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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Crap school photo

55 replies

Clarabel22 · 28/11/2011 12:35

Can't believe how dreadful my childrens' school photo is this year. I have just called the company (Gillman and Soame) and said to them that it looked like someone has simply said "smile" to my kids, as this is exactly the fake smile they produce when asked to smile on demand (and it really does look comical). Surely a photographer's job is to engage with the subject and get a natural smile out of them? Anyway, she actually said to me that "in the current climate" their photographers are not allowed to talk to the children except to say "smile". I give up.

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Ihavewelliesbutitssunny · 28/11/2011 12:51

How old are your DC and is it whole class or individual/sibling photos? I do see your point but at the same time the photographers may not neccesarily have time to make all the kids smile naturally. I think even as adults we don't neccesarily use our most natural best smile in photos it does often look a bit forced. For the best pics of your kids you should try taking lots of photos at home when they're engaged in a natural fun activity and then just delete the ones that look too forced.

marge2 · 28/11/2011 12:53

We have had this issue the last two years. So many of the parents complained that they got the photographers back in to retake, each year. I think they try to process the kids like on a conveyor belt and don't take the time to get a nice expression. Obviously got three schools to do today or something. I didn't buy any this year!

ContinentalKat · 28/11/2011 12:56

I haven't bought the photos for the last 2 years as they were absolutely dreadful. Just take some nice pics yourself and save yourself heaps of money at the same time.

edoli · 28/11/2011 13:00

Such a shame- at our last school they used a great company called Pret A Portrait and the pictures were lovely, more like something you would get from Venture or one of those expensive places.

At our current school it's the same company you have and they are not a patch on Pret a Portrait. Perhaps if nobody buys any they will get the hint!

ibizagirl · 29/11/2011 06:27

You are lucky you have got a photo! During my dd's time at primary she didn't have one decent photo. Reception class photo never came out - it was completely black. Apparently they only take one snap of each child. Year 1 was awful. Completely out of focus with what looked like double exposure. Year 2 never came out again. Year 3 photo had dd blinking so eyes shut. Year 4 came out blotchy. Year 5 wasn't bad but looked very staged and just stupid. Year 6 was sort of ok. I only bought the last two years when she was sat on her own and all the other years i bought a class photo. The woman who was doing the photos apparently rushed the children in and out. And she said "say smarties" to make them smile.Didn't always work.

pinkytheshrunkenhead · 29/11/2011 07:08

I haven't bought my children's pics for the last 3 years because they look so weird. Last year my youngest DD looked like she had her grimacing head photoshopped on afterwards it was at such a peculiar angle. I always feel a bit bad about not getting them but they are just awful and I feel resentful that I have to pay for something that I really don't think even looks particularly like them - the cheapest set is £16!

wonkylegs · 29/11/2011 07:13

My DS's nursery photos consistently look like he is a evil child photographer hater, honestly on several he looks like he's going to kill the photographer. I don't know how they never ever manage a smile out of him. They are one of those company's who take a bit of time with the kids but somehow each time my son looks miserable -which is odd as he's such a smiley kid , all our photos and nursery's crappy progress photos he looks so happy.

SoupDragon · 29/11/2011 07:15

They are photographing the entire school in one day. They don't have time to "engage" with each and every child.

seeker · 29/11/2011 07:22

All posed photographs are awful. Almost without exception. And they a always too big- who wants a massive mediocre photograph of a child in school uniform? And I feel sorry for all the grandparents who somehow have to find wall space and gratitude for them!

Ihavewelliesbutitssunny · 29/11/2011 14:04

I agree seeker even adult posed photos, I know people with awful graduation photos. My mum used to just keep the mini sample ones they give you while waiting to see if you want to order proper ones, at least they're small.

DamselInDisarray · 29/11/2011 14:09

I haven't bought DS1's school photo for years because they're always dreadful. This year's effort is an attempt at the venture style. It's so overlit (against a white background) that it blanks out any features. Then some fool with photoshop (and no idea what they're trying to achieve) has gone over it to ensure that it bears absolutely no resemblance to a human being never mind DS1.

There are two poses, one at a jaunty angle with part of his head cut off and the other where he's leaning crossed arms on a table (but the table's been photoshopped out so he looks like he's weirdly floating in the air with a body that stops at his arms).

Absolutely dreadful. DS1 and his classmates could have done a better job themselves.

