This probably seems like a strange article to see so early in the school year, however, for me it’s not that strange. You see, last night we took our two middle school students up to school to pick up their schedules. One of the things we had to do was get their pictures taken, and no school doesn’t start until next week. They have all these id’s and other things they need the photographs for, so they do them on schedule pick up night. So I got to thinking about ways to save on picture packages because quite frankly, they can be extremely expensive!
Here are several ways to save on school pictures and those expensive portrait packages.
Clothing – Everyone always purchases something new for the first day of school. Why not use that outfit for picture day? Why do you need to spend money on one outfit for the first day, and then again on picture day? Also keep in mind that most portraits are taken from the chest up. What pants you wear that day are not important. Keep that in mind when shopping. Perhaps you only need a new shirt.
Sizes – Pay close attention to the different sizes available in the different portrait packages. Make a list of the people you plan to give them to, and record what size you think they will need or what you want them to have. Once you have done this you can more easily look at the packages and decide which one will work for you. In this way, you won’t wind up with gobs of extra portraits!
Bonus Photograph Add-Ons – Be sure and check out the bonus photo add ons which are often a set number of additional photographs in popular sizes. Often extra wallets or an extra large photograph. If you want a certain package, and you just need one more photo, this might be an option for you. Purchase an add on rather than upgrading the entire package. Probably more cost effective.
Avoid Artistic Add Ons – There is seriously no reason why you need a color splash behind your child. For years children have had the standard gray background and your child can have that too. Besides it’s generally more traditional and in the yearbook it will be black and white anyway. They also love to sell you photo retouching, or glamor shot looks, avoid them – they are costly add-ons that you typically do not need. Other add ons they often offer are personalized photos with names, decorative borders and items printed with the photo on them. Just avoid all of these. A frugal person would not want to spend that much on pictures each year.
Now if you have a senior in high school, I say ignore this post completely. The senior portrait is probably the most important of all. In fact, for many, it’s the last real portrait they get done, sometimes ever. So throw caution to the wind and splurge a little. If you followed these saving tips all the way up to senior year, you should definitely have some extra pocket money to do add-ons and special features to make these pictures great!
Say Cheese!