School photos
 

My daughter just had her senior yearbook photos taken. They were required to go to a studio that is a 30 minute drive from our school, during the summer. Otherwise, you will not be in the yearbook.

Aside from this ridiculousness, I just hate school photos. I used to be a photographer so I usually dislike the photos the kids come home with from school. I take thousands of great photos of my kids myself.
Yet, somehow, I always feel like I have to buy at least one school photo just to have.

How about you? Do you buy the school photos? Do you do anything with them?

I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT as you!!

Well, I'm a homeschooler so don't need to do photos... yet, when we have church photos done every 5 years, I feel obligated to buy then and give them to family. However, this year for dance, I didn't buy them... *gasp*


Geez, why do they have to be so expensive - one 5x7 was $19! Are school ones really expensive?

Yes, school ones are expensive like that! Not too expensive for photography generally but pretty expensive for something that is mass produced and not retouched!

I feel the same way. I buy one single 8x10 from school for each of my girls (I'm actually surprised they let me do this and not HAVE to buy the package to get the 8x10). I stopped giving the wallet sized ones out after the first year at school b/c it got to be too expensive and frankly they can see the kids on FB, in texts, etc.

My kids are having theirs taken today at school... individual photos, class photos and sibling photos (the two of them together) - all up its costing me $80. Sporting team photos are next week, which I probably won't buy. I like to get an individual pic plus their class photos but you can only get that combination in a package that comes with multiple sizes of the individual pics. I don't care about any of that. You also get a high res down-loadable individual photo, which is what I really like, but you can't get that unless you buy a package.... aaargh!! Drives me mad.

All I ever do with the photos is scan the class ones and use that plus the down-loadable ones in a digi-scrap page for my photobook - and never look at the packaged stuff ever again!

I only buy the photos if I really, really like them.
I have the same problem you have: my husband is a great photographer, so I always have amazing photos of my kids.
The school photos really have to be special to make me buy them...

I buy a few here and there if one turns out great or it's been a while but I don't buy every one. I tend to buy at least one package for whatever their thing is, like sports, band etc. They like candids better anyway and I scrapbook so...

I only ever buy the class photo. I don't do individual or sibling ones.

I always buy the most basic package, headshot & class photo. I always wished my parents had bought mine so I could look back on them.

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I buy the smallest package that includes 2 8x10s (one for us & one for my mom). This usually includes the class picture, too. The 8x10 goes in a frame on the wall.

My family loves them so I hand them out but we almost always have leftovers. I chuck those.

It's our first one this year and we bought the two individual ones and one of the class group. It costed us around US$50 for those three files and two of them printed. They did some basic retouch on the photos, so I am not terribly disappointed, but boy they are pricey!

My kid goes to public HS school in TX. Two sets of pictures each year, and now the kid has band pictures on top of that! I am under the mindset I have to have every picture ever taken of my kid, for some very expensive reason......that said I have only turned one set of school pictures away without purchase because the photographer just did not pose him properly. Most of my purchases though are on CD, that way I can share what I want digitally, print what I want for family that just can't print and in the exact sizes I want (no more of those wasted wallets!), and use exactly what I want to scrap. The band photos now are the only ones I have to buy in sheets and I gave me feedback on not having a CD to the company.

How odd that you have to use a certain photographer for the yearbook photo! I've always taken Cheyanne's photos for "school" but she has the requisite school photo taken at no charge for the yearbook and her school ID badge.

She is a senior now also and she's getting her formal senior pics done by a professional of our choice at the end of August. From these shots she'll choose one to be in the yearbook - and her yearbook does color photos (we don't have to go to a specific photographer for her senior yearbook photo). We love, love, love the photographer who is doing hers and it's a big deal. I take and edit great photos myself but I wanted someone with a different eye and a professional to do these once-in-a-lifetime photos. I'm not even going with her, so she won't be self-conscious in the photos. She gets to bring a friend at no extra cost so she's taking her lifelong BFF (like her sister really) and they're going to do a couple tribute photos involving her BFFs real younger sister who passed away last year. She'll have studio shots, outdoor shots, and beach at sunset shots. I cannot wait to see them!

Yes, I buy those hideous photos every year and do nothing with them. That is the only fundraiser I'll do.

I took my daughter to get her Senior Portraits taken (the one you have to go to for the yearbook - cap and gown). The shoot went really well so I asked them how much it would cost if I bought the unedited digital files.....

$1,600 for 20 files. Seriously!

Whoa!!! And I thought Cheyanne's were pricey! She gets 40 images (one of these images she chooses for the yearbook), with one hour in studio 1 hour in our downtown area (very historic), and sunset shots at the beach later in the evening. She also gets hair and makeup included, unlimited outfit changes, a friend can join her at no charge, a bound book of all her images, a "photobooth" style print sheet with 20 different photobooth type shots, and the rights to the 40 final images with permission to print at a very reasonable on-line place that the photographer trusts to do justice to her photos - all for $675. And what I love about this photographer is that instead of buying a "package" with preset print sizes and amounts, I can order only what I need and an 8x10 is less than $3.00. Cap and gown photos don't come until the week of graduation for her school.

Now I don't feel quite so bad about spending $675 :D

Oh my gosh! Sunset, Historic town, Beach, Hair and Makeup? Talk about a teenager's dream! That sounds so fun!

Elyse's photos took 30 minutes and she only had 2 outfit changes - the black drape and the cap and gown.

My sister is an amazing photographer so she told my daughter she'd take her into San Francisco for a Senior Session. I'm so excited!

San Fran will be an amazing place for a photo shoot! I haven't been there in years but always loved going up there when we lived in San Diego :)

This is actually a great deal.

I've never purchased school photos. Luckily for me when my daughter graduates, she's responsible for submitting her own yearbook photos and this Mama bought a studio setup during Amazon Prime Days to take said photos since we don't have a decent place here in the new house!

But yeah, in years past...I've taken photos or scanned their photos, but I've never purchased them. They are a ripoff!!

I buy the digital download of the fall pictures every year. It's fairly reasonable around $20 or so. I also buy the class picture every year. I want to at least have that for him even though I take tons of photos. Our school also does spring pictures, with these ridiculous spring like back drops and I've never bought any of those.