KTk9 · 29/11/2011 14:14

Our photos are awful too, childs head at a strange angle, so posed with arms on table in the front, can't see anything of the uniform, exactly the same as last year. The company Tempest, must have the coined the market, as she moved schools in September and I thought hurray, different photographer - better photos!

I was wrong! 16 miles away, the same photo, same angle, same pose and the CD, which is the cheapest option, with only one photo on it is ridiculously expensive. So, we did our own, in the garden sat with arms in her lap, blazer badge showing, very natural, lovely!

ASuitableGirl · 29/11/2011 14:19

I buy the class photo only. Individual ones always seem to look odd (or is ut just my DC?)

StitchingMoss · 29/11/2011 14:29

What a shame . DS1 looks fab in his photo and they let me have DS2 in it too - Christmas sorted!

I have a friend who is a photographer and he takes gorgeous 'posed' photos - they're not all bad.

SeasonsGripings · 29/11/2011 14:38

School photos are awful things, the kids look slightly goofy because they fake the smile...this year the cheapest package was £19. Have loads of pic of the kids, why would I pay for someone to take a really bad one?

Knownothingknowitall · 29/11/2011 15:16

I haven't bothered buying DS's this year - he looked like he had a hunchback and had a very odd, half smile, half grimace thing going on.

I've started taking an annual posed photo of the DC in the garden.

gilmoregirl · 29/11/2011 15:24

seems like a common issue then!

I laughed out loud when I saw DS's this year!

There were three "poses": formal, "fun" and "fresh".

The "fun" one is destined to end up in an anthology of bad school photos. There is no way you can look at it with a straight face:

DS with faced cupped in his hands grinning manically.

Is awful.

The others also have v odd facial expressions and the cheapest ones are £18.50!

cat64 · 29/11/2011 17:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

workshy · 29/11/2011 23:33

my dds are on a white background and are awful -I felt terrible I wouldn't buy them but they don't look like my kids!

they both have wavy hair, youngest dd had her's in bunches, oldest dd who had hers loose (and it looks lovely that way) had had her's 'tidied up' by the teacher which meant that it was flattened to her head and tucked behind her ears -yuck!

she had it in a pony tail last year which againt the white background made it look like she had no hair! (blondie)

they will get to be adults and have no school pics :(

AngelDelightIsIndeedDelightful · 30/11/2011 11:56

I felt compelled to buy dd's (she's in Reception, so her first ever one). I'm hoping the actual photos look better than the tiny proof, but I'm not holding out much hope...

I did expect it to be awful though. That's kind of the rule for school photos isn't it

DownyEmerald · 30/11/2011 21:35

Ours is Tempest. Quite a nice photo, quite a sweet smile, but unfortunately looked nothing like dd. I mean it was dd obviously, but with an expression I've never seen on her face. I felt like I had to buy some, as there was nothing wrong with them as such but I feel like I shall have to write something in all the Christmas cards I put them in.

Last year was great in terms of expression, but at an angle and the top of her head right at the top left corner, so put a frame on it, and hey presto half her head gone. A good shot of her cardigan and dress collar tho'.

And they are so over-exposed these days. Presumably to erase all those 5 year old wrinkles!

notnowbernard · 30/11/2011 21:39

I had 3 to agonise over - all 3 (sibling shot), single of dc1 and single of dc2

dc1 - crap
dc2 - gorge, really really lovely
all 3 - baby looks gorge, dc1 looks 'strained' (but ok) and dc2 has the look of the Devil about her (they'd been posing ages waiting for the baby to smile)

so expensive difficult decision over which to go for

BCHO · 01/12/2011 10:21

Our school used the same company last year too (Gilman and Soames). So many of us complained that the photos were awful and were really expensive too when compared to the junior school next door who use a different photographer, that our school has now stopped using them. My husband phoned the company to complain about how bad DD's photo was but they didn't even bother to got back to him. How do these firms survive with such bad pictures, ridiculous prices and poor customer service! Our school now use the same firm as the junior school. We've just had this years school photos back and they are not only lovely but half the price of last years. My DD's teacher said they've had great feedback from other parents too. So I guess it was worth pushing for a better service and it paid off in the end.

DamselInDisarray · 01/12/2011 15:45

Our ridiculously over exposed photo that doesn't look like DS1 was tempest too.

Sandalwood · 01/12/2011 15:50

Our Tempest one was the same DID.

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