Re: School Photos
 

Maybe not technically brilliant, but in a lot of cases, certainly more interesting than saying "Sausages" to a camera!

My daughter was asked to do this, and she has a lisp. She will probably be forever embarassed by that photo!:)

Re: School Photos
 

Caz, this is why the school could not take the photos themselves for school funds. :D

Re: School Photos
 

Wait 2 months for orders? No, they've got to be in, with a cheque, by Monday the 10th - 4 days time. Frames? Just cardboard folders, You want a nice frame? Go to Boots and buy one. Time I may agree with, though what the hell else would he be doing with his time if not going to schools? Expertise, not so, it's the equipment that makes the good print and that equipment isn't used, solely, for school photos.

Re: School Photos
 

Why? you mean coz not technically brilliant? :D

See my last post.

Ya gotta agree, most photos taken with a pessy run of the mill digi camera, are better coz they are interesting! They are photos of people as they are, not posed saying stupid things, but doing what they do. everyone can take reasonable quality pics these days with camera or phone, which is why they resent paying these prices.

Re: School Photos
 

It's actually illegal to copy photographs. The copyright remains the photographers at all times, even if it's your child and even if you buy a print that's all you're actually buying - a print. You can't copy them without the photographers permission, which of course, you won't get unless you buy the digital disc which they sometimes sell as an option - then you can reproduce.

If you take school pictures to a photocopiers then they should refuse to copy them because that means that they would be breaking the law too. Scanning them and sending them in email is also against the law.

Re: School Photos
 

I always purchased my son's school photographs, they were always better than ones I could take myself, and have got better and better. Can't understand why I have only one of my daughter .. maybe they weren't doing them very often then .. :confused: Or possibly, she wouldn't let me if anything less than perfect, and she thought didn't do her any favours .. :rolleyes:

Just wait until your children graduate from Uni .. didn't get these due to the cost ... sure they were about £50 ! My brother took some of my son in the grounds of the University and came out rather well, although not quite the same as studio surroundings, but I was pleased with them anyway, even though his robe was a bit sqew wiff (no idea how to spell that !) on his Master's one :D

Re: School Photos
 

Even down to things like having the photo put on a cake at Asda infringes copyright. In fact the reproduction issues of copyright material are more stringent than the reproduction issues of humans :rolleyes:

Re: School Photos
 

Expertise I am afraid is right. It takes a good photographer to get the right angle, positioning and capturing that spilt second that the child is 'at its best'

Frames - Even those cardboard ones cost money you know. how do you expect the photographer to know what type of frame will suit everyone, they can't so they use a common base denominator.

The sort of cameras and lenses and printers and PCs required to do all this work is horrendously expensive and he can't just have one, he needs a backup as well in case he has a problem on site and even at home. Its also not the sort of job that he has a constant stream of work, he has to make it when there is work there. what % uptake do you reckon they get at teh school, I would be surprised if its much over 50%.

Then there is employers and employees tax, premises(if not home based), NI, and dare I say the dirty word "Profit". and there is the risk that no -one will buy his picttures due to teh "credit crunch" or other outside factors.


I think people are quite unfair at what sort of overheads it takes to do this sort of work professionally.

And the biggy, If you are happy with 'your' picture of little johnny in his uniform then don't buy the school one! No -one is forcing you.

Re: School Photos
 

I seem to remember learning about copyright a couple of years ago:rolleyes:

Re: School Photos
 

Mmm, yes, I seem to remember you learning about copyright a few years ago too. ;):D

Re: School Photos
 

And if all the photo's are sold he takes well over 5 grand for his work, less obviously for those not sold. I wonder how much actual time will be spent doing and what the processing costs will be?

I will guess at 1 week's work and £1000 costs and he makes £4000. Only a guess of course.

Re: School Photos
 

I've just been doing some sums and I think that you two are way out with quantities and costs.

Take my kids school for example - 240 pupils - allowing for families i.e. brother and sister photographed together = 150 'shots'.

150 shots - then assuming roughly half take it up with an average spend of £15.

75 x 15 = £1,125.

So the photographer makes approx £1,125 per school - assuming that some schools are bigger but many smaller than St Mary's.

There are usually two staff there - photographer and assistant - and I would imagine it can take up to a week's worth of admin including making up samples, putting them in frames, bagging them and sending them to the school plus when the orders come producing the finished results.

Two people, plus premises and equipment - £1,125 for a weeks work for two people doesn't go that far.

Re: School Photos
 

In the case of Laura's school there are about 200 pupils. Our particular order is going to be £55 (the other nannie and granddad are ordering too). This is quite an affluent area, so I'm pretty sure there will be a good many orders of well over the £18.50 for the 2 standard shots, but there are parents of children at the school who are not very well off as well as the better off ones.

What really annoys me is that a friend of mine has a daughter who teaches in Warrington, in a much "poorer" area, and their school photos are about 20% cheaper. I think it's the same photographer, though I may be wrong. The photographer must be making a profit out of that school or he wouldn't do it, so - he's making a killing here. ;)

Re: School Photos
 

Thats a good point that. Some parents won't buy the minimum, others will but extra so maybe saying one sale per child is near enough for our estimates.

Re: School Photos
 

Maybe the school itself is adding more of a commision on ? does anyone know what sort of percentage the schools actually make on these ?