Do you always order school pictures?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
United States
September 22, 2010 11:08am CST
Tomorrow is my kid's school picture day. I do not normally order school pictures, and I haven't done so since before the twins. Usually I just cannot afford it, and I figure the people I know do not want an individual picture of each of my kids, they'd prefer a group shot or something.. considering I have so many kids.
Every year I say we'll go get a family portrait, or at least one of all the kids together.. but then it never happens. I never have nice enough outfits for them.. or someone always needs a haircut that I can't afford to get at the time.. or something always comes up.
Well tomorrow is picture day at school, and this year I'm getting the school photos. The prices are reasonable this time around, I can get a small package that includes a class photo for only $10 each. So I'm going to order photos for the twins and the preschooler.. and for my oldest I'll order his Football photos instead of school photos (something else I rarely do is order their sports photos, because I usually can't afford it).
Have you ever not ordered school or sports photos and why not?
3 people like this
19 responses
@GardenGerty (157674)
• United States
22 Sep 10
I always did order the school pictures, and I think I always got the sports pictures. If I had it to do over I would do like my friend I worked with in later years. The kids were in the school pictures, but she never bought them. She went to a Sears studio or something like, and with a coupon the pictures were much more affordable and better quality.
1 person likes this
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
22 Sep 10
I never can afford it but I usually order photos. I usually just get the smallest package I can. It usually hits the main people that want pictures of the kids. For some reason our school has been doing pictures twice a year. The first ones are pretty basic boring pictures and are the ones that go in the year book. Then in the spring they do them again and they are nicer, with backgrounds that have pictures. Like last year they were sitting on a rock and it looked nice. So I bought the smallest package I could this time and figured I'd buy more in the spring when they do them again.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
22 Sep 10
We only have 1 picture day, and a retake day. The backgrounds we have this year are rather interesting. Usually it's just plain colored backgrounds, but this year they have a Christmas one and couple landscape ones.
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
28 Sep 10
I order the fall photos for my daughter. We spend about $23 a year for the last three years. But our district usually does spring photos too. I think this is ridiculous. I skip those. Will probbably do the same when my son starts school. They make good gifts for relatives.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
24 Sep 10
To date I've never ordered any of Kathryn's school pictures. The main reason that I haven't ordered any of them is because of the fact that there is nothing special about the pictures. I can really take better pictures at home. The other reason that I haven't bought any of her school pictures is because of the fact that I'm an amateur photographer and I like the pictures that I get of her a lot better than the stiff pictures that they seem to take at school. I just make sure to do some photographs of her soon before or after school picture day.
@stormdynasty2002 (40)
• Canada
23 Sep 10
I haven't ordered school pictures since my boys were in elementary school. This year they are in grade 10 and 11 and I finally decided i wanted to order them and they decided they were not getting them taken! Go figure! Guess Ill just have to sneak some snapshots :P
@AmbiePam (85700)
• United States
23 Sep 10
I always wished my parents wouldn't order school pictures. Especially during the grades of first through third (awkward phase). They always bought them for me and my sister, even if it was the package with the least amount of pictures, which means I can to this day trace my oddness visually throughout my school years. 
My dad is one of 16 kids, and although I have no idea how many years they bought school pictures for their children (they were poor, it can't have been too often), I treausre the ones that they did buy. When my dad was twelve, their house burned down. They were able to get out some pictures, and I was given some of them earlier this year when I was with my aunts. One was a school picture of him when he was ten, and one was when he was fifteen. I'm so glad to have them.
My dad is one of 16 kids, and although I have no idea how many years they bought school pictures for their children (they were poor, it can't have been too often), I treausre the ones that they did buy. When my dad was twelve, their house burned down. They were able to get out some pictures, and I was given some of them earlier this year when I was with my aunts. One was a school picture of him when he was ten, and one was when he was fifteen. I'm so glad to have them. 
@iamdee (158)
• Philippines
23 Sep 10
Yes I always order class pictures. I do it because it just happens once a year and I am fond of looking at my past class pictures and compare how I look like for the past few years and the changes in my classmates' physical appearance. It makes me laugh to notice that we really improved particularly in appearance. Photographs are indeed a significant memorabilia which capture our life's history.
@FFBernie (42)
•
23 Sep 10
Well, i do order school pictures. They remind me of my friends, classmates, school mates and of course the schools i went to. I still have them all the way from Kinder up to high school. Just looking at then makes me smile, it reminds of my friends who are still living and those that are on the have gone ahead of me in the after life. Yes i still have them in my photo album collection.
@anthonydt (134)
• United States
23 Sep 10
When I was in school, my parents did not buy my school pictures every year, just every other year.. usually the first year and the last year. They thought pictures were expensive and you can use a camera and print it out and it'd be cheaper. Asian parents....... back then. But I don't mind.
@prashant_utneja (44)
• United States
23 Sep 10
not at all might, why i really dont know about this....but after reading this discussion i thing i may be order very soon...
@kjones505 (271)
• United States
23 Sep 10
Living in the age of digital cameras, I don't think its necessary to order school pictures. With a simple digital camera you can take hundreds of pictures of family.
Its probably cheaper to develop your digital pictures into tangible photos.
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
22 Sep 10
I order them. The close relatives get a copy, I scan them in so the rest of the family can see them, and then I figure they can each have copies when they're grown up.
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
22 Sep 10
I used to get the smallest package that contained an 8 x 10. I had frames that I switched out every year. Then I got new frames with a bordered 5x7 for each kid, so I got even cheaper photo packages then. This year (money is tight!) we ordered the smallest packages (they were $7). They don't contain the 5x7s that I want but I will just blow up the photos on my copier so they will fit the frames. The kids really don't exchange photos in school so I will just send the few wallets to the grandparents.
@daliaj (5674)
• India
22 Sep 10
I don't think it is important to order especially since you are going through a difficult financial situation. But, you have to make sure that how it affects the child. Sometimes the children will be very particular about the photo and they want to have it. So, make sure that your child is not too fussy about it or at least try to make him understand that all the school pictures are not necessary and only a few classes (4th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade)
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
22 Sep 10
I have always ordered school pictures for my children. the expense seems to grow bigger with each school year. We seem to get less pictures for more money. Still i manage to keep ordering the pictures. School memories just can't be recaptured.
