I'm in the wrong business (Senior pictures $$)

[Tantor]

Count me as a terrible Mom. I passed on the whole thing. I just couldn't see spending the kind of money they were looking for on just pictures. I just hate those pictures that look so stiff and formal.

For the price they wanted for pictues, I bought 4 airline tickets to Disney, have an "old" cap and Gown in the closet that I'm going to pack and have a WDW Photographer take his picture for $12.00 (or whatever the cost is LOL) in front of the castle.

That to me will be a priceless picture.

Graet idea!!

 

[EthansMom]

I had my senior pictures done in 1990 by a professional photographer. I had 3 outfit changes and, of course, Mom, Dad and I each liked 3 different pictures. There was a large extra fee to have all three photos "cleaned up" and another good-sized fee to buy the portfolio of all the pictures we didn't have cleaned up.

Since, Mom and Dad were divorced, we all split the cost of the photos. I paid for the ones I wanted to hand out to friends, Mom paid for hers, and Dad paid for his. There were plenty of photos to hand out to every family member imaginable. I think I still have a few "extras" someplace in the house.

In total, we spend $650.

Nowadays, I think that $650 is a LOT of money. But, when it comes time for my kids to have their senior pictures, I would encourage them to mitigate the expense by choosing one or two photos for printing, not buying the portfolio and buying only the number of photos needed.

It sounds like your friend isn't getting a very good deal and/or is buying stuff that isn't needed. I can maybe see spending $900, but that should include photos for all of the family members, IMO.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

7 outfits!! What in heck? This isn't a modeling session.

Wow, uh, I think I spent like $150 for senior pictures. I think it was a $20 sitting fee and whatever for a package. I know they told us we could bring different outfits but I passed on that. I am not photogenic and I just really didn't care. I went in one nice outfit, got some not-so-great pictures taken, and went back to class. The photographer didn't know what he was doing. I have red hair and fair skin. He stuck me in front of an orange/red background. Yeah, guess how lovely those came out? Cap and gown pictures were taken another day. Of which I totally forgot so I looked horrible in those. Oh well, college was more important anyway. Those actually came out halfway decent.

Count me as a terrible Mom. I passed on the whole thing. I just couldn't see spending the kind of money they were looking for on just pictures. I just hate those pictures that look so stiff and formal.

For the price they wanted for pictues, I bought 4 airline tickets to Disney, have an "old" cap and Gown in the closet that I'm going to pack and have a WDW Photographer take his picture for $12.00 (or whatever the cost is LOL) in front of the castle.

That to me will be a priceless picture.

That is a great idea! Can I come along? I can provide my own cap & gown.

 

[SleepyMom]

Our oldest DD graduated HS in 2004. We were getting the post cards and other things in the mail offering senior pics at many different places and I was just at the prices!

We knew someone that had just been through all that the year before and I commented on how much I liked her pictures and she said her Mom had taken them. That started the wheels turning, DD thought it sounded great to her. I did make the offer to her though that if for any reason she did not like the ones I took that we would go the professional route all the way.

We ended up with me taking all her outdoor pics (I had just gotten a new digital camera for my birthday). We were able to go on different days at different times, with any outfit she wanted, it was nice to have that freedom. I touched them up on our home computer and even added a few things... soft edges, her name and year, on some of them.

We then went to a studio for the indoor shots (I did not want to do them) and for a $25 sitting fee she took 12 or 13 poses (DD decided to go with only one outfit, but had the choice to change). If you bought a package over $80 they also gave you the option of buying the negatives, so from there we were set. After the $105 I was able to get any pics I wanted for just the developing costs, and she loved her senior pics!

 

[Daxx]

For the price they wanted for pictues, I bought 4 airline tickets to Disney, have an "old" cap and Gown in the closet that I'm going to pack and have a WDW Photographer take his picture for $12.00 (or whatever the cost is LOL) in front of the castle.

That to me will be a priceless picture.

That will be an amazing senior photo! Just be sure the school will let you use it!

I am just astounded at the cost for senior photos. I haven't been a senior in ... well ... a long time. I have a 9 yo DS and can't fathom spending this much on photos.

And, outfit changes!? When we had our senior portraits taken, you wore one top and that was it. No cap and gown shot, no multiple outfit shots -- one in the top you liked the best. I can clearly remember what I wore, which is scary! Even college graduation photos weren't that expensive. Again, cap and gown shot and one in a top you liked/wanted to wear.

Both high school and college photos were done at the school/college! No going to a special photographer.

 

[tar heel]

Those of you going elsewhere . . . does the senior photo photographer not have a monopoly for your yearbook? At both the schools my sons' graduated from, if you don't have the formal one made, you won't be in the senior section of the yearbook. You don't have to do the expensive sitting in the summer, though -- you can have your picture made at school in the fall when they come to do the underclassmen.

We paid around $300 and have enough pictures to send wallets with the graduation announcements and give grandparents a 5 x 7 or 8 x 10. My first son's photos were very good. I was disappointed with my second son's photos, and he's usually the photogenic one. Same company.

Senior year is VERY expensive.

