School Pictures: Waste of Money Or Memorable Tradition?
NOTE FROM COLLIN:
Similar to how we do our Try Me Tuesday posts with product recommendations, I thought it would be also fun to do basically the complete opposite. With that said, I introduce “Waste of Money Wednesday!” 😂 This post will be exactly that – the Hip2Save team will be sharing products that they aren’t happy with, products they feel are a waste of money – basically product UN-recommendations.
Hey There! It’s Lina – one of Collin’s sidekicks!
Do you purchase school and team portraits each year, and still have them in the original envelopes? 📸
I recently came across a box of these familiar blue and white Lifetouch envelopes filled with sheets of pictures of my kids. The sad part is that most of them were untouched like the day I received them! Oops!
We just had picture day again, and every year I say maybe we will skip this year, but then I’ll still write that check again because of guilt! And these packages aren’t inexpensive!
That has me thinking… Are school pictures kind of a waste of money?🤔
Maybe it’s because I’m not taking the time to send them to out of state family? Honestly, I can barely manage to get Christmas cards out half the time!
Or maybe because of the internet and the fact that my friends and family see pictures of my kids all the time on my personal social media, so I’m not really as motivated to share these?
(Me in 4th grade with the bangs and acid wash jean outfit! Priceless! )
Remember the old fashioned school class pics?!
Now those portraits are like gold! Why aren’t we still doing these? I would be excited to buy this for my kids to look back on of them with their class. (At least my school doesn’t offer them.)
Doesn’t it seem like there are pictures for every single activity and sport?
Every time we turn around there’s picture day for something… dance, baseball, softball, football, soccer etc. There’s even spring time school pictures!
I hate that there are stacks of pictures collecting dust, but definitely feel like I need to still buy them. Is it okay to stop buying these when your kids are 9 and 11 and already halfway through school? LOL I’ll probably continue buying them or at least buy a digital copy. 🤣
P.S. I did find one great way to organize school portraits, and other important school related papers by creating bins for both of my kids organized by grade level! Go HERE to read about it and grab the FREE organizing printables! 🙂
We need your help!
Do you still buy school or team portraits? Any tips to save money on them?
Any ideas what to do with all these older school pics from years past, still in the sheets?! Asking for a friend! 😉
Other Waste of Money posts:
- THREE Mascaras I Will NEVER Buy Again
- Dear General Mills, Your Charm is Not Making My Bank Account So Lucky!
- These Pioneer Woman Dishes are So CUTE, But Sadly They CHIP…
- Bryn Will NEVER Buy This Nintendo Product Again, Ever!
- Michelle Will NEVER Again Buy A Wanna-Be Roomba Vacuum
- Thinking of Buying a Hoverboard? Read This First!
- I Won’t Buy Cra-Z-Art Crayons Again – Too Waxy, Clumpy & Soft
- Seriously Amazon… Why Such BIG Boxes?
I could really go on a rant about this topic. One of the common denominators from my childhood all through to my children’s school photo experiences is that the photos have almost always been poorly done. There is absolutely no incentive for the photographers to do a good job. They get the money upfront. It is a “move them on in, head them out” process. In my town one studio even has the monopoly on school photos and has for years. If your child is to appear in the annual yearbook with his classmates, you have to go to this studio, pay them upfront, and have the photos taken. It us shocking to me how bad some of these photos are. In my son’s high school graduation photo one of his collars was askew, but the “profession” photographer didn’t notice or didn’t care. We had to pay good money to have the photos taken, even if we didn’t place an order.
In the same boat…the schools must make a profit off of this. Its really sad! Most of her pictures we could pick from she was blinking….not professional at all!
The schools DO get a portion. It’s called a fundraiser & they do these things because our schools are underfunded. I would much rather buy pictures of my kids than candy bars or whatever.
The schools do make a tiny profit (1.50-2.00 per package purchased) on the pictures. They also receive photos that are used on the student files and the school usually receives a copy of each class picture. Yes they are not the greatest, but every dollar helps our schools.
