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Education

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Original poster

My DD's school photos are awful..........................

76 replies

Fimbo · 07/11/2005 12:38

so awful in fact that DH is refusing to buy them, especially as we have taken better ones of her ourselves. Help! I feel awful having to take them back to the school office and say I don't want them - anyone else done this before?

OP posts:

roisin · 07/11/2005 18:21

I used to be a bit surprised at the disappointing quality of school photos, then I helped out at school (secondary) during the photography session. The photographer was there for 2 hours, and took photos of just under 400 kids You do the Maths!

At our primary school (c.500 children) the photographer is there for two days, but even so he probably gets less than a minute per child.

puff · 07/11/2005 18:23

rofl at moondog's post !

I've also sent some back.

Wish I'd done so with ds1's first baby pic in hospital - talk about grim.

marthamoo · 07/11/2005 18:28

Nah, I've not bought all of ds1's - they're too expensive to buy if you hate the picture.

Incidentally, ds2 had his done at pre-school the other week - it was a nice picture (they sent a passport sized 'proof' home so we could see) so I opted for the full package (£20 ) Dropped the money in that morning when I took him (they specified cash only) and when I picked him up 2 and a half hours later the pictures were waiting. Just shows how much profit they must make - they print up a full set of every single child (and some children had two pictures to choose from so presumably two full sets), knowing some parents won't want them, or will only want 1 picture - they wouldn't do it if the wastage ate into their profits too much.

twirlaround · 07/11/2005 18:33

If they are crap then I don't buy them. We have a lot of nice pictures already, so why buy crap ones from someone else?

katierocket · 07/11/2005 18:38

just to echo others - I don't think twice about saying no if I don't like them. I don't think it's a reflection on you as a parent!

Actually I think most school photos are awful because they are posed and don't capture the essence of the child IFYKWIM.

moondog · 07/11/2005 18:53

Puff,don't think even dh has seen the pictures of the werewolf that passed for my newborn, courtesy of hospital 'photographer'.

kama · 07/11/2005 18:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

KBear · 07/11/2005 18:57

I sent back DD's reception picture - her plait had fallen out one side and her hair covered half her face. I was disappointed but I'd taken one of her on her first day at school standing all proud by the school gate and that has pride of place on the mantelpiece. The awful one, had I bought it, would be hidden in a drawer so what would be the point?

Janh · 07/11/2005 19:01

I sent DS2's back a few times when he was little, because they were bad pics, and he was mortified - he thought saying I didn't like them meant I didn't like the way he looks, and it was impossible to get through what I did mean, so that was fun

(Deep and meaningful communication still tough because he switches off when he doesn't like the message.)

kama · 07/11/2005 19:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Janh · 07/11/2005 19:08

I think some school photograph places still do those, kama - ours never did, primary school used to have Tempest who do various packages of small/medium/large but not a big sheet of tiny.

In fact the best pics we ever had were with one of those Tempest photographers who takes them by the dozen; our school stopped using Tempest in favour of one of those phony studio ones (who gave them a bigger cut) with a chaise longue, fake plants and soft-focus, the pics were a sad compromise - cheap for studio but dear for school and you couldn't really see his face properly which is why I didn't get them.

joanna4 · 07/11/2005 19:09

I sent my kids back once it was so dire but boots chemist have a photographer and it is 5 pounds for a nice size portrait as an offer so i took them there instead and it was lovely.

aloha · 07/11/2005 19:37

Moondog how odd, I had a werewolf too! ROTFL

Gobbledigook · 07/11/2005 19:39

I sent back ds1's nursery photo last Christmas as quite honestly it was horrible. It was not a great photo of him cos he was shy and looked like he was half crying but it was sort of grainy and they'd sat him in this naff sleigh!! Cannot abide themed photos!! It looked sort of 60's the way it was taken so I scanned onto the pooter for posterity and sent it back

moondog · 07/11/2005 19:41

I sometimes get it out of the chest it is hidden in in the attic to give myself the heebeegeebees.

He's gorgeous now though-blonde curls a la Lord Fauntleroy and blue blue eyes.

aloha · 07/11/2005 19:42

Oddly enough dd is also staggeringly lovely now. I thought she was a beautiful newborn, but, um, she wasn't!

sunnydelight · 07/11/2005 19:45

DS2s is so horrible there is no way I am paying money for it, but luckily you don't actually have to hand them back - you just don't order and the whole thing has gone over DS2s head. I was furious with DS1s (secondary) school as they tried to get you to pay for them BEFORE the photos were taken!!!!! Not much incentive there to make them look ok! They made a really big deal about how much more expensive they would be if you decided to see the proof first. A friend of a friend is a professional photographer and has taken some gorgeous pictures of my friend's kids, so I thought it would be nice for Christmas to have all three of my kids photographed together. I'd much prefer to spend the money on that.

aloha · 07/11/2005 20:39

I've mentioned this before, but recently found some nursery pics of ds in which he looks so like Boris Johnson it's quite upsetting.

moondog · 07/11/2005 20:41

Is it any consolation to know that my neighbour the MP thinks that Boris is great????

aloha · 07/11/2005 20:43

But would you like to see a two year old Boris over breakfast? Because that's what he looked like!

moondog · 07/11/2005 20:44

Ok..point made......

Really (says she weakly) he has only good things to say about him.....

Janh · 07/11/2005 21:07

Oh I lurve Boris I'm not ashamed to say, moondog (but agree a 2-yr-old version would be scary first thing in the morning )

nooka · 07/11/2005 21:46

My mother always sent all the pictures back - I think there are just a couple of each of us throughout school. She didn't like us in uniform, and never liked the pictures. I think that was because she cut our hair, and the evidence upset her! I can't remember feeling upset about it. We get the proofs home for choice, and sometimes we have got them. As the school doesn't tell us when the photographer is coming it's hard to make sure they are looking OK, and then they pull weird faces. This year we are just going with the one of them together, which is quite nice. I'd love to do a professional shoot, but haven't found anywhere that does "natural" pictures yet.

pinotgrigio · 08/11/2005 03:31

My mum didn't have a single picture of me displayed EVER, at any point in my childhood. She did commission a set of hand painted portraits of the dogs though, which had pride of place on the walls.

I am still bitter.

bonym · 08/11/2005 09:49

I didn't buy DD1's last set of photos - like you, we have much nicer ones of her that we have taken ourselves, so don't see any point in paying out for terrible ones. She didn't seem to mind.

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