Ot: How Much did you spend on senior portraits for your child?

[Misty89]

i am starting to get flyers in the mail for Portraits of DD this Summer,
I see a price for the "package price', but what did you pay over and above that cost for the actual pictures?
I know i should call a few photographers, but i was wondering if someone could tell me what they spent.
we will be doing a basic type package, 2 or 3 outfits/ 2 or 3 indoor poses, a lakefront pose, and one other outdoor pose.
i know it's going to be pricey, but is $400 feasable? ( that is the amount i was going to budget for)~ some wallets, a 8x10 for the wall, we would buy most or all the proofs.
anything i am mising? It's been a long time since i thought about senior portraits

TY
Tina

 

[dawnbu40]

I think 400$ sounds pretty reasonable. My DD graduated last year and that is about what I spent. She had indoor and outdoor shots and 3 clothing changes. It starts to get expensive when you begin purchasing the 8x10, 5x7 etc for grandparents, aunts/uncles etc. Most places offer early bird discounts or free wallets if you have them taken by end of July so you might want to look into that.

 

[etraible]

Call me cheap or call me frugal, but my DD is graduating this spring and all I did was take pictures on my camera and went to Walmart.com to have them printed wallet size - 26 cents each. They look great. I could of photoshopped them to say "2009" on the bottom right like regular graduation pictures, but I didn't. We have a very small family (and an even smaller budget), and I can tell you that absolutely none of my my family or friends are going to say, "oh, it's not professional," or some such. I know whenever I've gotten graduation pictures from other people I just put them in my photo box and never look at them again.

As for graduation announcements - I plan on buying some type of preprinted paper from Michaels and printing them on my own computer. Just like the photo's, those announcements end up in the box.

With college costs looming I just couldn't justify spending the money on either. Hope this helps.

 

[mickeylove2]

My mom spent about $500-$600 on my senior portraits a few years ago and they were done by a professional photographer in a studio. He took about 25 shots, I did 5 different outfit changes and the cap and gown and black drape. My aunt went through the school and spent about the same amount and got about half of the amount of pics my mom did. (huge 18 x 24 print in a mahogony frame, tons of 8 x 10, 5 x7 3.5 x 5 and wallets. I have a really big family and every aunt and uncle got 2 or 3 8 x 10s, every adult cousin got a few 5 x 7s and everyone got quite a few wallets. I exchanges wallets with most of my class of 250 seniors and other friends. We were also given a leather portfolio with all of the proofs in it.) Needless to say, my aunt was very upset! I would shop around before I went throught the school.

 

[RN4Babies]

I lucked out; one of the nurses I work with started her own photography business on the side a couple of years ago, and my total for ds was under $200 (in studio and a location setting, three outfit changes, all proofs, an 8x10, 2 5x7's, numerous 4x6's and tons of wallets. ) As an added bonus, she snapped several of my dd (8yo) while ds was changing clothes, and didn't charge me for those!

Could you find someone just starting their own business?....or find someone who has a knack with a camera and has done this for others in the past? If they don't turn out, you'd still have time to have one of the more expensive places do them. I think the prices they charge are outrageous, and would have snapped some myself before going to one of those outfits.

 

[kimsuenew]

i am starting to get flyers in the mail for Portraits of DD this Summer,
I see a price for the "package price', but what did you pay over and above that cost for the actual pictures?
I know i should call a few photographers, but i was wondering if someone could tell me what they spent.
we will be doing a basic type package, 2 or 3 outfits/ 2 or 3 indoor poses, a lakefront pose, and one other outdoor pose.
i know it's going to be pricey, but is $400 feasable? ( that is the amount i was going to budget for)~ some wallets, a 8x10 for the wall, we would buy most or all the proofs.
anything i am mising? It's been a long time since i thought about senior portraits

TY
Tina

Hi Tina! Welcome to what has proven to be a very expensive year! We used a local photographer (not the expensive school recommended one that takes the formal yearbook picture... we still had to go there in order for DS to be in the yearbook but that shooting was free).

DS's session consisted of indoor/outdoor shots and there were some great shots! I was disappointed that she did not take "a railroad shot" (I think they look "cool", she had them in her sample portfolio, and I mentioned wanting one) but other than that I was very pleased! We got (going with her versus the other big studios in town) a deal and a half!

In looking through the order, it cost less than I even thought! I was thinking it was closer to $400.00 but it was really closer to $300.00 (lacked .15 cents)!

It cost us:$299.85...

$50.00 Sitting Fee
$150.00 Base Package
$37.50 Proof Book (1/2 price when orderd by a certain date or $75.00 after)
$46.00 Extra pictures I ordered
$16.35 Sales Tax

The package included our choice of three poses in this quantity: (1) 11x14, (2) 8x10, (4) 5x7 and (120) wallets with his name and graduation year imprinted in the corner of the wallets. Our extras were (2) 5x7 @ $8.00 each and (6) 4x5 @ $5.00 each (we got to choose any pose from all shots taken for our extras). The proof book held about 150 digital proofs, it is a very nice keepsake and well worth the $37.50 I thought! As part of our package, she will also design either a graduation announcement, or graduation party announcement, free of charge! He had four changes of clothes (4-6 were allowed), and props (set of golf clubs and his guitar).