Yeah, I would say they really don’t care too much. My daughter went into her school with all her friends her junior year to get them for an id card and her boyfriend was a goofball along with his friends, so he got in the picture where his friend is suppose to be! So in the yearbook the wrong kid is in the wrong spot 🙂 I don’t think it’s taken too seriously. Needless to say the one kids mother was mad. lol
YES! My friend’s younger sister actually crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue in the second grade and her parents were on the hook to pay for that. It was certainly the most memorable school pic in the neighborhood, but a total waste of money.
My son had green marker on his forehead when the proofs came home. Another student had done it to him intentionally and the photographer didn’t even look / notice it!! Fortunately there was a make up picture Day.
Oh no!
I just wish you could see the picture BEFORE you purchase them! I always get nervous when I open the envelope and pray my kids look normal/like themselves!
Since I have 6 kids I decided LONG ago to forego buying these packages. What I DO, DO is once I get the pictures back from picture day, I head to the website and just order ONE 8×10. It’s $9. I don’t ALWAYS do this, but I’m making a scrapbook of all my kids school pictures RIGHT now and so now I have a record of how they’ve grown over the years. Also, the 8×10 can go in a frame until the next years picture arrives!
Good idea!
Most of the time the one photo is not an option with ours!! Even on the web site…cheapest option is two “digital” shots for $20!!
I buy my kids school pictures and class pictures and yearbooks. I dont have many pics of me as a child so I know when they grow up they will love them.
Our kids are still little so they have pictures during orientation so we actually get to go with them and see it before we order it. I literally buy them for the grandparents! But they aren’t cheap. I feel like I could get better pictures of them for less money if I hired someone or just took them outside on a nice day with my camera. We ordered sports pictures ONCE, they were so bad I couldn’t believe I paid money for them. This year the guy was on vacation so we lined the kids up and took our own, it was so much better and I will definitely do it again next year. We do always purchase the class pictures because I love having the couple that I have. We also get yearbooks.
Our sports pictures are so cute! I love them and I like how we get the whole team in at least one photo.
I have 4 kiddos, we stopped buying them a long time ago. Just doesn’t seem like a good use of our money and honestly I don’t have any of my pics from childhood. I think my kids will be fine. 😉 My older two are in HS and I do buy their sports pics but that’s it.
I don’t know about you ladies but my kids school also sends home this plastic pack of key chains and rulers with my kids pictures on them. Then they ask me to pay $10 for it or send it back to school. Um, you are just going to toss these if I don’t pay you? It may be an asshole move but I just keep them now and don’t pay. The teachers and school have yet to say anything to me about it.
Haha! Funny We’ve gotten them too! I have yet to pay for all that plastic stuff. And I hate the thought of throwing my kids pictures away. They get plenty of our money :p
They really do! I have 4 kids and buy from every fund raiser as well as bug the family to do the same for all 4 kids.
You just keep them? It is a fundraiser for the school. Schools don’t get a lot of funding so I have to resort to this type of thing. But whatever .
nah, We give plenty of money to the schools, they problem is poor management of funds. Our neighbor is the school superintendent and makes well over 250k a year. Why don’t you look it up for your school? It’s public information.
Also, If you send me unsolicited photos of my kids and then tell me to pay you’re taking that risk. Did you read the part in the original comment where she said they were already printed? Sorry, but that’s on them. Geez, did you see what you said? resort to this kind of thing? That’s because it’s sneaky and dishonest. but whatever.
I volunteer through our PTA on school picture day in the fall. Each of my kids then receive a voucher for a free packet. No money spent, no guilt!
I forget about this! Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
Oh I wish my school would offer a free voucher for volunteering at picture day, Ive done it in the past and didn’t get anything (didn’t expect anything though).
I bought pics this year because kiddo is finishing kg but I haven’t the past two years because they are always so pricey! This year the cheapest package was $30 and I was annoyed but oh well. They have add ons like single sheets for $12 but you can’t order them separately, only with a package. They do give a free class portrait though.
I do this too. They don’t always offer, sometimes you have to ask for them.
My son’s school still takes classroom pictures (in the Spring). I always get school pictures for the memories (my parents NEVER bought pictures nor took pictures of me and that didn’t make me feel too great), but only one sheet and I order it from the website after pictures are taken.
