School photographs

I thought it was an outside service that did the photos and made the profit not the school.

I would assume photographers businesses suffered when everyone has a camera in their pocket so their cost seems expensive when you can do it for nothing yourself.

It is not compulsory to have the photos.

I never bought school photos.
I dislike them intensely, so I've no intention of paying a packet for them (despite being on benefits)

Schools will benefit financially by having a deal with the photographers, they wouldn't do it otherwise.
It’s the same for school uniforms, they make money out of that too. It’s a nice little earner.

The secondary school where I worked facilitated the photographer but gained nothing from it. Same with uniform. I live in Scotland.

I did get school photos when the children brought them home. I didn't want to refuse but always thought it was a rip off.
Our son complained the other day about school photos. His twins are in separate classes so their photos were not taken together. He didn't purchase the pictures he took his own photographs and saved a lot of money.

Both my DGS have had their pictures taken at school and nursery respectively. Neither looked happy, and DGS2 had a bit of a meltdown just before, so we won’t be buying either.

I bought the ones of my DC, they didn't seem so expensive years ago. Some are in frames (one of each).
The rest are all in a box somewhere, at least it will give them a laugh one day when they clear the house 👨‍🏫👩‍🏫👩‍🏫👨‍🎓👩‍🎓👩‍🎓

Yes we also have a box full and they are lovely to look back on especially class photos.It isn't the photos I object to it's the price I'm sure they can be processed at an affordable price.At least they do not now send home packs of photos with child who then has to return them if parents cannot afford the added expense.
My comment on benefits wasn't with malice but any extra help for elderly/children are only available if you are in receipt of certain benefits and I know of many who because of this are really struggling and are in fact worse off after paying for everything.

silverlining48

Schools will benefit financially by having a deal with the photographers, they wouldn't do it otherwise.
It’s the same for school uniforms, they make money out of that too. It’s a nice little earner.

If you had any idea at all of how desperately short of money state schools are you wouldn't be making deeply unpleasant comments like this, silverlining48.

It was different years ago, but now everyone takes numerous photos at the drop of a hat, I would have expected this practice to have been phased out.

There is quite a lot of work going on at the moment about the 'price of the school day', primary schools in particular can be expensive, it was a very rare week when I didnt have to send money in for trips, children in need (sorry it all adds up for people) school fair etc. I am hoping to see some actions from the training and discussions that are currently happening. In my experience secondary school (other then uniforms) wasnt as bad.

It’s not compulsory to buy school photos and in my experience schools make nothing. School organise photo day as a service to parents. As for the ‘price of the school day’, in many many cases if parents won’t pay for the extras, it ends up falling onto the teachers. And if these kinds of activities were scrapped, parents are very fast to complain.

No one is criticising schools, it is schools themselves who are discussing the issue. It's pretty much an item on every governors meeting I attend.

I have never liked the posed school photos. Sometimes they can make the child look quite different.
If the parents buy us them then we will put them in a frame, but otherwise I take an annual photo of all the GCs when they can get together.
I put that photo in the same frame each year with the previous years behind it. It’s a lovely record of them growing up.

I know the school photographers have to make a living, but DD/we have just paid £25 for two photos, one for them and one for us.
To solve the problem for us, because parents do ask for school photos, despite having the means to take their own, a staff member takes photos at the start of the year, for display on the class ‘stars of the week’ board throughout the year.
Parents are given the photo free at the end of the year, or can see the photo and download a copy for £5 (for the school) and print off as many as they want.
It’s a way of boosting school funds and provides photos for use on school award boards.

What a good idea Mollygo. Luckily my children's primary school would co-ordinate children in different classes to be photographed together unless the parents requested separate ones. They would even allow a younger sibling not yet at school or nursery class to be brought in for the photo The only time you'd need to get separate photos was the whole class one.

MaizieD

silverlining48

Schools will benefit financially by having a deal with the photographers, they wouldn't do it otherwise.
It’s the same for school uniforms, they make money out of that too. It’s a nice little earner.

If you had any idea at all of how desperately short of money state schools are you wouldn't be making deeply unpleasant comments like this, silverlining48.

Why is the comment deeply unpleasant? (I assume state schools are extremely grateful for any extra cash in the kitty to spend as they please). A very nice little earner. We get 30% of the sales at school.

Those summer term whole school long ones are the worst for staging. Setting up tables, chairs, benches for 3 or 4 hundred children to wobble on, (a couple of kids always fall off). Checking everyone has the same uniform, jumpers off etc. The sun in the eyes, the bees and wasps flying around ready to sting. The Headmaster's dog doing a wee up the tripod. Utter chaos!

I’m really surprised parents are still being sent printed school photos. I haven’t worked in schools for a number of years now, but even then there was a digital photo parents could see and order a printed copy if they wanted.

I always used to take a “first day at school” photo in the nursery and then again in Reception (big school)😬 of each child busy at an activity. They were £1.00 each and were very popular.

Mollygo

I know the school photographers have to make a living, but DD/we have just paid £25 for two photos, one for them and one for us.
To solve the problem for us, because parents do ask for school photos, despite having the means to take their own, a staff member takes photos at the start of the year, for display on the class ‘stars of the week’ board throughout the year.
Parents are given the photo free at the end of the year, or can see the photo and download a copy for £5 (for the school) and print off as many as they want.
It’s a way of boosting school funds and provides photos for use on school award boards.

This is a good idea, and also means that (heaven forbid) if a child goes missing there will always be an up to date mugshot to give to the police.

If I had children at school I would be pushing back fairly hard (and encouraging other parents to do so) at all the money they expect parents to find. School uniforms, school trips, non uniform days, presents for teachers (!!) and so on.

My parents did not have the money for things like that and I just had to tough it out in second hand skirts, no trip to France (although my parents were offered a bursury) and no school trips unless I managed to sneak on the bus in the crush. My sister did get these things because by then I was working and my salary went straight onto her back.

I know I would be one of "those parents" that the school learned to be very wary of.

Back in the 1980s I used to go into the primary school and take class photos myself because no-one else did it! Then I offered them for sale to the parents (can't remember how much I charged). It was tricky getting them all lined up on benches but mostly because of the light. A cloudy but bright day was great, we could go in the playground, but if the sun was shining then I had to squeeze them round the side of the school in the shade.

Copies of school photos of GC have, for many years been among my Christmas gifts from my AC and their partners. Now, only one child is still at school and I have a feeling that he would do anything to avoid the camera! However, in five years' time, I'm confident that my new GGD' s school photograph will show up in my Christmas stocking.

Chestnut

Nowadays that probably wouldn't be allowed because of safeguarding issues.