School Picture Time

[MittenKitten]

For my 5 year old they had pictures the day BEFORE school started at the orientation. Didn't even know how much it was going to cost. They only sent out the district school calendar and didn't give the parents any other notice. With this being a kindergarden school I am sure there will be many having their first ones done at retakes.

[Deleted]

Sept 16, 2011 6:51:49 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

Ugh! Already! Why do they have to do this the first week of school anyway? They announce it and you dont even have time to schedule a haircut or anything like that.
As for price, the ONLY pic i need is one 8x 10. I used to give pics to relatives, but most of the time, they don't do anything with them anyway. So, i usually hang up their big pic. And, wallet photos are oK but i rarely pull those out anyway. So, the ONLY package that included an 8 x 10 was $29. You can't just buy one 8x10. But, i have 3 kids so um $90! Well, not this year. Usually i have just automatically bought stuff. This year, not going to get 8 x 10 but the smaller $10 package with a couple smaller photos and put all 3 kids in one frame. I think that is getting absurd. And, you don't even get the pics for months.

I believe that once the pictures come in there is an order form in the package. Maybe you'll be able to order just 8x10's off of there.

[sheilaincali]

At my son's school (and the other schools in town) you have to stop by the school to get your information packet and schedule a one on one with your kids teacher for the following week (right before school starts). At the one on one you turn in all your paperwork, drop off the school supplies, pay for lunches, get school photos done, join pta, etc. So we had about a week's notice but the bonus was I was there and could make sure the kid smiled for his picture. Cost me $26 for the smallest package.

[MittenKitten]

Sheila: We could have done a package for $11 for some wallets but I did the $39 package because then I get the CD and can make copies off snapfish. So I will have $80 in pictures and need to go to snapfish to get more 5x7s as I do not have enough.

Now I need to take DD in to have hers done as she is not in school yet. Will go through Walmarts picture studio so that will be another $30 there.

[rmtvbrooks]

I never like how my kids' pics turn out, so I stopped buying them a long time ago. I'd rather take my digital SLR outside and get some candid and posed shots of them at home. They always turn out better anyway, and since I took them, I can make as many prints as I want. Their smiles are always more natural somehow. I have a picture of them sitting on my desk now that my mom took, and it's way better than any school picture they've ever had made. They surprised me with it for my birthday yesterday (with my mom's help, of course!). We also have a living history park here in town that is beautiful, and we've taken pics there, too. They look professional, and because we're using digital, we can take as many as our card will hold (over 1,000!) and pick the best of them. It's a lot less expensive, too!

[Chocolate Lover]

School pictures here have sucked so long that I just tell the kids, we own a camera, I take better pictures than that and they agree. They don't miss it and I don't miss the extortion of paying an extreme price
for a few measly pictures. And, you can't order an 8 x 10 separately. You can order a small package ($15??) THEN pay $10 for one 8 x 10. I don't think so.

[thyme4change]

I guess I thought it was one of the great shared passages of life - having crappy school pictures. It spans regions, generations, economic classes, race, gender, really everything. I would hate to miss the great experience of documenting the horrid school pics of my kids. What will I blackmail them with later?

[zibazinski]

You forget the "kickback" the school gets for these photos.

[Clever Username]

Sept 16, 2011 13:23:50 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I would hate to miss the great experience of documenting the horrid school pics of my kids.

Ah, one of the great truths in life.
During that giant Kennedy's auction, one of the items on the block was Jackie O's driver's license.

One of the most poised, elegant woment on the planet: horrible ID photo.

Anyone ever see the Youtube video Validation?
That could have gotten an Oscar nom.

[thyme4change]

LOL - my last two driver's license photos were great. I guess the guy working at my DMV was a wedding photographer needing a steady day job.

[42er]

They do them twice a year here. In the fall, you order in advance and can do retakes if needed. These are kind of the old stand bys. In the spring they do another set. You don't order. They just make up a whole package and send it home. You can buy whatever you want out of it or send it all back. I always thought that was such a waste. I guess that they are banking on the fact that you can't give up those pics of your little darling once you see them... and of course it's a much better deal if you buy them all. I second your ugh.

