OMG Senior Pictures $$$$

[jme829]

What the heck is up with senior pictures?

To start I had to pay $150 to even make the appointment ....$20 of that went as the "sitting fee" (normally $80, but I got a deal) and the balance to be applied to our order. Ok fine, no big deal.


THEN...I had to put down ANOTHER $200 to "check out" the preview book. That does NOT go toward the book, I have to buy portraits and then pay ANOTHER $195 on top of that to buy the book. (the first $200 will be applied to picture order and I will forfeit ALL of the deposits if I don't place an order within 20 days).


As for the package prices....OMG....for the BASIC ONE pose only NO wallets...1 8x10. 2 5x7 and 2 4x6 its $189. If I want the next package up which includes 24 wallets and one more 8x10 (can choose 2 poses for the package) it jumps to $325.


IF I spend $450 I get 3 free pictures to "add" to share on facebook or I can buy the Ultimate package for $1849 in which case I will get the preview book for "free" lol


Are you kidding me? Is this the norm for senior pix? Holy crap, I'm in the wrong profession.


Since we are already $330 invested, I am going to order just some basics for now (we can order more later for another fee) .

We're then going to go out and take some photos on our own. Neither dd nor I were impressed with the majority of the pix, so we're going to see what we can come up with by doing it ourself. Obviously they won't be the same quality, but I can't justify spending that kind of money on pictures.

If we don't like our results, I will just bite the bullet and place another order from the original pictures. (they won't give you the copyright license to order from somewhere else...we're not even allowed to take "cell phone" pictures of the pictures).


So whats the going rate in your area?

 

[JamesMom]

I have years until I have to pay for senior pics but these prices are outragous! I paid $825 to get a wedding picture in front of Cindy's castle in 2001 and got the proofs included. I think that was worth a heck of a lot more than Senior Pics - I'll keep Olan Mills in mind when the time comes. For $1800 you can buy a nice SLR digital camera, lessons to learn how to use it, a backdrop, so you can take them yourself and still bank a thousand. Crazy...

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

ask around thru friends and relatives if they know someone who takes pictures as a hobby or as a job on the side. I know lots of people who have gone that route and had WONDERFUL pictures.

Save the big bucks for the wedding pictures!

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I feel your pain . . .this was my 2nd child getting senior pics, so I had to follow what I did for the first . . .otherwise, I would of taken my own photo of him to submit to the yearbook . . .There are 4 years difference between my daughter and son and the pics have gone drastically up in price . . .

$170 for the sitting fee . . .May was buy 1 session/get the 2nd free . .. so we did 4 sessions for the price of 2 . . .he got to change into 4 different outfits . .was it necessary, NO, but like I said, we had to follow what we did for the 1st child . . .he wanted to wear his letterman jacket for 1 pose, formal pose, and 2 casual poses . . .Don't get me wrong, the photographer did an awesome job and the pictures came out great . . .I knew I was just getting the basic package:

2 8x10's (grandparents photos)
3 5x7s
Came to $295.00 . . .
24 Wallets (which were separate)
were $90 . . .

I'm glad he is my last child . . .

 

[FoundMyPrince]

ask around thru friends and relatives if they know someone who takes pictures as a hobby or as a job on the side. I know lots of people who have gone that route and had WONDERFUL pictures.

Save the big bucks for the wedding pictures!

I agree. It's not too difficult to buy a nice camera and upload photos to a good photo editing program. There is no way in this world I'd pay that much for photos for a child's senior year.

 

[EclecticWAHM]

Just a thought - see if there are photoogs in your area who do actors headshots. I know around here many are really good and reasonably priced, and many will give you the originals on CD and you can get them printed wherever you want. Could work?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Honestly I recommend you check around with local photographers - all should have a book you can look at of their work. Use one of them and save yourself a bundle! My dh does photography (wedding and portraits) on the side and only charges $75 - $100 / hour with a complete CD of all photos taken included in the price. Most portrait sessions take an hour or less and families walk away very happy.

 

[snoopybabe]

That is a ridiculous amount of money. Is this something the school is making you do or can you look around?

We had to pay a $25 sitting fee with a photographer tht came to school. DD did not like any of them. So we didn't get any. Went to JC Penny with a coupon a got wonderful pictures with 4 different poses for less then we paid 3 years ago for 1 8x10 of my DS. IMO senior pictures are a ripoff but if you want your picture in the yearbook you have to pay the sitting fee. I'm glad I learned after DS.

 

[smartkim]

I agree, that is totally outrageous! How do they expect people to be able to pay that kind of money out of their pockets? My DS just had senior pictures made last night by a local photographer that we know. She let us pick the locations and met us there. We did not pay a sitting fee. She only charges for the pictures that we choose to purchase. I expect to pay less than $300 total for all of the pics. You may want to check around in your area. There are always local photographers that do a great job at reasonable prices. And, if they have a website, you can view some of their work before hiring them.

