senior pictures

[hugabearjo]

Any photographers out there, this is a big investment. I am a single mom and so money is tight. I don't want to scrimp on these as they are a great memory and very important in my opinion. What I didn't realize was how all over the board prices are. Please tell me what to look for when selecting a photographer. I don't want to save money enough to compromise quality. I just don't know how to tell what is better than others.

Plus is there any hidden fees I should look for that makes one appear cheaper and then not be at all?

Thanks in advance-
Jo

 

[Hannathy]

You are right these can be quite outrageous! My DD is a senior so we just went thru this. My DH is also out of work so we didn't have a ton to spend. What we did was find a professional photographer that took the photos for a sitting fee (@$50) then sold us a CD with the photos and a copyright release for $195. This way we can have them printed at Sam's for less than the photographers charge AND importantly I can spread the costs out over the year. Grandma and family don't need theirs till spring but she wants her wallets now. She doesn't need any corrections to them and any cropping lighting/shadow fixes she can do with photo shop.

I spent a lot of time researching and checking web sites and this was the most economical way to get the most pictures. I also have the disc so when finances improve I can get more printed for myself.

 

[crusoe2]

I didn't really shop around much for DS's portraits and we ended up ordering from the photographer who did them at school. Judging by the couple of other prices I got, the school photographer was the cheaper way to go and it still cost us almost $500 for his portraits. Since I went with the one at school I don't have a huge amount of advice about dealing with smaller private studios but there were a couple of things I learned from our experience that might be helpful. First of all, you'll most likely have to pay a sitting fee. Sometimes these can be rather hefty so be sure to ask if that will be applied to the cost of any pictures you buy. Also be clear on whether you get to keep the proofs for free or if there is an extra charge for them or if you have to give them back. The arrangement with our school photographer was that we got to keep the proofs so long as we ordered pictures. But there was a deadline - we had to either order pictures or turn in the proofs by a certain date. If we didn't do either one, we had to pay for the proofs - to the tune of $200. That would have hurt. And I almost didn't make the deadline cause they only gave us about 2 weeks from the time we got the proofs till the last day to place an order. Working out which pictures to order and how many and what size is a big hassle and I had to figure it out during the first couple weeks of school (which are always crazy busy anyway). About the only other tips I can give are to keep your options simple - we did the traditional tuxedo shot of my son and then some casual shots of him in regular clothes. Some people brought several changes of clothes for this but we stuck with just one outfit - the khaki cargo pants he loves to wear and a nice new polo shirt in a color that looks good on him. We made sure that a few poses featured his class ring (had him twirling it on his finger or something) but that's about as creative as we got. You want to have several poses and angles to choose from but don't want the choices to become overwhelming. Another option for casual shots - you could always look for a good coupon deal at one of the dept store studios. Also, when you get the proofs keep in mind that anything that doesn't look quite right in the proofs is going to be MUCH more obvious in the larger prints. I didn't realize until too late that DS was not centered very well in the tuxedo shot we chose for his main portrait. It's much more noticeable in the huge canvas portrait I ordered than it was in the proof. Oh well, too late now. Good luck. Hope this helps.

 

[Poohbear5]

I have twins and we didn't have extra money for $500 on photos with all of the other senior year expenses. I took them to Target with s $8.99 coupon. I got lucky with a great photographer, who even suggested changing outfits (they are boys and did not care to bother). They each got a portait package for 8.99 with lots of photos for relatives, and a good selection of poses.
We got lots of compliments of their portraits, I did not mention to anyone where they were taken!

 

[stitchfan18]

I would definitely find someone who will sell you the disk of all the prints. I know when I had mine done several years ago, all the prints were what really added up.

 

[Mrs D]

There a new chain out here in Chicagoland called Portrait Innovations (they have other locations in the US I believe). I suggested our babysitter go there when she told me she didn't have $ for senior pictures. I love this place because they encourage you to bring several outfits, they will do a variety of backgrounds, it's all digital photography, you view & select you pics immediately after the photography session then they print them and you walk out with them 20 minutes later! They are always running a $10 special where you get tons of prints (10x13, 2-8x10s, 5x7s, 3x5s, wallets and 6 free 'postcards'). They can do a little bit of a hard sell trying to get you to buy more. But if you have a budget just tell them and stick to your guns. You will need to spend a little to get to a package where you can purchase a CD (if you want that). Overall I think they do an excellent job and a worth what they charge.

HTH!

 

[disneedee]

not quite as cheap as target idea but pictures are pictures. they have a senior portrait package with clothing changes and bring your favorite item, image, friend, stuff. they even sent the senior yearbook picture to the school.

did this with the 2 younger ones. did the expensive private photographer with the oldest. can not believe what i paid for that! and one year down the road none of the boys were interested in the pictures that i had taken. so they have become more of a mom memory than a high school memory for them.