I prefer to go to the JCPenney portrait studio for annual school pictures. With coupons for just $3.99 a sheet, free sitting fees, plus, I’m able to pick the best images. Can’t beat that in my book!
I do the same thing Melissa. I think it is a much better deal.
Once I was disappointed my son had a great outfit especially for picture day and then it was ruined. I was so happy to open and see his pictures. He had his hoodie on. I don’t understand how the photographer didn’t notice or didn’t care. The hoodie did not match his outfit at all. It was really cold that day. I will only buy the pictures he takes the first time but not the spring ones.
This has happened to us twice, when she was 4 & 5. Yes, you would think they would ask them to take them off. Luckily, we didn’t pay for them. Often, if you don’t sign up, they take anyhow and send you the proofs later to still try to get you to buy them.
This really made me laugh!! Ridiculous, but a funny memory.
I try to buy the smallest and cheapest package, but with sports photos I always offer to take the team picture myself with my camera and email it to the rest of the parents.
They’re a great tradition, but too expensive!
I bought the smaller package and put the 5 x 7 in a frame on our mantle. Each year I would add the new picture and leave the old one behind. Then when my kids graduated I would take all the pictures out and put them on a foam board for their graduation party. No spending hours looking for pictures from each year. Another inexpensive gift I gave my husband last year was the plastic picture frames that usually have magnets on them from Walmart for .88, with the pictures over the years of our kids on Santas lap. I put a ribbon through it to hang on the tree. He actually loved it since our 5 kids range from the age of 12 to 29.
Most of the pictures end up getting stored away in a drawer or closet somewhere. I usually just buy the smallest package available that includes a group/class picture with it. We have professional pictures done yearly with a photographer, who takes way better pictures than a school photographer. So, I would much rather spend that extra money on outdoor photography sessions.
Love them! My Mom did it for my brother and me every year! I buy my kids fall and spring school photos!!
I don’t think for one minute that I will regret skipping Starbucks or dinner out that week to afford to have my snaggle-toothed, crazy hair, or perfect smile pics when my littles are big. I think school pictures or “things” mean something different to everyone. I for one, used to get so sad that my parents never bought my school pictures, good ones or not, they just didn’t care to have them of me (and yes, I am absolutely sure of that). Had they bought even one set I would have pictures of my childhood self. That might not mean anything to anyone, some people are glad to not have “bad school pics” to look back on. As for me, I have two kids, and I would love to show them pictures of myself (school pics, snapshots, anything) the many times they have asked. I just don’t have any. Yes, we have had to participate in a few re-take days, but overall I am more than happy with them. I always order online and customize my package (picking individual sizes/sheets) and I don’t feel like I have “wasted” sizes like 2×3 etc. (and I feel more in control of how much I want to spend that way…usually less than $20). I am a “rewards” customer with Lifetouch and I get a free digital image to share when I order online, and they absolutely guarantee your money back if you aren’t happy. I still take tons of pictures with my DSLR and phone, paying for prints at the store and online etc. I can confidently say that “babies don’t keep” and whether or not school photos mean ANYTHING to them as adults or not, they mean something to me. 🙂
Hi Brandy, I only have 2 baby pics (being the last out of 5). My dad was born in 1920 and he had more pics than me!! You should check with relatives and childhood friends as they may have pictures of you! We just cleaned out my moms house and gifted cousins with lots of baby pictures. Also my friend had a house fire and lost everything. I was able to gift her with her kids pictures and some birth announcements. Good luck on new search.
I just buy them a yearbook. Also, the pics/order form that come home with “proof” across them get saved in their school keepsake Box. I never buy them BC I’d rather spend the $ on quality outdoor photos once or twice per year.
I have 6 boys~ NEVER buy school pics. We buy sports pics because the company is different and they aren’t as expensive. Gparents get the free 8x10s from Walgreens that Hip2Save posts.
Don’t feel guilty in the least about it.
Thanks for sharing! I love the Walgreens freebie also. 👍🏻
I always bought one of the smallest packages with enough small pix to send to the relatives at Christmas. (before the days of social media) I did make scrapbooks of my kids’ school days and used their school photo as the first page of each year. I added pocket pages for a sampling of their schoolwork and report cards, etc. My all time favorite picture if of my son in middle school – standing with his arms crossed just the way the photographer posed him – with his eyes closed. So funny! I just love photos so much, I couldn’t bear not to purchase them even thought we didn’t have much extra cash back in the day. (Mine are 22 and 24 now) With just two kids, it wasn’t too bad though.