 

[PebblesMK]

Unfortunately, senior portraits are expensive. The studio I worked at averages 3-5k for the average order and those weren't even huge orders. Some places are much better than others for the quality of portraits and the cheaper ones sometimes send them out to be printed as opposed to printing them in studio. There are ways to save, but you need to inquire. If you have your session earlier than normal, prices are usually cut and session fees can be lessened greatly. Being an ambassador is also a great way to get discounts and free things. Another thing that a lot of studios will do is take payments, kind of like Disney. We had a lady make payments for her daughter who will be a senior in 2012. She pays 20 dollars or whatever works so that when her daughter comes in, it's one less hassle.

 

[clh2]

You may want to check out craigslist. Our has many photographers that will take pics, and give you a CD so you can print your own. My DD is going to be doing sr. pics next year - so I am trying to figure out what is out there.

 

[MrsPete]

No, in my experience, this is not the norm. Our sitting fee is $10 (not applied towards a package), and although the pictures aren't cheap, the cost is on par with other full-service photographers in the area. If you want JUST a yearbook shot (and don't intend to buy the tux-and-drape pictures, you don't get proofs), it's free. Any senior who wants to be pictured in the yearbook must go to THE PHOTOGRAPHER for the picture (but, again, there's no cost if you want to go elsewhere for your other pictures).

Most of my seniors -- I think -- tend to spend $200-400. Girls tend to spend more because they care about such things more.

 

[erincon23]

I'm sorry, there's no way I'd ever pay that for photos (I'd be surprised if I paid that for my wedding pictures, 22 years ago lol). I'd rather put that into bills or vacation. Our school doesn't charge anything for the picture that goes into the yearbook. You can have a senior portrait session if you want, but it's horribly expensive. We did the free yearbook picture. A woman in our area (who also had a senior at our school) started a photo biz recently -- she charges about $200 for an extensive portrait session, and that includes quite a few prints. That was still too much for me, even though her pictures are fantastic -- I took my son out to a local park and took pix in his cap and gown. They were beautiful. I printed them at Costco, and everybody, including me and the graduate, were happy with them.

 

[Taja]

Yikes! And I thought ours were expensive in the dark ages!

Does your school require that the senior portraits be taken at a specific location to be included in the yearbook? Ours did--and two of my friends elected not to have their portraits done (mostly due to $$$) and they were not included in the yearbook. That still annoys me! They could have used their school ID photos!

Otherwise, I would check out other photographers, including amateurs. Decide what you really want/need in terms of the photographs. Do you really need a "book" of photos? What ever happened to a single portrait? I would prefer a scrapbook with highlights of the senior year, rather than a bunch of studio portraits!

And determine how many photos you actually need for family/friends. I reached saturation point a long time ago and requested wallet size only. I don't like a lot of photographs sitting around--I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to decor! How many people really need/want 10x12, 8x10, 5x7, etc.?

Good luck!

 

[LuLuO]

This is what our photographer charges and I love, love, love her! She was my wedding photographer and she photographed the birth of our first child and did newborn and maternity sessions for me.

Senior Photos $325
One hour session, one location up to 3 outfit changes
1 set of professional 4x6 proofs
High resolution CD of all images with printing rights

 

[phred52]

I took my oldest DD to a home studio. Liked those prices better than where the school recommended. Took my younger DD to Sears. Sears did an amazing job, complete with changes of clothes. I escaped for under $100.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

Oh I am so glad that I do not have to pay for those again . I remember thinking to myself " are they made of the hair of an angel ?"

I think we soent about 800 on each of the kids and that was because I said NO to alot of the stuff .

My DD wedding was just as crazy if not more . We paid to bring a photographer from Dallas and then we paid for another one in Vegas . We had a big wedding destination wedding for her .

Last year was my Granddaughters 1st birthday and we paid 100 bucks for the 1st hour and then 50 for each hour after that .

 

[r&kmommy]

Didn't read all the posts but wanted to chime in that my MIL took SIL to Target... it was loads cheaper than the studio the school 'recommended' using...

 

[Mskanga]

My daughter is going to be a senior this year and there's no way I will spend that much $$$$ on pictures. I will spend that on a vacation where I can make some memories with her but not pics , I will take my own. Call me cheap , I don't care.

 

[akayek31]

OMG you guys are scaring me. DS will be a senior this year and his pictures are July 12. I do not have that kind of money to shell out for pictures. I wonder how much it cost my dad 20 yrs ago when he bought three different poses of me. Wow. I hope we can take him any where for his pictures.