 

[maggiew]

We were required to use a specific photographer for my DDs pictures to be in the school yearbook. I guess part of their deal must have been that they had a free sitting fee. Although I did opt to pay $10 to have a change of outfit upgrade. I didn't order any pictures from them yet. I did pick the one picture that would go in the yearbook (had to do that by a certain date) and I bought a bound book of all the prints for $25.

They have several packages that range from $300 and up. However, none of the packages really met my needs. Between my parents, DH's parents, my siblings, DH's siblings, I needed at least 8 8x10s and there was nothing close to that in the packages. So that meant buying more prints at extra $$$.

They did have an option for a CD of 10 of the images of my choice with photo release for $250. I think that is the way I am going to go. Then get them printed at Walgreens or something. (They have a BOGOF deal this week for 8x10s, for example). Although I think the quality of the prints from places like Walgreens will be nothing like from the photographer. I think I may order a big print size from Walgreens or somewhere for myself for our living room wall. I believe they make some that are more like a canvas print rather than a photo??? I am going to look into that.

Edited to add: I just looked at Walgreens and the 16x20 canvas is $79.99 and the 20x24 canvas is $99.99!!!!! I guess I will go with a regular print! I think those are $9.99.


Maggie

 

[BCBug]

I interviewed several photographers in our area, the national ones (Jostens, Jolesch), plus local ones, and got a huge range of prices, but all were very expensive for few pictures. So I formed my own strategy: we went to JCPenney, used a coupon for $4 sheets, and ordered $100 of wallets, 8x10's. 5x7's, all of indoor shots. They turned out great, really high quality, and the photographer had a good time, she said she just loves seniors, took some time with us. Then for outdoors shots, I went on Craigs List, searched "photographers", and came up with quite a few listings of freelance photographers in our area. We went with one who has his own studio, charged a $69 sitting fee, which included 15 4x6 proofs, and ordered additional wallets, 8x10's. 5x7's, etc, from him. Spent $200 on the outdoor shots, including the sitting fee. Grand total:$300, and I got a ton of pics! I would have been just as happy with the JCP pics, they are great. But DS wanted outdoor shots, too.

 

[horseshowmom]

I agree with finding somebody who will sell you the rights to the pictures. We just did this with my daughter's wedding pictures. The Dis photography board steered me toward mpix.com.

Mpix and their professional name brand Miller's share the same lab. The prints are exceptional. My 11x14's look just as good as my 5x7's, and I thought their prices were very reasonable.

I am also very impressed by their customer service. When the prints arrived, I realized that the photographer's name (and the lower part of the picture) was partially cropped in some of the pictures. Turns out, I should have adjusted the cropping (on their site) before I submitted the pictures (instead of just uploading them and sending them on as is). It was my mistake entirely, but mpix told me not to worry about, just to send the ones that were affected back to them, they would refund my money, and I could reorder them the way I wanted them. Very impressive!

 

[MELSMICE]

I have twins and we didn't have extra money for $500 on photos with all of the other senior year expenses. I took them to Target with s $8.99 coupon. I got lucky with a great photographer, who even suggested changing outfits (they are boys and did not care to bother). They each got a portait package for 8.99 with lots of photos for relatives, and a good selection of poses.
We got lots of compliments of their portraits, I did not mention to anyone where they were taken!

I have twins also, so double the cost for us too!

We went to Penney's. The senior portrait packages start at $99.99. They each changed outfits 3X & even got some pics together.

I purchased the $99.99 package for each of them & still have pictures sitting here that we have yet to give to anyone because there were so many. They turned out very nice. Granted, we didn't get the outdoor scenes, etc., but I was very pleased with the pictures.

We did the same thing for our older DD. This is just me, but it was tough for me to justify costs of $500 or more for pictures, even for one child. Double the cost & it just wasn't going to happen!

Good luck with your decision.

P.S. Poohbear - one bonus is that there is only one grad party to pay for instead of 2 separate ones!

 

[pamjb]

My son's school also "suggests" a photographer for the senior portraits. I did take him there for his yearbook photo. He did clothing changes and we picked a nice one for the yearbook. There was a coupon in the "coupon clipper" that we get in the mail for 50% off the sitting fee. So it cost me about $50.

The same day, while he was "in the mood" I took him to Penney's to have a package taken. Same clothing changes and I spent about $75 on the same pictures that would of cost me $600 thru the photographer.

And nobody is the wiser.........

 

[Debbie7452]

Some local studios have programs where you can agree to let them use your pictures for promotional purposes (advertising) and they give you perks like free sitting fees and pictures. My daughter was asked to do this by a studio where she got her drill team pictures taken every year.

