School Photo Critique

Just wanted some opinions on whether I'm being overly critical of my daughters school photos. We received them today and weren't thrilled about the photo as my daughter had braided pony tails and they took the photo with one in front of her shoulder and the other behind. I felt it looked awkward and was considering having them re-taken when I also noticed it was taken in landscape rather than portrait orientation. Am I wrong for assuming they would take it in portrait? Literally every photo I've ever seen taken for school photos was. If it were just the pony tail I probably would've just kept them but having it wide like that just makes it awkward for hanging with everything else. Just curious if others thought I was expecting too much.

As photographers, we tend to have stricter standards and notice flaws that are normally invisible to average people. Try and ask other parents to see what they think of the photos. If they notice the same problems as you without you hinting them about it, then it's obviously a problem.

I guess that your two observations depend largely upon the photograph and how your daughter was posed. If I'm posing a gal with long hair so that there head is turned towards the camera while their body is at an angle, I will often have her put her hair over one shoulder and behind the other. IMO, this looks better. As far as landscape vs. portrait orientation, the vast majority of school photos I have seen (and done) are in portrait orientation.....but, depending on the pose, landscape could be the better choice (maybe you could ask them to crop it to portrait orientation if that would work better?)
Another thing to keep in mind is age. Although you didn't mention your daughter's age, very young children can be quite tricky to photograph and sometimes the photographer has to deal take what s/he can get.

Just a thought but did you check with your daughter. I can't imagine many kids liking their school photos but maybe she chose to put her hair that way?

Secondly, they are school photos. If you don't like them don't pay for them, send them back. Get your daughter to put on her school uniform and take some funky "school photos" to send to the aunts and grand-parents.

mileslong24 wrote in post #15191738
Just wanted some opinions on whether I'm being overly critical of my daughters school photos. We received them today and weren't thrilled about the photo as my daughter had braided pony tails and they took the photo with one in front of her shoulder and the other behind. I felt it looked awkward and was considering having them re-taken when I also noticed it was taken in landscape rather than portrait orientation. Am I wrong for assuming they would take it in portrait? Literally every photo I've ever seen taken for school photos was. If it were just the pony tail I probably would've just kept them but having it wide like that just makes it awkward for hanging with everything else. Just curious if others thought I was expecting too much.

you might be expecting too much but like the others said, just don't pay for them and take your own pics

The "professional" photographers working for school portrait companies typically know as much about portraiture as as an automobile factory worker knows about automotive engineering.

This is mass production. The business model is based on efficiency, not quality.

There is a concern for efficiency but an understanding that a basic level of quality is expected. Ponytail placement is up to the subject and if you are not happy just retake or return. I have never seen a yearbook with landscape layouts for the individual portraits. Maybe there is a concept or grand plan somewhere.

Thanks for replies guys. Trust me I realize this isn't top notch here and yes I can certainly take some photos of her myself. But my daughter is young and when I proposed that she said she "just wanted to do them like everyone else". So I gave in and agreed. I get putting the hair in front and would've been fine had they done it with both of her braids but to put one in front and leave one behind looks odd. And I couldn't tell ya what they were thinking with the landscape look. Called her friend from school's parents and theirs was portrait. Were just gonna have them re-taken and I put a little note requesting it be taken portrait style. Just didn't think that would have to be a special request.

I would refuse due to the landscape aspect. But then again, I took mys sons pictures for 2 years now since the "PRO" never got it right. $20 for minimum package & 1000 kids, I just may have to submit a bid and get the job next year.

Did your child's pose lend itself better to being in landscape orientation? You said that your daughter is young.....if she's very young (such as 2,3 or 4 in pre-school), sometimes as a photographer, we have to take what we can get with some children if they aren't willing to co-operate very well (although this may not be the case with your child). Also, no matter how skilled the photographer, for school photos efficiency is a must.....Most parents wouldn't be willing to pay the prices of photo packages if we were to spend even 10 or 15 minutes with each child in an attempt to bring out their best.

Daship wrote in post #15194087
I took mys sons pictures for 2 years now since the "PRO" never got it right. $20 for minimum package & 1000 kids, I just may have to submit a bid and get the job next year.

....and compared to how much time the "pro" had to work with your child (which was probably 1 minute or less), and the time you spent taking his photos (which I'm guessing was quite a bit longer.....not to mention the fact that you knew what you wanted while the "pro" probably didn't have the option to discuss your photo "goals" with you), it's not really a fair comparison.
Working with 1000+ kids, while spending only seconds with each one while never consulting with the parents, it's pretty much impossible to please everyone.
I'm not defending poor workmanship but for the $20 or $30 that a parent pays for a school package, you have to keep things in perspective.

Daship wrote in post #15194087
I just may have to submit a bid and get the job next year.

Expect to give back a fair percentage to the school. They will award the project based on how it affects the school's bottom line, not yours.

We did school photos for regional schools who did not have enough students to justify the big school photography companies to come out. Some of these were over 300 students. There is an incredible amount of pressure put on the photographer to keep the students out of class for the bare minimum. I've always been amused that these kind of forum boards are typically overly critical of the photos that some of the parents are receiving. It is about running the kids through in the minimum amount of time and getting them back into the classroom. I've seen the comment "maybe I'll bid it next year" many times and honestly I think those that feel that way they should. It then becomes a business transaction and you are not quite so defensive of your child's photographs. I can't imagine why anyone on here would actually pay for school photos when most have the gear and know-how on how to turn out better photos than you will get from the assembly line school photography. I certainly don't think that one should have high expectations for results that you get from this, it really is assembly line photography.

When we did the schools I had two photo stations and two people at each station. One doing the photography and another that ran the student line and helped with posing. Honestly, we would have probably run hair behind one shoulder and in front of the other one but it is hard to say without actually seeing the student and how long the hair was. The one thing that I never did was to shoot any in landscape mode. That just doesn't make sense to me. The other thing that I learned is that no matter how good you feel you have done you can never do good enough for a parent, particularly those that might have a little photography experience. We did retakes at no charge and if they didn't like the second round then they were out of luck. I did find a few parents that felt that they were justified in simply scanning the pictures and then returning the package. We found them on the Facebook page for the students. That is just a risk you run in this business.

You just have to remember that this is a fundraiser for the school and that the name of the game is speed. I shot school pictures as a part-time job my first year of college and I can assure you that it's a rough job. The expectation is about 100-150 kids per hour depending on how much the school wants to have their day disrupted and how many kids there are. If you start to fall behind, the principal and teachers will start to gripe at you pushing you to go faster so it is easy to miss details which would be obvious in nearly any other situation. Even when you do notice a detail after stepping back to the camera, you don't always have the option to go back and fix it. Of course a landscape photo is just odd, but they may have shot landscape for everyone.

Either way, I wouldn't bother with retakes unless you really want to make your "contribution" to the school. I just shoot my own of my girls at the same time every year and then we order prints, wallets etc at the same time as everyone else so they have pics to give out at the same time. Of course they are always better than school pics which they are always pretty excited about.

ssim wrote in post #15195894
I did find a few parents that felt that they were justified in simply scanning the pictures and then returning the package. We found them on the Facebook page for the students.

Man some people are cheap and shiesty