 

[EthansMom]

Those of you going elsewhere . . . does the senior photo photographer not have a monopoly for your yearbook?

At my highschool, you had an off-site photographer take your senior pictures. Then, you delivered a wallet-sized photo to the yearbook folks.

Underclassmen had their school photos in the yearbook.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

those prices are ridiculous and not standard at all for this area.
And 7 outfits?

I think 3 to 4 is more the norm here. One super fancy, one casual, and then maybe the cap and gown. Some kids then also add a group sitting with close friends.

Here there is a photographer that does the Senior Yearbook photos. But you don't have to buy the photo and you don't pay have to pay a sitting fee.

 

[dadto1]

I suddenly think I got the fuzzy end of the lollypop when I got the special of the week 7.99 deal at Target for my graduation pictures...

-em

I got the $19.99 special at Kmart and took the extra $200.00 my parents were gonna spend and used it for our senior trip to Myrtle Beach!! Nobody to this day can tell they weren't made by the company at my high school!

 

[BabyTigger99]

I graduated in 1994. I think my senior pictures were about $300. I had 3 outfits (my prom dress, dressy sweater outfit, and casual outfit), also brought my own props (violin, favorite teddy bear). had a ton of pictures. If I looked at my mom's I am sure I could find some wallets lying around!

I will echo what was said about going to Sears. I have worked there part time for the last 10 years. Every year we do quite a few Senior pictures. With all the options that Sears has available, you really do get a great value for the price!

 

[SleepyMom]

Those of you going elsewhere . . . does the senior photo photographer not have a monopoly for your yearbook?

At DD's school they only had to turn in a wallet size, and there were a few rules... inside only pose, head and shoulders only with no hands visible. Of course when the yearbook came out there were tons of pics with hands in them and lots of outdoor shots, even the Sr. class president had an outdoor pose.

I also forgot to add when I did DD's outdoor shots we had a family vacation planned to Yellowstone, so we took a few shots there as well. Her senior pictures were not the cookie cutter shot of a lot of her friends... 2 girls she knew had almost all the exact same poses for their outdoor shots, all the pro's in town use the same places to go to.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

If you're looking for a good alternative, make an appointment with the Picture People. You can find them in almost any mall. When you call, be sure they put on the books that it's for Senior Pictures and request their best photographer for that type of thing.

There's no sitting fee and you buy only the pictures you want. At that, I believe it's $15/sheet. I think that equates to one 8x10/sheet; two 5x7/sheet; four 4x6/shett; and ~15 wallets/sheet. It's also helpful becuase you can go in knowing "I need this many of this size, etc." If you don't like any of them, tough cookies on them. Don't buy them and you can try to find another studio elsewhere.

I've actually won pageant photo contests using Picture People. Granted, I know I had an incredibly good working relationships with a generally GOOD photographer. She just chose to work there becuase the hours suited her. The fees you're talking about seem really, really excessive IMHO... and it's not as though we're in a rural area. I've had A LOT of photos taken over the years for modelling, pageants, holidays, etc., and never seen ayone shell out that much cash. I think they're taking advantage of you. You've got enough expenses coming up with her going off to school.

 

[jgmklmhem]

Dang these prices are way over the top. When I had mine doen 10 years ago it maybe cost 100$. As far as the yearbook went....everyone had their picture taken at the school (in the fake cap and gown...you know the half one that just covers your shoulders and chest) whether you bought something or not so that everyone would be in the yearbook so obviously no sitting fees.

 

[golfgal]

Yikes! My friend (the mom) assured me these were normal prices for this area. I don't know who gave her the idea that these were normal prices but now I think maybe I'd better suggest that she do some shopping around.

The $900 package she is planning to buy, they're keeping all those. I don't how many photos / sizes / poses are in that package but they're not to pass out to her DDs friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. Anybody who wants pictures has to buy their own which is how the subject of the 5 X 7s came up. She isn't trying to be mean or anything, just that for what they want for their own selves it'd be $900 so they can't afford to pass out pictures.

We live near Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not anyplace high -falutin' or fancy schmancy ... just regular people in regular (albeit small) town.

We had invited them to Disney with us this year and they turned us down because of the picture prices. That's totally their business but like I said, I'll have to talk to her, I don't want to see them get ripped off.

What are they going to do with all the pictures, wallpaper their house?????? Most people get and 8x10 to hang in the hallway, maybe a folder of proofs and then a bunch of wallets to hand out. Then might get a few 5x7's for Grandparents too. I think your friend is NUTS. Heck I didn't spend that much on my wedding photos.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

For the price they wanted for pictues, I bought 4 airline tickets to Disney, have an "old" cap and Gown in the closet that I'm going to pack and have a WDW Photographer take his picture for $12.00 (or whatever the cost is LOL) in front of the castle.

That to me will be a priceless picture.

Maybe not priceless....

We used Disney Photogrpahic Services for our wedding in December. Please be sure that you completely understand what you will and will not receive in your package. Although I do not regret our decision to go with DPS (many DIS brides go with another private photographer), I wish that I had known better what the terms and conditions of our package were before purchasing. When, at the last minute, I got cold feet and larned that we would NOT be receiving the copyrights to our photos, I trie dto switch to that private photographer. We were about 6 hours inside the 30 day window and would have had to pay off Disney and pay the other photographer.

