<p>We just got Son’s proofs. We have 8 choices for the tux yearbook shot. OK. Fine.</p>
<p>Then there are the other 2 outfits, 8 backgrounds, and 15 poses. </p>
<p>I’ve been thinking and thinking for days now but can’t figure out why I’d want a variety of un-tux photos. I guess we’ll order a few of the best casual pose. But, what will we DO with it? Frame and display it in a room away from the 8x10 tux? </p>
<p>Right now I’m leaning toward a small order. But, I don’t want to regret it later. Please tell me: is there a senior portrait custom that I’m not aware of? I’m really baffled here. :o</p>
<p>Are you talking the HS senior pictures? If so, we didn’t buy ANY OF THEM. They were excessively overpriced and we simply didn’t want them. We took great pictures at the graduation and sent those out. We did the same for college graduation pics. </p>
<p>Kids chose a picture for the yearbook.</p>
<p>Oh…there was a HUGE mistake with DS’s HS senior pics…the company sent us some for FREE. They are still sitting in a drawer.</p>
<p>We didn’t buy any pictures, I didn’t like them much. Some families have whole walls of formal portraits - they put them there and send copies to the relatives - I doubt anyone but the grandparents put them them on the walls. The one picture I did send was you could get the actual picture of my son graduating as a postcard, so I sent it to a bunch of people.</p>
<p>Haven’t done them yet. Probably will, but will do the same as above, pay a semi-pro to take a few. Son’s soccer photo which was taken by the local rip-everyone-off photography (sorry, I think the prices are OUTRAGEOUS!) was PERFECT and so him that I think we are actually going to get extra’s of those as well.</p>
<p>We didn’t buy any. With older S, we had a nice family portrait made to commemorate his graduation. Younger S’s graduation came after I had gotten a digital camera, and we had tons of wonderful pictures of him…</p>
<p>I didn’t see any reason to buy those overpriced formal senior portraits that don’t reflect the personality of the son I know. S’s family and friends who care to have his picture already had lots of pictures of him (Hooray for the digital age!) looking like the person he is.</p>
<p>We did have senior pics taken. Casual, outside and a portrait. We only needed to order what we wanted (no base package). The school requires 4 portraits wallet sized, we give a small wallet size to family members and we have a large print of the best of the outside casual pic framed. We also got a few 5x7s of the outside shots that we liked best. Not many, but a nice “moment in time” captured by a “real photographer.” When S1 did his we also did a family portrait as I knew it would be a rare opportunity to capture the entire family before the kids started scattering. We do not do the local senior portrait studios. I found that very over-priced and I don’t like the photography studio style at all.</p>
<p>We loved our D’s. Ordered a few casual poses. We made our own graduation announcements using a casual wedding invitation kit we got a Michael’s. Used the senior portrait pictures on those. Sent out about 50. Was perfect.</p>
<p>The pictures are very expensive, but D’s formal portrait was beautiful, so I bought for us and grandparents. It was worth it.</p>
<p>D and best friend went to a chain portrait studio which was very reasonably priced and had a few pictures taken together. I paid for 2 5 by 7’s ($20), which D has. That’s all.</p>
<p>I have a drawer stuffed with senior pictures. I have no idea what to do with the leftovers from three kids who are long out of high school. Don’t overbuy.</p>
<p>This is probably more of a girl thing, but we ordered at least 80 wallets - some for inclusion in graduation announcements, and the others for the custom at her school of giving your (girl)friends a wallet sized senior portrait. </p>
<p>Ordered enough 5x7s for my office, the house, the grandparents. We have a few wallets left. I think we spent around $200, which included 2 sitting fees because she wanted to try 2 different outfits. Glad we did that also.</p>
<p>They were pricey, but extremely well done. There was not a bad one in the bunch. You only graduate from HS once.</p>
<p>I noticed some kids had them incorporated into thank you notes for grad gifts.</p>
<p>We were able to buy small, relatively inexpensive, packages for out two kids.
We framed and hung the 8X10 cap and gown of each in our home.
