DS didn't bring the school portrait envelope home

[mommyoftwinfants]

I just got the envelope yesterday and I refuse to pay for pictures I haven't even seen

 

[Ava]

From the title of your thread I thought you meant he hid it until it was too late to buy them because he didn't like his picture. I totally did that when I was in 7th grade, my mom was so mad she took the little proof picture & put it in the photo album. It was a horrible picture though, I could not have her buying a huge print of it & hanging it on the wall!

 

[torinsmom]

There's a difference in the way Lifetouch operates as well. For my school(where I teach), the money comes in before the pictures. Then the pictures go home. If you don't like them, you get a refund or a retake. At my DS' school, we got a proof sheet. Then you go online to order and the pictures are mailed to your home. I did like that I had a lot of choices of layouts with his(closeup, different backgrounds, multi-image prints, etc. And you could even order touch-ups.

 

[SandrA9810]

What happened to just buying the yearbook??

I have just a few scattered pictures throughout school. Like 3rd grade, 7th or 8th, and 9th grade. Don't know why I even bothered with those. I have a ton of copies just laying around. I do however have a yearbook from each grade. Although 9th grade is crazy expensive and the size of an encyclopedia.

 

[crzy4my2]

I live in MA too and I have always liked Life Touch better..I am wondering if the school was requiring the money to be paid 1st and not Life Touch. My kids went to pre school in a different town from where we live and they use Life Touch, as does their Elementary school (different town)..It has ALWAYS been that the pictures were taken, then you get a paper flyer home with your kids picture on it.(looked like an ad for Life Touch) and then you decide if you want to buy any pictures. What I liked was that I was subbing last year when the spring pictures were taking and I had been talking with the ladies while waiting for the class ahead of mine(which was my son's class). One woman asked if I had other kids in the school. I told them that DD was..anyway, they told me if I wanted to pull the kids out of class they would do a sibling picture. I told them that I didn't know if I could since I was with my own class for the day. At the end of the day when I went to sign out, while waiting for DD and DS, the secretary said to me "that was a good idea getting the kids pictures together" I looked at her confused. I said "oh, no I couldn't get them out of class to bring them down" She said "No, Life touch came to the office and asked the teachers if they could get M and A for sibling pictures" I am a sap and wanted to cry, sadly enough that really was the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time.
Unfortunately at the end of last year the school committee thought it would be a good year to make two of our elementary schools K-2 and the other two grades 3 & 4..well DS is in 3rd grade and DD in 2nd..so 2 elementary kids in 2 different schools..so no sibling pictures this year

 

[pigletto]

Ours are pretty expensive too.. and I rarely buy them. I will get dd's grade 8 grad pictures. For the most part I liek the ones I take with my own camera much better. I will be getting family pictures done this year as well. It just seems like overkill, with all of the team photos we are supposed to buy as well. I always feel a little guilty saying no.. but honestly, I have TONS of pictures of them and they get their class photo for free.

 

[Sadie22]

When I was a kid my parents did not own a camera. The school photos are almost the only ones of us kids that exist. If the one photo did not turn out there is no picture from that year.

The reason the packages vary so widely is that the school signs a contract with the photography company with a portion going to the school. It's a fundraiser.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

I don't buy them either. I would much rather take DD to portrait innovations and get to choose the picture I like best. The chances of DD taking a greay shot in the one crappy pose that they do aren't very good. If Portrait innovations can't come up with I great shot I can just say no thanks and try again. Usually I have a hard time deciding from all the great shots they take.

 

[Carina]

I have one word..... WALMART!

My kids still get their pictures taken so the school has something for the yearbook and the bus passes and student cards, but look at walmarts portrait studios back to school specials, It'll save you a fortune!

 

[ssawka]

DD's school takes pictures twice a year. Once in the fall and once in the spring. The only thing we ever buy is the class picture. I agree with PPs, if you want professional pictures, go to one of the retailers. We usually go to Target. Pictures are pretty reasonable, and when you get them taken, you usually get a coupon for no siting fee, which is good for a year.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I gave up on the 8x10. The cheapest package to get a 5x7 was $19. I want to say that included 1 5x7 2 3x5?? and 4 wallets. I have 3 in the same school.

I dont even pass them out to family. We usually go to picture people 1 to 2 times a years so I give those out.

Dont even get me started on Senior picture You get even less for more money. I hated the ones they took of my son so I wont buy any of them and will take him somewhere else. At least those we get to preview.

 

[Fierce Fairy]

Your post made me go and look at my Preschooler's package. The cheapest was $18 w/ 2 5x7 and 8 wallets. You can get a color back ground for $25 and the name added for $35. I am going to take some of you guys advice and go to Sears, JCP, or Walmart. But folks hold on to your socks because the cheapest pack for my senior this year is $225! You only get 3-5x7's and 15 wallets. Both are Lifetouch...but for senior pics they go under the name Prestige.

