When I was a kid, my parents agonized over how many copies of which picture to get. Or I'm sure they would have, if they were interested in pictures. Anyway, what I'm saying is I'm sure it was important in those days.
Now all I want is one copy so I can make my own damn prints. I'm paying for somebody to take a nice picture of my kid, that's it.
Somehow the packages don't reflect that:
I don't know why anyone would pay so much money for a bunch of prints that they can order on their own for 1/10 of the price. I feel like these companies should just recognize that and basically just email us the one print at whatever cost is reasonable.
You are paying for the photographer. The copyright of the photo belongs to the photographer or photography company. If you make copies on your own you are breaking copyright laws. What you want is for them to sign the copyright over to you - that would probably be more expensive than the prints.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Though most options here come with a low-res digital version (to share on FB etc).
ReplyDeleteWhat annoys me more is that they expect me to pay before I see the photos.
THIS is what I hate. I'm happy to pay extra for the photographer's time/skill when I see a nice picture. We had one from daycare with both our boys together that was SO PRECIOUS we bought the biggest package. But the next year they wanted us to pay ahead of time, so we got the most minimal package and I was glad because the picture was TERRIBLE. Like "worst school photos ever" cringe-worthy terrible. I don't like gambling with my money.
DeleteThis was HELL DAY for teachers! Those damn combs! All the other teachers thought I was evil because I wouldn't let my students have one! The most obvious reason was lice! And because I felt strongly that if a parent sent their child to school w/ their hair styled a certain way......it was going to stay that way for pictures! Of course if something was sticking up or grossly out of place I'd get a comb for that child, fix the offending piece of hair & toss the comb!*****
ReplyDeleteThe day also made me sad because on the actual day I had to pass the envelopes back to each student to hand to the picture taker! It was @ that time the kids whose parents couldn't afford them would often cry because most of their classmates were getting pics & they weren't!
I did buy (out of my own pocket) enough class pics for those students!
***Granted, they'd all swear to never hand out combs again when they'd be getting chewed out the day proofs came home because a child's hair looked completely different! Needless too say, they'd forget the next year
At least at our school, the photos are a fundraiser. They use the LifeTouch company which isn't THAT bad (but it's not the best). Anyway, what I usually do is order the cheapest package up front, and then if the picture is actually good I'll order more to send to family.
ReplyDeleteFYI if you ever get the chance to order the wallet-sized fridge magnets, DO THAT! My whole family loves them and it's much more likely they'll hang up your kid's picture that way than if you have to count on them to change the ones in frames.
I see that they anticipate people who want to reproduce their own photos by not allowing you to couple an "additional" picture with the class picture. I agree that at this technological point, they should sell a single picture with no copy restrictions for say $25 as a nod to reality.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I'm saying.
DeleteIf the photographer can't make a living, soon there won't be any photographers to take those photos of your little darlings.
ReplyDeleteAlso, making a copy is a copyright infringement and the legal penalties are stiff if you get caught. This is their art and they own it.
... Or they will evolve and find a way to make a product that people actually want.
DeleteIf parents couldn't or wouldn't "violate copyright law" to duplicate and share these photos, nobody would be buying them, because in 2015 nobody needs or wants photos that are limited to a small number of paper copies. They want to email photos to relatives or post them on facebook. The photographers should just acknowledge reality and charge a flat rate for high-quality digital copies and full copyright ownership. If they don't want to cede hardcopy sales to Shutterfly, they can offer that too, as an extra option.
ReplyDeleteAlso, let's be real here. I don't care what copyright law says-- school photographers do not make art. Nobody is putting school photos up in a gallery or selling them to collectors. They take hundreds of photos of children in the same background in rapid succession. They don't choose the child's wardrobe, or style their hair, or apply makeup. The poses and shots are all completely generic, and the backdrops are all tacky and pre-made by some national company. Don't get me wrong-- taking a good portrait photo is a valuable skill, and they have good equipment that makes their product a higher quality than anything I could do. But it's much closer to a skilled trade, like plumbing or roofing, than what any normal person would consider to be art.
The photography company that our school district uses has a $25 digital option. You get the high-res image as a digital file along with copyright release. I always buy that and then get my own prints done inexpensively. I'm surprised this isn't the norm now.
ReplyDeleteYour options are ridiculously cheap. We have similar ones and they are about twice to three times as expensive (and this is a school where so many kids are on the poverty line that EVERYONE gets free breakfast and lunch, no questions asked). It's out of line. I agree, we need a one-stop option for online versions and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteOur photographer gives a full-resolution digital download of any one image for $20. Usually there are between 3-5 pictures of each kid available so you can choose among them, or you can get multiple ones but they are $20 each. You can also buy prints, but I never do that.
ReplyDelete