Sent a few smaller ones to relatives. Rest went in the drawer.</p>
<p>I’m so glad the custom at our hs is for casual senior portraits, most choosing outdoor settings. No tuxes, no caps and gowns. Most kids are in nice everyday clothes and are photographed sitting on rock walls or at a picnic table, leaning against trees, sitting in the grass, etc. Some include props like a guitar or lacrosse stick. They are very well done and really seem to capture the kid’s personality. We purchased enough for family and added some extra wallets for friends. I have a nice sized shot of each hanging along our staircase.</p>
<p>As a note…our high school required seniors to have their “portraits” taken by ONE vendor for the yearbook. To be honest, they were just like school pictures…but more poses. We were not allowed to submit yearbook pictures from anyone else. The vendor also gave the school some kind of break on assembling the yearbook. </p>
<p>My bff is a professional photographer. She took casual pics of DS, we chose the one we liked best, and she created a matte postcard with his pic in a corner overtop a nice background in his school colors. Also on front was his name and “2009”. (Hard to explain all this, but it came out great.)</p>
<p>On the back was the formal invitation to his graduation. The lettering on the back was in one of his school colors laid over a background of his other school color. She provided postcard-sized envelopes. We killed two birds with one stone - everyone got a nice pic of DS AND an invite to his graduation all in one fell swoop. We saved lots of money by doing both together, and we like it much better than doing the traditional senior pic thing and traditional grad invite thing. </p>
<p>I had a 5x7 made of the pic that went on the front of the postcard and framed it for my pictures table (the table where you put all those framed family photos.)</p>
<p>We got two pictures of my sister, 8X10s. One was her yearbook picture and the other was just a picture of her standing with her graduation year next to her.</p>
<p>My mother bought two copies of my yearbook photo, one to keep for herself, and she figures my father will want the other one (they’re separating after I graduate). Then we got 4 5x7s, which I thought was worthwhile, because they’re all ballet photos and my parents pretty much only have one of me in costume when I was 4.</p>
<p>Our pics, like thumpers, have to be taken by one vendor. A lot of people don’t order any, but submit their yearbook photo, and then have their “real” senior pictures taken by another photographer.</p>
<p>We bought the school portraits of our two S’s. We have 8x10 tux. pics framed and hanging in the hallway fr. the front door back to the family room. I have a 5x7 casual pose of each S in the family rm. I bought the minimum amt.( 8 or 10?) of wallets of S1 and sent those to family members with the grad. invitation. </p>
<p>By time S2 graduated ('08), the portrait company was offering something very similiar to the combo pic/announcement colmomto2 described…the senior pic (we went with the casual one) on a 5x7 card with his name and school name across the top and then we composed the announcment part for the bottom part of the card. Envelopes were provided. So we bought no walllets or formal invites.
We don’t have a large family so did not go overboard. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the cost for the sch. pics was between $150-$200.</p>
<p>I also saved money by saving S1’s cap and gown for S2 to wear…just had to buy the tassel with grad. yr. and a sch. medallion they all wore around their necks which was only $10. S2’s friend borrowed a cap and gown fr. from a neighbor.</p>
<p>my daughter had a friend take the picture that is in the yearbook
SHe doesn’t mind friends taking pics of her, but she hates for me to show people, so I don’t get a copy unless I beg.
They turned out very well and I wanted to pay her friend but she didn’t accept my money so I gave them some money to go out to lunch.</p>
<p>We ordered small packets of the graduation/yearbook pose, not the casuals, portraits for us and grandparents and wallet size to go into announcements, Christmas cards, etc. . Then there were the separate cap and gown and every activity had their senior pictures, too. Band in uniform, chorus in their madrigal costumes. It really adds up if you buy into it. We had to use the company the school contracted with for the yearbook too.</p>
<p>My kids’ school used their regular school picture for the yearbook. I never felt the formal portraits reflected my kids’ personalities. Even the casual pictures seemed a little too staged. We’re not the kind of family that swaps school pictures. We see each other often enough to remember what the kids look like. My parents have too many grandchildren to start collecting/hanging senior portraits. On the other hand, we have lot of candid photos around the house.</p>
<p>Perhaps I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m the mother who never ordered those baby pictures they take of your newborn in the hospital. My kids looked like mummies with a mohawk in those photos.</p>