means revenue for the photographer and unlimited use, circulation for the parent. It feels so archaic to buy printed photos in this day and age! With famiyl spread globally how much nicer would it be to email the pic around to family members to show them DC in uniform!

You can buy images on CD. Photographers have been selling them for the past 5 years or so .

in which case why is everyone so upset?!
how much does a cd cost?

DD first school photo was fine - cheaper than the nursery for a value pack and we got big, medium, little, keyrings, calendars and bookmarks for just under £50. Plus the Grandmothers contributed so that was nice. It covered family for christmas presents but we are a bit odd like that in our family and love photos.
Possibly as it was the first one I was swept away by emotion and in the future will think I was conned!
Interestingly they took DDS glasses off - very odd, why did they do that?

Oh and we got the photo emailed as part of the pack so we could reproduce ourselves.

Hi I work for a new smaller School photography company. The guys used to work for 2 of the biggest companies in the Country and got so fed up with the same old fashioned style and the way they treated customers. We do CD's with a license on for £20 then £5 per extra image.

The school gets a lot from commissions and there is a lot of outgoings involved. You are not just paying for the paper of the photograph. It's all the behind the scenes that goes into it.

Interestingly they took DDS glasses off - very odd, why did they do that?

Perhaps the photographer was having problems with reflections. With some extreme prescriptions, glasses can reflect the umbrella or softbox being used but if you know what you are doing, it should not be a problem. If a kid wear glasses, that's how they should be shot in my opinion. At a push do both - glasses on and glasses off and let the parent choose.

By the way, what's DDS?

so the cds do not have the copyright for the parents? or can they pay £20 then print as many as they like?

Yes they are really over the top and not even that good I think I will just buy on alternate years and then even then only if they are really good.

As has been pointed out, we do know what our children look like!

My son has been in some group photos where they are all a tiny teeny pic it is a waste of time!