Basically she will be a model for them and be paid in pictures. The photographer is going to take her around our small town to get local sites in the background which she is really excited about. She is really photogenic but has no modeling experience. Anyway, I had never heard of this, but DD has friends who have done it before.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Wow change of clothes, outdoor shots and photobooks. Heck when I had mine done you went to the photographer the school picked , put on your tuxedo coat, shirt and bow tie, sat down had a couple of pictures made then got up and left. I have a junior in high school now and thats the way I am going to try to convince him to go.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I never bought my DD senior pictures packages. We were going to go to Target or Sears until they had a photographer come to school in the spring for cap aand gown pictures.
For the price of what I use to spend on her yearly school pictures, these pixs came out the best.

 

[hugabearjo]

Thanks guys for the input. I never thought about combining them so that I only have to buy a few of the outdoor, formal ones. I think I will look into penneys, or sears, or walmart or something. I wonder if they could show me some recent pictures taken if I went in since they are all digital now.

Good ideas. I will start being creative about combining them.

Any idea how to tell a quality photo? is it just personal preference?

Thanks again-

 

[maggiew]

I agree with finding somebody who will sell you the rights to the pictures. We just did this with my daughter's wedding pictures. The Dis photography board steered me toward mpix.com.

Mpix and their professional name brand Miller's share the same lab. The prints are exceptional. My 11x14's look just as good as my 5x7's, and I thought their prices were very reasonable.

I am also very impressed by their customer service. When the prints arrived, I realized that the photographer's name (and the lower part of the picture) was partially cropped in some of the pictures. Turns out, I should have adjusted the cropping (on their site) before I submitted the pictures (instead of just uploading them and sending them on as is). It was my mistake entirely, but mpix told me not to worry about, just to send the ones that were affected back to them, they would refund my money, and I could reorder them the way I wanted them. Very impressive!

I looked into the mpix and they look nice. Which of the types of paper did you get? Did you get the Kodak e-surface paper or the metallic? The prices seem to be in line with Walgreens (although no coupons) and the big print sizes are reasonable too.

Maggie

 

[horseshowmom]

I looked into the mpix and they look nice. Which of the types of paper did you get? Did you get the Kodak e-surface paper or the metallic? The prices seem to be in line with Walgreens (although no coupons) and the big print sizes are reasonable too.

Maggie

I got the e-surface paper, but I considered the metallic since many of my daughter's pictures were outdoors with lots of color. I asked that question, and most of the photographers that were replying (some of whom were professionals) said that they thought I would be pleased with the metallic, but for wedding pictures they would go with the regular paper just to be sure.

Here's the link to my thread so you can read more about it.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2297964&highlight=mpix

 

[mickimousemama]

I would suggest checking your local Craigslist. alot of photographers who are just starting out or updatiing portfolios offer incredible deals if you sign a photo release

 

[PebblesMK]

There are a few pointers that I can throw out. I'm not sure how "big" senior portraits are in your area, but around here, there are a ton of photographer options. To get the best idea is to call studios and find out their pricing. Sometimes the price is a bit higher, but you also get what you pay for. At the studio that I work at, anything that is 8x10 or bigger gets sprayed and is also posted on almost like a cardboard type material that makes the pictures resistant to dents and with the protective coat, you can't scratch the portrait and also it won't fade if it's in the sun and is even resistant to liquids.
Do the malls around you have up booths with all local photographers work? You can really see the varying degree of attention to detail. There are also usually brochures that you can take to read up on the company. If you don't have that, just call studios and request that they send you information, including prices.
Typically with the prices, they aren't flat fees. The studio I work at, people spend on average of 2000-3000 dollars for senior pics, however, there are a lot of people who walk away with a lot of portraits for as little as 200-300 dollars. Another helpful hint is that almost all Portrait studios will have deals going on for upcoming seniors. Let's say your child is graduating in 2011, in the spring of 2010 (February-April), there will be price breaks for the early birds. Our session fees are 150 dollars for the longest session, but during those times, they can be as little as 30 dollars (which insures 2-2 1/2 hours, makeup, endless backgrounds and up to 6 clothing changes). Also, if you order by a certain date, you can save up to 70% on your order. You also don't have to order everything at once...though you do typically have to pay for it before you can pick up any of the pictures. Oh, and paying a little bit each week is an amazing idea. We have a few mom's who have children who will be seniors in 2-3 years and she pays 30 dollars a month or a week or whatever she can afford so that she has a credit on her account when it comes time for pictures. It's a lot less painful that way.

The last suggestion that I could make is have your child apply to be an ambassador. There are so many perks to doing that, including free pictures and sometimes the coffee table books, also the CDs come as part of the deal (apparently a 600 dollar value) and fun little business cards with their pictures on it to give out to everybody else.

Take your time in picking a place. If there are certain things that are really important to you, like retouching or outdoor shots, just do a bit of research. If you have any questions, call up a studio and have them answer general questions you may have. Senior portraits are a once in a lifetime thing, but you don't have to break your bank going all out.