For weddings, and they are a part of the collective Disney Photographic Services, you receive your proofs. No negatives. No copyrights. You have an option to purchase a low-resolution CD for about $100. The lo-res CD is good for screen savers and other computer type things. Forget about trying to run copies of them off. The quality is poor. For $900, you can buy the high-resolution CD that you can actually print pictures off. If you wait until 3 years after your wedding, the prices drops to $100. The only way you can legitimately get prints for your wedding pictures is paying the arm and a leg prices for them through Disney. Our wedding pictures just came down off the website. We had guests buying 5x7s for $15 a piece......

Just please, please, please be sure you completely understand your package before you purchase. If you want only a picture of him like that for your family, I think you should be OK. However, if you wanted to distribute it, you might be in for more than you bargained for. And no, you can't take them to the Kodak kiosks and copy them- they are embedded in the back with "Professional Photograph- Copyright Laws in place" and the machine will tell you that you can't copy it. We tried it on a professional picture of DH some time ago and found that out.

 

[pyrxtc]

When you call, be sure they put on the books that it's for Senior Pictures and request their best photographer for that type of thing.

There's no sitting fee and you buy only the pictures you want. At that, I believe it's $15/sheet. I think that equates to one 8x10/sheet; two 5x7/sheet; four 4x6/shett; and ~15 wallets/sheet. It's also helpful becuase you can go in knowing "I need this many of this size, etc." If you don't like any of them, tough cookies on them. Don't buy them and you can try to find another studio elsewhere.

having worked for PP, they just give you the photographer that is available and not their best. The sheets are 8x10, 5x7 &4 wallets, 2 5x7's, 8 wallets, and those vary by store. you can also buy the an 11x14 or get any of the sizes in B&W.

As far as Sr photo's go, I know a lot of high schools up here require a specific photographer. Ours does not and I have a few pics in the yearbook this year. I do outdoor shots only and they can have hwatever they want in the pics with them and if they want to change their clothes, it will be done in their car since their are no building s around usually. My sitting fee for Sr's is $60 and includes a digital file for the yearbook staff. You get 8 proofs 4x5 size to look at. $15 for the proofs and then you purchase whatever pics you want. All retouching or selective color techniques are included in the fee.

 

[Chuck S]

I feel old. Our Sr. pics were taken in the school library, 1 outfit, boys suit and tie, girls a "dressy" dress. That was used for the yearbook, no sitting fee, and you could buy a package if you wanted to, the most expensive was $99. I got the $45 package and had PLENTY of photos to send to relatives, plus an 8x10 and a 5x7.

 

[Shugardrawers]

I suddenly think I got the fuzzy end of the lollypop when I got the special of the week 7.99 deal at Target for my graduation pictures...

-em

Yup, Olan Mills!! It was 24 years ago so I don't remember what all we got but there is still a package with a ton of pics left in it and the whole shebang was around $50. They looked just as good as my friends who went to expensive studios and paid 10X that. At the time I was kind of embarassed by it but now I know exactly where my parents were coming from and have forgiven them for humiliating me like that

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Don't worry so much if your yearbook has a monopoly. At the schools around here, one studio does have the monopoly on the yearbook shots. (this is because they provide all of the film for the yearbook staff) HOWEVER, you do NOT have to buy a package from them. Your student goes to the studio and gets 3 or 4 head shots to choose from for their yearbook photo. Then you can go somewhere else and get a package. There is not much choice, though--one of my boy students didn't like any of the shots they took and they told him to pick one!
There are ways to save. We have junior who are "reps" (representatives) for that studio, and they get 15% off of their photos. We just had an assembly for all juniors last week--some of the "rep" photos were used, as well as those from other schools. All kids got a deal for a certain number of free wallets if they booked their portrait sitting by the end of May. 15 students had a green dot on their flyer that entitled them to more extras for free. You don't HAVE to do outdoor shots or multiple outfits (come on, if my DD needed 7 nice outfits I'd have to buy her more clothes!). I think the parent the OP is referring to is going way, WAY over the top. And next year when my oldest niece is a senior I better get a 5 x 7!
I know one option this "official" photographer uses is retouching, and that mattered a lot to one of my friends since her son had some acne issues at picture time. She looked at another photographer but that one didn't do any retouching.
Haven't things changed! Back in 81 we were sent a postcard telling us when to report to the HS for our photos--only one outfit, no A/C--only props were a cheesy wagon wheel to lean on and a cheesier silk flower--and there were several people in my graduating class who would have benefitted a LOT from retouching!
Robin M.

 

[buddy&wooz]

I spent just under $200 for my son's pictures, and I thought that was a lot. I didn't get much for the money, either. That covered two poses, with just enough prints to make the grandparents and aunts & uncles happy. No sitting fee, but we had to use a photo with a specific background for the yearbook (wish the best shot was one of the ones with that background but it wasn't!)