I get the $5 option, which is just a few prints, mostly because of the tradition. The pictures are always horrible, and my son looks much better in other photos we take, but at least we have them.
Before reading this post I just got done emailing the school photographer bout getting a refund. He’s from private company. We didn’t like any of my girl’s several poses, but I picked the best out of all the bad pictures. The proofs were digital. Ordered one 8×10 for $10. Got the picture yesterday. It was blurry n worse-looking than a Walmart or drugstore 8×10 which r much cheaper. Glad he offered a refund. I’m considering taking my own from now on.
My kids are in pre-k so I’m just learning the rules but I have decided not to purchase individual pictures and just purchase the year book (pic is taken in the fall) and the class picture (which is taken in the spring). I take so many pictures of them and have them all organized on an external hard drive that I don’t feel the need to buy pictures. I love looking back on my yearbooks especially when a friend mentions someone I can look at the yearbook and I start to remember who they were.
Ours was $30 min. I passed this year. With the amount of photo options nowadays, between all the different apps and iPhones and companies like Shutterfly etc. yes I do think it’s a waste of money, unless it’s $5-$10.
I just buy the class photo sheet. The one with the teacher and all the kids. It was around $10. That is just for the memory.
Lol, I was just thinking about this today. I raised 5 children and typically always ordered the school pictures and then handed them out to family etc. For sports I usually only got the free team picture that came with a picture of my child. I now have an abundance of envelopes in a box that never sees the light of day and recently as our parents have passed away we receive our gifted pictures back!!! How many pictures do we really need of our children? And with technology today, you can scan pictures, if someone wants a copy.
Nope, we take our own pictures! If you go to any online print, you can add your own words on the bottom. Cheap and only cost me $2 a sheet
Our smallest package is around $27. Not too bad. I sometimes add them with Christmas cards to family since we have a large family. Only complaint is they do school pictures twice a year now! Spring and fall.
My son is a high school freshman this year and I think I bought a Lifetouch package maybe twice since kindergarten. Whoever they were sending to his grade school did a horrible job. Each year’s photos seemed a little worse than the year before. And they are so expensive!
I don’t feel bad about not buying them because we have thousands of great shots of my son that we’ve taken ourselves. I think that it’s nice to have a class group shot but the concept of having school photos is a little outdated. I think it was different before virtually everyone had smartphones.
We tend to buy them and frame the kids’ photos side-by-side for any particular school year. At both kids’ schools, we select the desired image(s) and purchase only what we want. We also get to select the particular image we want for use in the school yearbook. For $30-40/year, it’s a fun, convenient tradition, and we haven’t had any concerns about quality from any of the three local companies servicing our schools.
Glad to see this topic as I’ve been struggling with the same question for the past 3 years. It feels good I’m not the only one feeling guilty for buying or not buying
All of my kids schools still do class photos in elementary… Sucks that I do have to buy a bigger packet to get it though or pay extra usually I spend around $45 per child X 4 it adds up quick and i do have left overs I do tend to put them everywhere though on their outside of their rooms so everyone knows who’s room is who’s even guest and around our down stairs hallway
I’m on team “waste of money” lol. Just about anybody can snap a great headshot with their cell phone today then snag a free photo deal!!
PS, I’m a teacher and see first hand how the kids are herded through the line. I always stop my kiddos and go down the line combing hair, wiping faces, adjusting collars and clothes, wanting them to look their best! Because I know the photographer won’t care!
As far as a class picture, maybe ask the teacher to snap one of the class. Or offer to visit and snap one for all the parents? We take a lot of photos during the year and print to display in class. The kiddos love remembering and take pride in their work!
Great idea and so nice of you to help make the kids look presentable!
