OMG Senior Pictures $$$$

[pyrxtc]

It doesn't all have to be expensive but you are paying for the experience and time, not for the print.

This is a Senior session I did. I do it for fun, kind of money on the side. $150 session fee with $60 worth of prints. Prints on this album are lower in price, slightly, than my norm since it was my daughters teacher. We went to Boston, about 2 1/2 hrs from here.

 

[bucket o' butter]

My son will get his senior pics taken next year and I am not looking forward to that. He has to get his pictures taken at a local photographer for the yearbook and I am sure that will cost $100 or so. I am going to get the minimum amount I can buy. We have a nice camera that I think we are going to use to take his pictures. Well, I am going to try to talk DH into doing it because he is the one who has studied up on photography. He tends to take more scenery shots and hasn't done much with people, but I know he is capable. If we decide not to do that, I have a co-worker who takes pictures as a hobby and is quite good. She just charges one fee and then gives you the memory card with all the pictures. I can then print the ones I want when I can afford it. I am sure I will still spend upwards of $300, but much cheaper than my friend did a couple of years ago who spent $1500! With all the things you can do on a computer these days and all the neat things you can order online or at stores, I think I can do a decent job for a couple of hundred dollars.

 

[PixieFan]

We are in AR and just ordered our sons senior portraits. I thought they were high til I read here! We got 6 poses, 99 pictures (1 11x14, 4 8x10, 10 5x7, 4 4x5, 80 wallets, proofs, CD) for $399. I did find a promo code to save 10%. Just did a search for promo codes by Prestige Portraits. I have a sneaking suspicion that this year is going to be VERY expensive! Son is on the drumline so we want to get a shoutout thing in the athletic program for the football games next year, and that is $65 for 1 pic in a 1/4 page. And because God has a large sense of humor, I get to do it all again NEXT year with my other son. He was a bit of a surprise!! Dawn

 

[Leajess99]

Our school has Lifetouch come in and do pictures of all the seniors and then if parents want to order them they are not really all that expensive. We will be doing the pictures or have a friend do them for the graduation announcements. I just cannot see paying that much for the pictures. I really like how the high school has the pictures done so all kids are in basically the same attire.

It also takes out the need for the school to set standards on what is acceptable in a picture in the yearbook.

 

[MoniqueU]

It's not even july here now and i haven't heard a peep about senior photos, nor do we have a cap and gown to go take pics in. My husbands cousin is a photagrapher and we can use her no problem. I have seen her work and it is wonderful, she has her own backdrops and is very good at editing/ i better ask my son tomorrow if they have said anything to him about it. He goes to a small private school so I am not sure what they do or how much they charge but seeing as how we parents are paying for our kids to go there they try to keep the extras that go along with school down.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

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.

$3000-$5000 for senior pictures!!! Why would any parent/person spend this? (Seriously, if you have spent or would spend this on senior pics I would love to hear about it!) Wedding photographers aren't that much and you get so much more.

What justifies this super expensive cost? An hour of picture taking time? An hour or so helping the client pick out their favorite shots? Then maybe another hour or two for editing the favorite shots of the client? (If you are spending more time than that you either have a bad editing program or you aren't taking good pictures to begin with) For printing pictures? Professional lab printing is cheap! Just look at Mpix.com for prices.

Heck for that amount, go and buy one of the best canon pro cameras that is out and take all you want!

Great ideas of alternatives to expensive pictures!

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

My DS just had senior pictures taken. I paid $35 for the sitting fee and they took 10 pictures, some in jacket and tie (required for yearbook), some in cap and gown. I could have paid more and have them take more pictures with more outfits, but that was enough for me. If I want none of them, I just choose the one for the yearbook and pay nothing else, but if you want your student's picture in the yearbook, you had to at least pay the sitting fee. I think I am getting one of the smaller packages; 1 8x10, 4 5x7's, 4 4x5's, and 40 wallets. I can pick two poses for the pictures. This package is $269, and I am paying $20 to have the pictures retouched. I think the package also includes some kind of book that holds wallet size pictures.

It's expensive for what it is, but the pictures did turn out pretty well. Going into it I wasn't sure I was going to get any of them.

 

[southbarringtonjen]

Unfortunately, senior portraits are expensive. The studio I worked at averages 3-5k for the average order and those weren't even huge orders.

I've had neighbors pay to have the photographer come to their home, then travel to another location and paid less. And I can frankly say I live in an area where people pay thousands of dollars a month in dog walking fees. A $5000 average photo order seems unlikely. The neighbor paid $4000 and had the photographer for almost 12 hours and got hundreds of wallets and larger sizes to send out in Christmas cards. There is no way an average session is running $3000.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We are doing our own. I may be cheap but I took DD's prom pictures too and they were better than any that I saw of her friends. We did the yearbook senior picture, and that's all I plan to buy. I just can't see paying that much money for pictures. Wedding pictures maybe, not Senior pictures.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Holy cow!!! I just took pictures of my kids on the park last weel to avoid the photos in the studio - they are little and I am never happy since there are limited shots. The photos turned out amazing on my canon powershot and I am taking my sister's kids next! I would NEVER pay those prices particulary when you think about how cheap photos are to print!

