School photographs

Tempest? paddyann54.
We used them and had a lovely photographer called Mary who took individual staff ones if people wanted. She also took the school pets for freebies. I must try and dig some out.

We had beautiful photos of our 3 year old GD at nursery .Taken last week .She is used to being photographed all the time so when the photographer ,a friend of her Aunt asked if she would like to have her picture taken she just said OK and sat on the seat ,folded her legs under her and posed .smiley in some and her serious face in others .
The photographer was delighted with her ,as are we .

Most schools around the UK used to be photographed by a company based in Cornwall ,they just hired a local for a day in each area but all the finances were worked out between them and the schools.Who did always get a "cut" of the sales ,depending on how good the headteacher was at negotiating .
Nowadays most parents buy the download for a small fee and print what they want .
Photographers need to make a living too .especially after covid when many lost their businesses and others were left with no support because they are self employed .
We closed ours after 45 years when everything had to be cancelled and decided not to reopen .Enforced retirement ,I wish all the young photographers better times ahead

Witzend!!🤣🤣🤣. What a fantastic image!
Hopefully they had forgotten to mention it before school started again.

TBH dd and SiL often take better photos on their phones!

There was a lovely one last Christmas - all 3 Gdcs in Santa hats, sitting front of the newly decorated tree, and all evidently laughing their heads off. I asked dd what they were laughing at - son in law was doing his ‘bare bum’ dance! 😂

I was given one last night actually. It was of both the grandchildren together as the Boy Wonder moves up to secondary school after this year (goodness) so the school takes the ‘leaver’ plus sibling(s) as a one-off. It’s a decent one too of both of them - a bonus. I shall buy a frame this weekend 6x8” so not small!

I have yet to get one school photo of any of my 4 grand children even though I have offered to pay for them myself, so I would welcome one with open arms. I can remember years ago a school photo of my two eldest children and they both looked like they had been in a scrap and thrown dinner down each other. My mam loved the photo and said it added character!

I think every year there should be a choice of single shots, one with siblings, and a class photo. The class photo is very important because it shows the other children and even 70 years later you can look at them and remember! Then once every 5 years a whole school photo. But they should be affordable.

That's the beauty of it Witzend, no one has to buy them especially if they are comical nothing like the child's usual expression!

Dd gets a look at them before ordering - or not. More than once it’s been ‘not’ because the photos (2 Dgcs together) didn’t do one or both of them justice at all.

Some photographers seem to take a lot more trouble than others. There have been a few really lovely ones but most have been pretty ‘meh’ - certainly not worth the price.

Chestnut

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.