 

[pigletto]

Your post made me go and look at my Preschooler's package. The cheapest was $18 w/ 2 5x7 and 8 wallets. You can get a color back ground for $25 and the name added for $35. I am going to take some of you guys advice and go to Sears, JCP, or Walmart. But folks hold on to your socks because the cheapest pack for my senior this year is $225! You only get 3-5x7's and 15 wallets. Both are Lifetouch...but for senior pics they go under the name Prestige.

Maybe I'm cheap.. but $225 for 3-5x7's and 15 wallets is absolute robbery to me. I loathe being completely soaked for something based on it's sentimental value. You could have very nice professional pictures done for that amount, in a variety of poses and settings. I absolutely would not pay that.. no way no how.

 

[angierae]

What happened to just buying the yearbook??

Although 9th grade is crazy expensive and the size of an encyclopedia.

...I was just going to say, my daughter's HS yearbook was $75 her freshman year, and you had to buy it by THANKSGIVING.

I have been avoiding finding out how much this year's is.

(We paid $33 for pictures, and I think we got 1 8x10 and a smattering of 5x7 and 3x5, but the pictures were so HORRIBLE we're going to do retakes.

 

[angierae]

Maybe I'm cheap.. but $225 for 3-5x7's and 15 wallets is absolute robbery to me. I loathe being completely soaked for something based on it's sentimental value. You could have very nice professional pictures done for that amount, in a variety of poses and settings. I absolutely would not pay that.. no way no how.

The problem is the school drills it into the kid's heads that if they don't go to the preferred senior portrait vendor, then their picture won't look the same in the yearbook and will stick out because the background won't be the same and the pose will be a little different. And I admit that even in MY high school senior yearbook, you can tell who went elsewhere because their pictures look weird in the sea of identical ones. But I think for DD we'll get the yearbook picture done by wherever the school sends us, order a handful (probably not even a package) and then have a family friend who is a photographer do all the fancy poses.

 

[pigletto]

The problem is the school drills it into the kid's heads that if they don't go to the preferred senior portrait vendor, then their picture won't look the same in the yearbook and will stick out because the background won't be the same and the pose will be a little different. And I admit that even in MY high school senior yearbook, you can tell who went elsewhere because their pictures look weird in the sea of identical ones. But I think for DD we'll get the yearbook picture done by wherever the school sends us, order a handful (probably not even a package) and then have a family friend who is a photographer do all the fancy poses.

I didn't even consider the yearbook thing. I guess that really does make a difference. I was just thinking it was a package, but they all want the yearbook and you are right, they do look off when it's not the same photo. Ugh.. well at least I won't be surprised in a few years.

 

[caribear]

I have DD's picture sheet in front of me....she has pictures next week through Lifetouch. Packages are not bad.....but I never like the photos. Why do they always schedule DD's class after PE?? I mean we are in Florida....it's still hot outside while the kids are running around....and then they have pictures??? Anyway......for $35 you can get:

2 - 8x10
4 - 5x7
2 - 3x5
8 - 2x3
1 - portrait CD

Not a bad deal....if the pictures came out good!!

As a parent...if you volunteer to help during picture day Lifetouch gives you one of the largest packages for free! Of course there are always a million ladies who want to volunteer...and unless you are "in" with the staff....you usually miss out.

 

[taymaesmom]

This is our first year using Lifetouch and compared to our old photographers they are a steal. I paid $7.50 for 2 5x7's, 4 3.5x5's, 4 2 x3's and 8 wallets. And I am staff at our school and always have to have my photo taken for our i.d.'s and the yearbook and they just gave us a large picture package for free! I have no idea what I'm going to do with 50+ photos of myself but the jesture was nice.

 

[Colleen27]

What kills me about ours is that you have to order a package, which start at $30 and all include those stupid 1x2s that kids just don't trade anymore and that no adult wants because they're so tiny, before you can order individual sheets. All I want is a sheet of wallets and a sheet of 5x7s, but I have to spend $50 and get 10 minis, 4 3x5s, and a class composite to get that.

And the pictures are so often just BAD! They're in such a hurry to get through everyone that they don't bother trying for a decent facial expression - my son's school pictures always look like mug shots.

We haven't ordered school pictures in several years. Between football pictures, baseball pictures, and the professional pictures we have done at the holidays we have plenty of nicer photos done, plus I do a casual back to school shoot in the yard and have prints made at CVS to send to family in place of school pictures.

 

[herdtoDisney]

The problem is the school drills it into the kid's heads that if they don't go to the preferred senior portrait vendor, then their picture won't look the same in the yearbook and will stick out because the background won't be the same and the pose will be a little different. And I admit that even in MY high school senior yearbook, you can tell who went elsewhere because their pictures look weird in the sea of identical ones. But I think for DD we'll get the yearbook picture done by wherever the school sends us, order a handful (probably not even a package) and then have a family friend who is a photographer do all the fancy poses.

My ds's school would only let the kids use the shot by the place the school hired (not Lifetouch) and like I posted upthread, they did an awful job-not just of my son, but of everyone (the lighting and backround was odd, somehow).

So he got a whole yearbook of lousy photos I had pictures done at Walmart and I have that one proudly framed in my home!