School Photos - do you feel you have to buy them

[crazymum53]

Well its my dds last year at primary school and we were really looking forward to this year's photo. However they have changed the suppliers and it's now more expensive (£15 minimum) and we really don't like the photo anyway.

Was wondering what fellow MNs would do - to buy or not ?

If you don't like them don't bother. The last one we bought for DS3 was the one taken on his first day at secondary. The one where they look so sweet and nervous and still a child! He's 17 now 6'3'' and recent school photo heve been awful so we haven't bought them. They have always been expensive......even more so now most people can take acceptable pics with a phone, and very good ones with a digital camera.

No. DD1s first and second school photos where so awful we declined both.

A friend took a lovely photo of her in her uniform instead.

In a word - no. We bought some of DD from nursery because they were lovely photos, and a couple of DS's at various stages, but by no means all of them - we have more photos than I have time or money to frame anyway, and the school photos are not the nicest ones.

£15 for a photo you don't like - why would you? Take 100's yourselves and pick the nicest one to have printed instead.

I don't buy them if I don't like them.

Round here you can get a good photographer to do a studio session relatively cheaply, then you get all the photos on a disk. I'm thinking of taking the boys and a variety of clothes and getting them to do some shot separately, together, in uniform, in casual clothes. Much better value than school photographer.

No

My mother used to buy them because I've always hated having my picture taken and, "I need an up to date photo of you to give to the police if you ever go missing."

Yeah - nice logic there mum!

If I don't like them I don't buy them. Luckily, there were a few pictured to choose from this year, but they were expensive.

All the options at mine start at £20 and include crap like bookmarks, keyrings and those cardboard frames in the package. Most of the sizes are silly too.

I think will take my own. But oddly my grandparents don't feel that a beautiful enlarged print of DD is good enough - it has to be an official print in front of that marbly screen in a blue cardboard frame .

No. I resent the prices and the fact I cannot choose the sizes, or the amount of photos I want.

No. I hate them, they are always awful photos and cost a bloody fortune. DD has got a lisp and last time the photographer made her say biscuits, you can imagine what the photo looked like....

I complained, along with a few other mums and the photographer came back and re-took the pictures but I still didn't buy it because the second one was just as dreadful.

I would far rather take one at home and print it out.

No. The photo was terrible. Why would I pay for something I could do better myself?

Oh I am glad it's not just me then. I didn't buy any of my kids' photos this year. They were okish but the minimum package offered was £21, so with 3 kids so far a school/preschool that would have come to £63....ridiculous for a grand total of 3 photos...

I did feel a bit mean though!

yes I def feel like I have to buy them!!! Although my dd is quite photogenic IMO haven't had a really terrible picture yet though!!!

No - I am boycotting them this year (have always bought before, mainly for the grandparents) in protest because they suddenly declared siblings couldn't be photographed together. So that would automatically double my spend, and triple some of my friends'. So bollocks to em.

No. If I don't want them I don't buy them. I take pictures of the dcs all the time for nothing.

Mine are all teenagers so I usually buy a single photo (8 x 6) for around £9. This time there was no single print option and I don't have enough friends and family to dump 27 different sized prints on so I emailed the company and they said no problem they would do me a single print. Maybe worth contacting the company if you like the photo?

No, haven't bought the single photos - like others say, why not take your own photo in uniform, then you can take loads til you get a good one.

I do buy the class photos, though. They only do them every other year, and I think they make a nice memento for later life, to remember teacher, classmates etc.

DS always looks miserable and like he's trying to escape (ASD). A prominant part of each photo is the poor TA's bruised arm clamped across his chest!

Trying to get a passport photo (eyes open, mouth closed) was another challenge. Candid shots are definitely the best.

Well I did buy them this year because finally - for one year only - all three are at the same school! . The packages started at a fairly reasonable £8.50 which isn't too painful.

But generally I only buy them if they are nice. Messy hair, goofy expressions, tombstone teeth - no thanks.

Last year a teacher attacked ds1's hair with a hairbrush before the photo. Being naturally curly he ended up with a bouffant 'do like the Queen. Good for a laugh, but not at £8.50!

Only if they're nice. The last two have had my DD's glasses fallen down her nose and the top frame going right across the middle of her eyes in the photo - gives a sort of weasly effect. So no I didn't buy them but took some nice ones myself instead. My mum bought all of them and I don't think it's good for your self esteem to have bad photos of yourself all over the house for decades.