I’m a Mom…Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Spend Money on School Photos

It’s the time of year I hate the most.

Last week I received the dreaded annual school email asking if I would like to part with at least £22 of my hard-earned cash for one school photo of my child, Ella, aged 11, who has just started secondary school, and in a few weeks that will also apply to my primary school son, Lionseven.

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For this price I can get one digital photo, which is the equivalent of four large lattes and a cookie from Costa. Something I would rather spend my money on.

If I went for the Platinum Portrait Package, which includes 8 different sizes, it would cost me £57.

Or, if I wanted to spend £75, which would just about cover our weekly shop, I could buy a canvas print of her sitting in the school hall, looking uncomfortable and faking a smile.

After years of paying for school pictures, I can say with confidence that any mom who decides to spend a lot of money and buy these pictures is a fool.

And I would say they probably only do it because they feel like they have to.

Tasteless photos belong in the downstairs toilet

Most mothers I know take pictures of their children all the time. They have more than enough photos saved to look back on their children’s childhood.

I find it strange when I see frames of school photos from all school years hanging on people’s stairs.

A mother I know hangs her picture in the downstairs toilet. Should it be more clearly stated that the pictures are tasteless?

When my daughter first started kindergarten, we first experienced how shocking these photos can be.

When we got to look at the photos, I knew I would never buy them.

To say she would rather look like she was going to have pins stuck in her eyes than have her picture taken would be an understatement.

However, the next A year ago I was feeling bad so we bought a slightly better picture. Since then we have only bought two more, both with her brother. That was because we felt pressure to buy them, just like everyone else.

But now that her brother is going to a different school, I really can’t pay twice as much.

School rules + laws in the UK

The cheapest option this year at my children’s school is £22 for one digital print.

But even if I wasn’t so careful about what I spent my money on and they were a lot cheaper, I still wouldn’t buy them.

Surely I can’t be the only parent who thinks they are a thing of the past and should remain dead and buried next to the turkey dinosaurs?

Kirsty Ketley

SCHOOLS HAVE FOUND A WEAK SPOT

Let’s face it, normally they look like they were taken in a comedy photo booth. Our cute kids look more like Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, with their cheesy smile.

Have you ever looked back at your school photos and thought, “Thank goodness my parents spent their hard-earned money on this?” No, me neither.

So why are school photos still a ‘thing’?

I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out why: most parents are weak when it comes to this kind of thing and schools have found a weak spot and probably won’t stop doing it if they can make money from it.

This is not the case at all schools, but some schools do charge up to 35% commission from photographers.

As parents, our children are our most precious possession.

A recent study has shown that parents are more willing to spend money on something related to their child.

But I think a lot of mothers buy photos mainly because it’s a tradition.

But surely I’m not the only parent who thinks they are a thing of the past and should remain dead and buried next to the turkey dinosaurs?

School photos are taken shortly after the children go back to school – around September/October, just when parents are trying to recover from the small outlay they made on all the supplies needed for the start of the new school year.

After spending a small fortune on uniform, bags, water bottles, shoes, trainers, sportswear and stationery, to then be asked to buy something else – which is usually of substandard quality anyway (these photos rarely have the WOW factor) – it’s a financial headache that parents really don’t want.

If you decide to purchase a photo, photographers have a large and sometimes confusing array of options for purchasing their substandard photos.

PHOTOSHOP HORROR

The three times we let stupidity get the better of us and bought photos under pressure to go along with the other parents, we ended up with more photos than we could give to family.

One of the ‘value packs’ we bought also had a few random bookmarks thrown in, which is just tacky.

Whereas in the past, when I was at school, parents had to choose between different sizes of photos, they can now buy mugs, cushions and large canvas prints costing upwards of £75.

And the ridiculous thing is that there are parents who are willing to spend so much money on a portrait of their beloved child, who looks like he or she hates life.

Rarely has a child indicated that it was so exciting to have their picture taken. They are in such a hurry that they hardly notice what is happening.

And don’t get me started on the dark brown or gray cardboard frames the photos come in.

They haven’t changed at all in 30 years. They rarely sit upright on the shelf and if I’m completely honest, they look incredibly bad.

The nineties may be back Fashion for many things, but this is one that really shouldn’t be there.

You could also put the photos in a nice frame so they don’t stick out like a sore thumb on the mantelpiece, but you still run the risk of damaging your child’s self-esteem because they’ll have to look at a photo of themselves for the next year that they’ll probably find hideous because of the way it was taken.

Unless, of course, you opt for the hideous new ‘photoshop’ option when ordering your precious photo. Yes, that’s right, in some cases you can now have your child’s acne, spots, crooked teeth (and breakfast in their sweater) erased.

On the website of a school photo company, the FAQ states that they do minor adjustments, such as removing blemishes. They do this at their own discretion and only after receiving explicit instructions from the parents. The parents then add a note to the photo in question. As long as it is not too complicated or difficult to look natural, they will grant your request.

This horrible digital trick is just plain wrong. Airbrushing your children sends the message that they are not perfect as they are, and if their own parents feel that way, what hope do they have of loving their skin?

If they hate the way they look, it would be much nicer to not buy the photo at all. In an age where we are trying to teach our children about body positivity, parents who choose to make their children look like something they are not are hurting their children.

Nowadays we don’t need ‘official’ school photos anymore, because we all have digital cameras, even if it’s just on our phones, and they all take pretty good pictures. This way we can capture our children looking exactly like them.

I’ve certainly taken better photos of my kids on the first days of school than any school photographer, and I’m sure most other parents have too.

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