<p>DD had her senior yearbook pictures done last month and they did not turn out well. Not the fault of the photographer - she had sunburn and experimented with her hair and makeup.</p>
<p>Makeup pictures were on Monday and she missed them because she had to leave school early because she had a bad virus - fever, vomited at school, etc. I called the photographer and they said the only way we could get new pics was to drive 5 hours round trip to their studio.</p>
<p>I emailed the yearbook advisor and asked if we could use someone locally. She said no and that we had to make the drive. My question is, how difficult would it be to go to a studio here and send the proof to the school’s preferred company? Are the people involved being difficult or is the process really that complicated? Just wondering how far i should push. I am happy to pay for the extra trouble.</p>
<p>Depends on contracts etc with the photographer. </p>
<p>At son’s school we could get pictures taken at whatever photographer you wanted. The files were e-mailed to the school and printed in the yearbook, Standard procedure these days. So yes, in some ways the school/photo studio is being difficult in your case. </p>
<p>There may be guidelines for the pix from yearbook view–certain background, garb etc but all of that is very standard in the industry and would not be difficult to have someone else do. I would call the photography studio again and explain the situation to them AGAIN. Talk to the photographer–the photographer doesn’t want bad pix either to appear in the book. He isn’t going to get ANY revenue from sales of the pix (this is the sticking point) because you hate them to begin with–point that out. And a five hour drive is totally out of the question. All that happens is an unhappy student and unhappy parents. You’ll have to pay for the photos taken by a second studio–tell the first studio you know this. And if they come through–sing their praises in a review about customer service–tell them you will. </p>
<p>Or–rather than e-mail the year book adviser–call or see them in person. It’s a lot harder to turn down a request. But the contracts may tie their hands which is why you need to go directly to the studio. again.</p>
<p>Find out the deadline for the photos to be received by the yearbook staff.</p>
<p>The process shouldn’t be complicated, but they do a bazillion of these, and they don’t want to interrupt their work flow. You may also be taking a risk. There’s a lot of rote work involved, and they probably use a lot of unskilled labor to get it done. If they don’t do this regularly, a flunky could easily get distracted or confused, and your pic could get lost or mislabeled. Ever watch someone NOT get what they wanted at McDonalds because they special ordered? Same idea.</p>
<p>If it all comes to naught–go get a senior pix done by someone else that you all will treasure.
Or have your own photo session . Just have fun! Different outfits, backgrounds etc. Make your own photo book. Get enlargements made. Make it an occasion–you will both remember it forever. Play dress-up…go to the park…or beach or fancy place with a great background. Take her friend and take even more pix–just make sure you get those solo pix of your D.
I hated my senior pix–it was horrible and yes, it was redone but the make-up didn’t get printed. I never look at that book at all and don’t want anybody to see it EVER. Way too late now! About 40 years now…arrgghh…
But I took some great photos of my kids along the way in special photo ops and treasure every one.</p>