So, who DOESN'T buy school pics???

[cepmom]

I stopped buying them a few years ago. In the fall we have to pre-pay and they almost always came out awful A couple of times they came out nice and I felt bad for not buying them though (the same picture is on the school ID)

Just sent DD off this morning for freshman orientation where they are doing pictures for yearbook and ID's and I did not send in a payment...

 

[ICF]

We havent bought them the last couple of years either. To get the variety of sizes that we would want in order to give to grandparents etc, it would cost over $40 per kid.

We can take them to Target and get more than enough for $10.

 

[Styx Fan]

Sports pictures could have bankrupted us over the years. For a while DS14 was doing 3 sports a year. Then he went down to 2 and DD7 started dance and soccer. Except for dance, they are all done by the same company so they all would have looked alike except for the ball involved and the uniform, LOL!

So I make sure to take lots of pictures every season, plus video so the kids are more than covered.

What drives me crazier is that the pictures are always a different time than the games so we often have to plan a weekend day around them. For instance DD will be playing soccer this fall on Saturdays at noon. Her pictures are on a Sunday at 1:00. Really? Both days of our weekend we have to plan around something smack in the middle of the day? DH is coach so he feels he has to go to the pictures. For this sport we do get a free pic of the team and one of him and DD, so at least it's not all for nothing. But I finally drew the line with DS and we opted out of even going. I think it's nuts.

 

[aleshad01]

I don't buy pics from school. I think they cost too much and most of the time I'm not very happy with them. I take my kids to JCPenny to get their pics taken.

 

[Piper]

As a teacher, I used to get so frustrated with how the photographers took the pictures. Sit down-- "say cheese" --snap. About 5 seconds (if that) per child. I taught Pre-K and had 11 different languages in my class that last year (some years a few more or less.)

In the fall, my kids didn't understand a word of what the photographer was saying. I could have gotten good pictures if they would have given me time to model what the children needed to do with an English speaking child--but nope they didn't want to give me the extra minute or two. They were in too much of a hurry.

There is no way I would have bought those pictures!

 

[tzeitel]

We only get the class picture. Only one year they sent the proofs home (we did not get them anyway) but after that they did not send them anymore. Why would I pay for something w/o looking at it first?

 

[MaggieBailey]

For the past two years, I've not purchased school pictures. I have two girls and the cheapest package they offer is $27 per child and that is a pretty basic package...2-5x7's and the rest are wallets. I refuse to pay ALMOST $60 for school pictures when I can take them to the portrait place in town and get EXACTLY WHAT I WANT for a total of $35.

What happened to the days where school pictures were affordable and everyone got them...at least where I was from they did. Now, it's crazy expensive and I only have TWO kids!

This year, I used our new camera- got a nice one!!!! And I did their pictures at the gardens here in town. They look VERY NICE, SUPER!!! I actually got them developed at an online store and for $23 I got 4-11x14's , 8- 5x7's and over 100 4x6 prints...I had a code that I used- and got 100 free prints, for signing up as well!

I just got the pictures in the mail and they look GREAT! ANNNND, I have a ton of pics for Christmas cards now too!

I have 5 younger siblings, and before the jr high years and we were all home schooled, while in public school mom only bought the 8x10 for on the wall. It was just too much for that many kids!

 

[Priorityonecb]

I did it until they hit middle school. Before that, I always thought they'd be sad to not get them when all their other friends did...what kind of mom do you have that doesn't want your pictures?

Once they hit middle school, they couldn't care less. We do professional pictures once a year, that cost me less and are so much better at capturing their passions and personalities. We do get the theater/band/soccer pictures though.

 

[stczt]

I never buy school pics, they tell the kids the day before that pics are tomorrow and give them a order from. Im not paying for pictures ive not seen of kids that need a hair cut.

 

[Pigeon]

I usually just buy the class picture. The photos are never great and sometimes are lousy, you don't get to see them first, they are wildly expensive, and I can get much nicer ones professionally done for about the same price.