I have bought every yearbook, every school picture (twice per child per year) and every field day shirt beginning from Pre-K and now 2 of the 4 kids are teens and NO regrets! One year the pictures came out horrible for one of my children. Called and they did a retake on retake day no issue and the pictures came out wonderful. Have always loved lifetouch never had an issue before or after that instance but agree the prices were getting ridiculous. This year their schools (all of them) switched to a new photography studio. Not as top of the line as lifetouch so although the price is about 1/2 as much the quality suffers for sake of savings. Bummer
We buy 4 photos, one for us and the rest for relatives. Not a package but $12 of add ons.- otherwise we would skip entirely.
Memorable. I NEVER buy the whole packages I simply order ONE 8by10 for like $12 and buy a frame from dollar tree and hang it on my wall. No money wasted. 🙂
Lina, I have group pictures from the 80’s that look, a LOT like yours (my bangs were always so wavy and awkward)! Those are the best! I love group pics and when they look back in 20 years, they may not remember the kids but they will get a good laugh. Thanks for sharing!
Oh funny! I did love bangs ❤️
Cheapest package for me is $40! So I’m buying just a class photo and 5×7 for the wall… still $20 for each kid!!!
I am always afraid when picture day comes along. My oldest son is impossible to get a decent picture of, so I grudgingly order only the smallest package every year (I figure we’ll want them all when he graduates). Just got them back this year and almost fell over when I saw them; they are the best pictures ever taken of him! I’m so glad I bought them this year, but this is a first. There really should be some changes to this system.
My kids are all grown but I never did buy school pictures from the school. With three kids, I could never afford them. When the kids were younger I took them to the store and got the 20 package and I got to pick the picture I wanted. As they got older, I took the three to different places and personally took the pictures myself with my camera and had them developed. The kids enjoyed it because we had the good pictures and then they got to take silly pictures. We liked them much better and didn’t cost so much.
Mom of 3 here too I do the same and feel no shame…I honestly feel as though the school pics are a rip off!
I buy an 8×10 pic, a class pic and the yearbook..they have rewards now when your sign up for their rewards program and sometimes I get a free digital copy of the 8×10..those small pics are a waste of money
I always get the 8×10 of each child. I have picture frames on our stairs and i replace with new pictures every time
We just paid $36 for a basic package for my daughter’s PRESCHOOL photos. We also didn’t know it was picture day until the week before. It’s not always easy to find close to a spare $40 in the budget. I wanted to have that memory for her, but geeze!
lol Colin you touched a nerve with this topic! Life touch is a rip-off! They have cornered the market
I go online and order one 8×10 from Lifetouch every Fall. This is the pic of each of my children that gets framed every year–I skip Spring pics.
When my children were in school, once in a while I would cave and purchase the cheapest package. I had 4 in 4 different schools…so no family discount. If I did buy a package, I’d write a note in big letters that said,”I paid for both shoulders so I’d like them both in the picture please.”
I felt like they always cut off a shoulder previous to that.
One of my sons graduated last year and as the cheapest graduation package was $300, we bought just 1 8 x10 for grandpas wall of fame. That one picture cost $60. DISGUSTING.
Wow!
On a slightly different note: I am an OB nurse. I see fewer and fewer parents having their newborn photographed by the company that contracts with our hospital. While the pictures that the professional photographer takes are gorgeous, few new parents can afford the high price of the packages. Besides, nearly everyone has a phone these days with a pretty decent camera built right in.
Yes I remember those were pricey!
Hello – I work for a school photo company. I totally get the frustration with having to pay for all kinds of pictures that end up untouched. I know that for lifetouch it is not good that I say this but I always ask parents “what is it that you want?” this way i try to help find the best (cheapest)package that fits their needs or online using the create your own package option. If you feel that physical prints do not do it for you but want something for projects later on, order a online digital image or CD. I was always ordering prints for mine but have come to point where i am only getting the CD now a days since i know i will need them one day.
I truly recommend ordering only what you need. And if schools do not offer that class photo, make sure to bring it up since they are the ones that make the final decision on what is photographed.
Great advice! Thanks Nancy!
I am the cheapest woman alive but I buy the school pics every fall. I love seeing how my kid changes from year to year!
Same here…that’s the only reason I do it.
Ha! Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
I have never bought my kids overpriced school pictures. Maybe it made sense before smart phones but I am able to capture my kids growing up every day. I don’t need their insanely expensive posed I am hating life pictures.