Comments on: We’re Paying More for School Photos This Year

By: jascha

jascha — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:20:12 +0000

I wanted to ADD to my last post…our “package” was 65.00. Last year we paid a LOT less (can’t recall the price but alwasy found the price to be perfectly reasonable).

By: jascha

jascha — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:16:40 +0000

Our photos easily jumped 50% this year. I was shocked. The handling fee was 8.00 on top of over-priced pictures. I feel horrible for not purchasing my children’s class photo at the very least, but I can’t afford it and I don’t appreciate the inflation. The KIDS lose out here. I’m sad about it. We already pay the highest tuition in our small city….out of lack of school choices….I suppose if you can pay that they assume they can get you for photos too. Not us.

By: Cindy Smith

Cindy Smith — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:36:47 +0000

Does anyone have a listing of the prices of the photo packages from Lifetouch this year for North Carolina?

By: Ken Roy

Ken Roy — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:32:35 +0000

My mother was an elementary school principal mostly in schools where a lot of her students came from low income familys. She put out a bid request every year for photos. She encouraged the responding bidders to keep the price of the class picture low. She always got at least 1 bid with the class pic priced almost free to get the contract. One year she was able to buy a class pic for all of her students (about 250) w/ $125 donated by her PTA. Noone went without a class pic.Isn’t that the pic that matters anyway? You can get individual pics dirt cheap when the big stores run specials.
So my point (finally, sorry)is: Lobby the principal of your kids schools to agressively protect your pocket, it’s easy for them to stay with the same vendor as last year if they don’t think anyone’s watching!

By: kim

kim — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:46:07 +0000

The package that included the cd was $35.00 and I’ll receive 3-8×10s, 4-5×7s, 4-3×5s, 8-2×3s. This doesn’t usually happen. Usually when I try to buy the cheapest package and add a picture on it just equals the same.

By: kim

kim — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:43:01 +0000

We had the option of purchasing a portrait cd this year – $25.00 on top of package price. But there was a surprising great deal. The cheapest package at $31.00 incl. 2-5×7s, 2-3×5s, 12-2×3s –
The package that INCLUDED THE CD

By: Jaclyn

Jaclyn — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:29:24 +0000

Hi everyone, I’m a business reporter at The Detroit News looking into school portrait prices for a story. Are any of you from Michigan? Which photographers are your schools using? jtrop@detnews.com

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:39:13 +0000

Hi, I found your site from a link from a US news world report story. Our school pictures also increased dramatically this year. Most schools use bigger companies to do their school pictures, lifetouch, olan mills, etc. Since the majority of the photographers travel and gas prices have gone up so much in the last year the travel expenses have gone through the roof, which they in turn have passed along to us parents.
I’m thinking about suggesting to the school board looking into a local photographer for the spring pictures.

By: CanadianKate

CanadianKate — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:32:35 +0000

I compromised and did the Walmart studio package instead. I got to be there, they’d shoot each kid alone and the two together (to create the illusion of sibling harmony!) and I’d get to approve of each shot. We always had lots of photos at a good price. Remember to book in now because by November there aren’t many after school appointments left.

The package at Sears Portrait studio is currently 35 photos for $9.99. Way cheaper than school photos.

By: Esther

Esther — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:35:18 +0000

At my daughters’ school, if you volunteer a bit of your time to help the photographer round-up the kids or prepare them for their individual shots, you can get your photos for free.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:21:21 +0000

My dd’s photos was 20% more this year. I also kind of feel obligated to get it from the school instead of taking it myself – the children get all dressed up and I don’t want dd to feel left out if all the other children are participating.

By: The Bald Monkey

The Bald Monkey — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:09:20 +0000

My son just started preschool this year so it was the first time for us to order photos. I don’t know what they cost last year but I do know that if you wanted to get photos on a CD, you could choose one photo, and get one copy in Hi res for printing and one in Low res for emailing, for the low low price of $56!!!!

Absolutely ridiculous.

By: danielle

danielle — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:57:37 +0000

I never pay for photos, but that may change when my daughter gets to school age.
We have a nice digital camera, and I have made so many nice prints with it. I just pay for whatever it is to print.

By: a.b.

a.b. — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:31:28 +0000

I think it’s almost like being held hostage as well, because most schools require their professional photographer to be in the school yearbook or class photos. It gets to be a little bit much when it’s a 50% jump. You can always inform the school and see what they say. I’d be surprised if they even noticed.

By: celticbuffy

celticbuffy — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:48:40 +0000

They increased in our school also. I buy the smallest package and the kids always seems to hate how they look in them. I feel like such a meanie if I don’t why them, though. I guess it’s because I don’t want them to feel left out when they are passed out around the classroom. This year our company did offer a family package where you paid full price for the first two kids and half price for any child thereafter. That helped some.

By: creditcardfree

creditcardfree — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:24:05 +0000

Yes, they increased for us this year, too.

By: Simon

Simon — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:43:36 +0000

Professional photography is definitely becoming more and more expensive.

I worked at the photo studio that did the graduation pictures for my high school while I was in high school.

Even I was surprised at the prices they charged when I was only paid $8/hr.