DH would have liked it better if I would have taken my digital camera to the park and taken some outside shots but I am pleased with the money spent! His photographer has a great eye, creative mind, and is talented. She is also the cheapest of all prices/quotes we received (substancially in most cases).

OP ~ call around and/or visit photographers in the area! You will get all kinds of postcards in the mail. I found ours through "word of mouth" so ask parents of recent grads/other seniors that you know who they chose, how the quality was, and what they thought of the price! We had to drive about 30 miles to get his pictures taken with her but it was well worth it! Good luck!

 

[Jeninindy]

I ended up spending a little over $400......the company we bought them from had a 20% off coupon available on New Years Eve 2008. Saved a fortune with that coupon...

 

[PatsMom]

I spent nothing. DD didn't want a senior portrait done. At her school your yearbook photo can be anything you submit that is within the guidelines. She's using a photo I took of her at the top of the Eiffel Tower on our trip to France last summer. She and I both think the trip to France was a better place to spend a few hundred bucks than on portraits that 10 years from now no one but her mother will have on the wall! So we added the senior picture money to our France trip fund.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

wow when my DD had hers done the school hooked us up with a great deal.
We got so many photos for so little.
But like others said call around. If you have a college that does photgraphy classes check into using them.

 

[ElleBren]

As someone who has only graduated within the last 6 years I would say don't waste a ton of money. I could not tell you where all the photos went and now looking back I wish I had spent less and saved the money for other things.

See if they will sell you a cd and just go through another company on shots fro the family.

 

[dyna]

DH is so happy to have our DD able to go to school an be an honor student that he went all out an spent like 800.00. there was a time When DD was very ill could not count to 5 much less spell her name did not know who she was or who I was this happened when she was 13 yrs old she missed 2 yrs of school over it.

DH gladly pays for the senior pics, the graduation stuff much cheaper than the dr bills we had.

Myself I'd have not spent so much on the pics an grad stuff an had more for college for DD.

 

[pyrxtc]

As a photographer, $300-$400 is a reasonable amount. My session starts at $50 for 2 outifts and one location and 1 1/2 - 2 hours or you can Pay $160 and get multiple locations with as many times as you can change your outift wihtin the 3 hours you have me for and $120 credit for pictures.

I know it sounds off but it works for me.

 

[RobinFabulous]

We had about 5 outfit changes, some with the kids and just bought the proofs. It was close to $400. But we have all the proofs and can get copies later. We also got the proof book, which was basically all of the pictured in digital scrapbook form. Plus we had a $75 sitting fee

 

[LoriNSC]

My DS is a senior this year. I spend $320 back in Oct. for his senior pics. Hated to spend so much but he's not one to like having pics taken & they were so good. I think the highest pkg. was around $550. We got a good selection on pics & I'm happy. They're only a senior once.

 

[2manypets]

My DD's package cost $500-$600 two years ago. I was not expecting it to be so costly, so we're saving our money now for our youngest's turn.

 

[PolyAddict]

I spent a little less than $200 for 70 wallets with 2 pics and her name and yr on it and a 10x20 pic with three shots on it with her name and year. I don't think there was a sitting fee involved because you had to go to him to get a pic for the yearbook and that was free. Well, not REALLY free as she attends a private school so I am confident that fee was involved in "senior fees" somewhere. I have not ordered anything yet for family members. The only ones i really plan on buying for is her grandparents and for 2 8x10 it will be around $70 more $'s.

SO i guess when all is said and done around $270. She already doesn't wear the $400 class ring we bought her. What a waste.

 

[MichelleVW]

Probably about 700-800, but she went to an amazing studio and the pictures couldn't be better. Pictures are important to me and it was money well spent to me. She had many outfit/prop changes, in the studio, out of the studio and probably 7 hours total getting them taken.

 

[daughtersrus]

My DD graduated last year. We went to the studio at no cost to have her yearbook picture done (it had to be done at this particular studio). Their prices were so outrageous that we opted to go to an independent photographer for the rest. We had to drive a bit (we're in the suburbs of Chicago and went about 45 minutes away to Kanakee) but we got a great deal. She had unlimited changes of clothes, indoor pictures as well as outdoors in a park and by a river. We paid $110.00 for the sitting fee including 50+ proofs. The 50+ proofs were narrowed down from over 100 pictures that were taken. We ended up ordering 4~8X10, 3~5X7 and 60 wallets for just under $100.00. For us, it was well worth the drive. We paid less for all of this than the sitting fee was at the studio that did they yearbook picture.

I highly recommend that you ask around and see if anyone knows of a private photographer that they can recommend.

 

[sk!mom]

In the $400-500 range, 6 years ago for DS24. I should have spent less though. They were all so good and it had been so long since my DS had been willing to sit for professional portraits that I bought way too much. I have a beautiful framed one hanging over the piano and ran across the rest the other day still in the box. I'm not sure what I thought I was going to do with them.

I'll be more careful with DD12 and think ahead of time about what I really want.

 

[jgraney106]

To cut costs try to schedule your photo setting early between May and July. Buy only one of each pose that you want . Don't order wallets size , they are so expensive. Scan the photos you get , and download them to one of the online photo sites like Snapfish etc.. There you can get 4x6 size prints for pennies a piece. They are larger than the wallets and fit nicely into the graduation announcements. This way I sent a picture to everyone that I sent an announcement to, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg to do it.I did this last year for my daughter.