 

[PigletsPal2]

DD#1 is a professional photographer (she gets paid for her work but she doesn't do it for a living), so she hasn't purchased school photos in years. About 50-75 of DGD's senior classmates had DD take their senior portraits and about half of the candids in DGD's senior yearbook were DD's work. This year she moved on to (small) weddings, and they're gorgeous!

My three sisters came down this spring, and DD took about 300 shots of us at the Grand Floridian, and we had a hard time selecting which ones we wanted - she made us ALL look good! (ages 59-68)!

Queen Colleen

 

[SailorsWife]

I hate the All School Group photo done at DD school. Never bought it. Why??

One company the school uses lets you buy the sheets a la carte. So much better, I just want one for me and 2 for the grandparents. I get what I want and need. I have no need for a ton of wallets.

I like the class group photo, but dislike the class photo of basically all the head shots. And I so agree, why do we have fall and spring photos now??

 

[marmalade]

Our school last year offered a package that just included the CD and their yearbook for $29. The CD gave the option to change the background or add a border or words and then you just printed out what you wanted. Then at the end of the year they both got the colored yearbook.

I thought it was a pretty good deal.

 

[pannm]

We used to buy the class picture, but it changed and it's just 1 sheet with a small individual photo of each child!!! It made me mad that I spent $12 on it last year! I am used to the 'entire class' posing all together for a photo.
So, last year I spoke to my girls teachers and they had ALL OF THE parents sign a quick note and I went into EACH of their classes and snapped a few photos of all of the kids together. I asked for $1 from each parent who could afford it (all of them paid and were HAPPY TO after they saw the stupid, so called 'class pic') and we ordered everyone from each of their classes a 5x7 of the entire class all together.

The teachers both liked the idea and said they were going to do it again THIS YEAR. It sounds like other teachers have decided to do it as well.

We've tried for three years to change our pictures and make them better from school. They are HORRIBLE! Prices go up and they look worse and worse every year!

I don't think that Walmart or Target or doing them somewhere else is a bad idea at all, you still get 'school pictures' every year that way (even if they aren't taken at the actual school!)

 

[lucyem]

I gave up on school photos a few years ago. I get better shots of my boys on my own. They still take them and send them home for me to look at and decide if I want them. I send them all back. I think what originally stopped me was that my oldest made a face at the camera and no one stopped him or re took the photo. Yeah like I was going to pay $30 for that photo.

This past year they took photos twice with 2 different companies. One was the normal lifetouch with all the fancy backgrounds etc. Then they brought in a second company where the photos were similar prices but much more nicely done. My oldest said the new company made sure you looked nice in the photo before moving on to the next child.

 

[Becc1]

I get the smallest package, I think it comes with 2 5x7's and a few wallets and then I get professional pictures taken every year at Christmas. Then of course there are the sports pictures which I just get the team photo and one individual shot of. When I was younger all of the wallets from the package would go in Christmas cards but we do the photo cards like most of my friends do now so there's no need to put an extra picture in there.

 

[rackofelk]

We always get them. DS is only 10, so maybe I'll change my mind later, but for now, I pay the sill prices and hope they turn out decent.

 

[jessica23]

I buy the fall ones just for the memories And the class one of course. And the year book Times 2, I can't wait till next year when my next dd goes to K and my oldest goes to middle, yikes
I wish they would let you just buy the one 5x7 or whatever though, $20 just for that because I don't want the other bitty ones that no one wants either.

 

[delmar411]

I don't buy the pics, I buy the CD's with rights to print. It's between $12-14 (changes each time) and then I can print out whatever I want and email pics to the IL's for them to print their own.

It's not on the order form but it's an option available on the website when they send you the '2nd chance' order form with the kids' id 3 on it.

 

[luvsJack]

I stopped buying school pictures 2 years ago. I don't buy the class photo either. I do buy a yearbook every year. And this year I had dd's potraits done by a professional photographer that is a friend of the family. $200 and I will have 20 professional shots. And they are fantastic!!