[reader79]

Ask the school to have all of your children in the same shot. That's what my mother did - at the time she had three of us enrolled in the same elementary school. She flat out told them that she couldn't afford three sets of pictures. They had to pull two of us out of class to go in with my older sisters group, but the pictures came out nice.

[42er]

Great idea!

[lazysundays]

You didn't get your kid a haircut for the first day if school!!!

[mizbear]

The only school pic I was really upset about was my senior one. They scheduled it during cross country practice. My grandmother has said ever since that she wished she knew she could have had my pics taken somewhere else and just given the school a pic for the yearbook. It would have saved us a lot of money and the pics would have looked so much better. For starters- my cousin could have taken the pics down by the water for nothing but the cost of film!

This year we are taking my nieces' pics digitally and making our own copies. School packs are much too expensive. And my ex-SIL always says "I'll make sure you get a photo" and never follows through- even when someone else pays for the photos....

[reeneejune]

My mom only got the class photo every year... the little thumbnail of every kid in the class on one sheet. And I was fine with that. I never understood the practice of printing up the whole set and sending it home. Really? You're going to trust a kid to get those photos home safely without damaging them or losing them, then bring whatever the family doesn't buy back, again without damaging or losing them?! Our school did that once, and the parents got so ticked off the school changed photography companies.

[mizbear]

reenee- Around here, trusting the kids is better than trusting the mailman- then it will get squished in the mailbox.

[bring in the new year]

Hey, as proud aunt, I say get the pics.

Yes, I can take pictures myself. But the true proof of an aunt's love is the hanging of school pictures for all of the grades.

And then, once they start dating? The payoff. Showing their pictures to the new friend.

[mizbear]

bridget- The real payoff when they start dating- I have the pics of them playing with Blue's Clues

[MittenKitten]

For me school pics ensures I get a picture of the kids once a year. Especially with DS#2 being such a handful to have them done.

I will say this year even though they did it before school started for DS#2 it worked out well. Guy took like 10 pictures and we did get a very cute one. DS#2 is 5 YO autistic and nonverbal. It can be extremely difficult to get pictures of him.

[Deleted]

Sept 16, 2011 13:23:50 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I guess I thought it was one of the great shared passages of life - having crappy school pictures. It spans regions, generations, economic classes, race, gender, really everything. I would hate to miss the great experience of documenting the horrid school pics of my kids. What will I blackmail them with later?

My Mom always got 8x10's for all of us each year. When they downsized last year they gave us all our pictures. So now I have my kindergarten picture in a frame next to DD's kindergarten picture.
I don't see the similarity myself, but people comment that she looks just like me.

[sheilaincali]

Found DH's school photos in his backpack this weekend (teenagers are the worst when it comes to giving their parents the paperwork they bring home ) They are the best school pictures he has had since probably kindergarten. Of course I only ordered 2 5x7's and some wallets. Now DH tells me last night "Oh BTW, my mom wants us to send her pics of the Boy".

Gee thanks for the warning BEFORE I ordered the damn pictures. Now I have to try to order another 5 x 7. Not amused seeing as DH is an only child so DS is the only grandchild of wealthy retirees and they have made no effort to see or speak to my son in nearly 3 years now. But please let me drop everything to special order you a school photo! sorry years of resentment and anger just bubbled to the surface.

[bluecluessubtlety]

I buy them every year and don't know why. He's in 7th grade and I have NEVER hung one up at home. I know the relatives do nothing with them (in fairness I don't do anything with theirs either). So probably no reason to buy them.

In fact the school pic is what they use for student IDs. My son took a picture of the student ID up close with his camera phone. He emailed it to me and I printed that for my desk since I won't receive the school pics for weeks (he got the school ID same day pics were taken). So this year I really have no need for the school pic.