 

[sasywtch]

It irritates me that the schools have bought into this for senior pictures and use Prestige. To have your child in the yearbook, you must go to Prestige, hassle with the appointments which isn't easy as they have contracts with all the schools around here and then you have to pay to have the kids picture taken. $100 for one 8 x 10 is beyond what it should be. Back in the stone ages, I went to the same school my son just graduated from last year, we had the good ole same photographer who showed up yearly from kindergarden to 12th to take our picture (think it's Lifetouch). $40 for the packet type of thing. The only difference was, seniors had theirs done in the library with the cap/gown and not in the gym.
The photographer still comes out to shoot the kindergarden through 11th graders for the $40 packet, who came up with this stupid idea of seniors needing this special "can't get out of there with less than $400" thing? If some parents want those $400 pictures, go to a photographer later but it should not be a requirement for the yearbook. You cannot get the photo done without paying. Senior years were the most expensive I ever came across. Go to Michaels and get the "make your own" announcements and thank you cards. You can buy class rings other places in town and not just from the company the school provides.

I bought the bare minimum, spent $200 but only because my ex was paying half. I am so glad I made it through 4 kids graduating.

 

[denise5374]

I feel fortunate. DDs scool bring the photographer to the school and the pictures get done there. Cap and Gown, drape and casual shots. No sitting fee and the packages aren't too expensive, raniging fron $100 - $299. I also have a small family so I think I will only have to spend about $175.

I was surprised the pictures turned out really well. I was orignally going to take her to a studio but I don't think I need to now.

 

[ElizK]

I did DD's, and I'm doing several friends' seniors this summer. I have a dSLR camera and some knowledge of photography, and I have enough skills with Photoshop to come up with a finished product that looks pretty good.

We were required to have DD photographed through the studio to have her picture in the yearbook, but there was no sitting fee and I didn't buy anything from them. They did have appts available at the school, but I didn't know that until after I'd traveled to their studio 30 miles away (grrrr).

Here are a couple of the ones I did of DD:

 

[patsal]

I went through this last year and have a few more years until I go through it again! Looks like what you paid is the norm. Between the pictures, prom, graduation, yearbook purchase price and all the other crap I would have the tuition only for 1 year of a 2 year public college cost.

 

[jenseib]

I am shocked at the prices too. For $3000 we would go to Disney. LOL!

Does anyone have a Portait innovations near them?
They are pretty basic, but do pretty good pictures. I used to take my youngest DD there for pictures. $10 for a one shot package and it comes with a ton of pictures, for under $100 you get 3 poses and the CD.
My older DD wanted some pics a few years ago, so I took her there and she was happy. I think she was about 15 then. Since then I have learned more about photography and bought a nice camera. I now take my youngest DD's pictures. I did older DD's Senior pictures last fall. She was very Happy with them. I offered to do my oldest sons 2 years ago and he refused. He wanted "good " pictures. So my Aunt paid alot for them ( I refused to pay to have it done) and he only got a few poses. and very few prints.
Once he saw the pictures I took of older DD I think he regretted his decison.

I'm gonna be the bragging mom now and post some shots. LOL!

Here is one I first dabbled in. And got slight better as the years went on. Still have a long way to go tho.

Here are some of the Senior shots I took of my older DD. We live on a Dairy Farm so we just roamed around the farm and she picked out spots.

We had alot of fun doing it. And we took over 100, probably close to 200, and then weeded out the ones we didn't like. We could print any ones we wanted in any size without restrictions. I used Adorama and they have very nice prints. and they are not too costly either. In fact I had to order a few 8x10's and a 11x16 for her Dad and stepmom and the total cost was $10 (with a sale)for that order. You can get nice wallets there as well.

Now that I am thinking about it, Younger DD needs new updated pictures. Mayber I can talk her into it today. LOL!

 

[jenseib]

I wanted to add that I was showing off my DD at a Grad aprty the other day to a family I hadn't seen in awhile. He son is going to be a Senior and she said she may have me take his too. I told her I am no pro, but if she wants I'll do the best I can.

 

[jenseib]

I did DD's, and I'm doing several friends' seniors this summer. I have a dSLR camera and some knowledge of photography, and I have enough skills with Photoshop to come up with a finished product that looks pretty good.

We were required to have DD photographed through the studio to have her picture in the yearbook, but there was no sitting fee and I didn't buy anything from them. They did have appts available at the school, but I didn't know that until after I'd traveled to their studio 30 miles away (grrrr).

Here are a couple of the ones I did of DD:

Those are gorgeous!

 

[ElizK]

Those are gorgeous!

Thank you! Your's are amazing. Love the 2nd one (little girl with the hat), and especially the ones in the corn and laying on the hay. Beautiful!

It's funny that you said that about your son. My DD said the same thing. I told her that if she wasn't happy with what I took I'd pony up the money for professional shots. Fortunately for me and my checkbook, she was very happy.

I use Adorama, too. They do a really nice job, and I like their prices.

 

[hffmnheidi]

My parents didn't spend over 300 for 3 sets of senior pics for me and my two brothers. We all got the freebie senior pic and we got to pick from three different shots for the yearbook from the school photog and went elsewhere for the packages.

 

[jenseib]

Thanks, the one in the hat is one of those pictures that turned out good and I have no reason why! LOL! we were sitting on my garage floor and she was playing and I was taking pictrures. The car is actually in the background and it's red! Just got the right angle to make it look like a black background.