Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Picture Day...the SCIENCE

Remember the days when taking school pictures meant you get in line, a teacher pulls out a comb and quickly fixes your hair, and one by one you sit in the stool, smile, click, you're done??

This morning, as I'm sprinting out the door I stop and realize that today is picture day. I pull out the order manual form and start to select my package. When did we start to require an advanced degree to select a stinking picture?

First, you select your colored background.

Grey (standard)... Blue... Red... Purple... Green...

Then, you select your pose.

Pose 1) Standard close-up with head tilt
Pose 2) 1/3 full body shot with arms crossed and head tilt
Pose 3) Seated with elbows on knees, leaning forward
Pose 4) Seated with elbows on knees, leaning forward, close-up

Now, you must select the package.

Ah...the package.

A12 has 1 8x10, 4 5x7's, 6 3x5's, 20,000 wallets, and 18 1 1/2 x 3's. Cost = $56
A1 gets you all that less 2 5x7's, 1 3x5, 1,200 wallets and 3 1 1/2 x 3's. Cost = $49
A will get you A1 less 3 3x5's, 5,722 wallets and all ity bitty ones. Cost = $36

Whawhohuh??? I WANT a simple package... 1 8x10, 2 5x7's for 2 Grandma's and a few wallets for aunts & uncles. Don't even get me started on the fact that we had packages for B, C, D, E AND F, for all three levels too.

Next...and this is a real kicker...You can pick the extras.

Extras you might ask yourselves?

Oh, yeah, because we have to go for more with everything.

$5 extra to "retouch" your child's photo (i.e. remove all zits).
$5 extra for black & white (should you do that without the retouch?)
$5 extra for "sephia"

Really people?? Seriously??

For once, I appreciated my dang comb overs that the teacher always gave me as a kid because this was just too much flippin' work. It's 5:30 am and I'm trying to figure out the theory of evolution.

So, what did the young Grandy end up with?
Color: Grey
Pose: #3
Extras: None
Package: I have NO IDEA



Photo courtesy of Photobucket.com

18 comments:

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

I quit ordering--I just take my own pictures now!

Suzanne said...

I entered that world when we moved here. Fall AND spring pictures. It's crazy. I gave up.

Next year, I'm doing a family picture on the beach. It'll probably set me back a couple of hundred dollars, but I figure its the money I've saved from not buying packages for both boys for two years of school!

Debbie said...

I just finished ordering as well! They screwed up the packages, so I can't get what I normally did. I am buying for us, for Ex-hubby and wife, for their parents and ours! I may have to remortgage and this is only one kid/ (College kid sends pictures from phone these days.)

Anonymous said...

I hate picture day! ditto with jenn

jess said...

you know what i hate about school pictures is that they cost a freakin fortune. i always have to get them so i can send one to my ex-husband (he's their dad...) and then i'm pissed cuz i spent 100 bones on bad pictures.

honestly, i'd rather spend that money at kiddie kandids.

Anonymous said...

I remember that well from two years ago. Now my daughter goes to independent study and her sister takes pictures. I never got the "packages"....There was no simple package. I love the bunny saying. The world does suck too.

Mrs. F said...

I paid $19 for each child and got 4 wallets of each kid, 4 mini wallets of each kid, and their names printed on the pictures. What a rip. Thank goodness for scanners.

Deanna said...

I would have gladly paid $5 for retouch in 6th grade - I had poison ivy!
It's a non-issue for us now, since we home school, but yeah, I can sympathize! We dropped $80 bucks at a time getting the smallest package available for our 4 kids when they were in school 5 years ago. And I never got to choose the pose! I feel cheated!

Anonymous said...

What a drag. We also have choices of keychains, magnets, bookmarks (??? can you really see a 7th grade boy bookmarking his spot in The Hobbit with his own photo-enhanced bookmark? and not getting his a$$ kicked?)...

I have "forgotten" all about picture orders a few times. I'm feeling quite scatterbrained these days...may "forget" again. ;-)

Joyce-Anne said...

Ah, yes picture day... I have two in school this year. What joy! cough cough

I get the basic and simplest package I can. I'd avoid it all together but if you don't order a package you can't get a class photo. And, that sucks.

Anonymous said...

I had to do the same damn thing yesterday and wondered exactly the same thing you've wondered and was even thinking of blogging about it. Picture day is some sort of scary test for parents now.

Mike Golch said...

I like the scool saying.

Momisodes said...

They can remove zits now!!!
I totally missed out.

I'm thinking I'd go with a simple package once my daughter is in school. If her photos turn out fantastic, we could always scan them.

Grandy said...

Jenn~ Smart lady!!

Suzanne~ What's with the guilt if I don't do it? How bout I come to the beach and hold the tri-pod? I wanna come. ;)

Debbie~ Oh I LOVE the goofy pics I can't quite make out through the phone. :)

Chris~ You have to take them through your school don't you?

Jess~ Oh my guy has got the "white-man's-overbight" smile DOWN for pics.

Grandy said...

Vixen~ Independant study? I could NO WAY trust my kid with that.

Mrs. F~ So...will you scan the itty bitty ones? Teach me how!

Deanna~ You should feel cheated! You were!!!

Curb Squirrel~ Dagnabbit! I should have "forgotten"!!!!

Grandy said...

Joyce-Anne~ You better get something for that cough. ;)

XUP~ I didn't steal your thunder, did I?

Mike~ Glad you like.

Sandy~ AGAIN with the SCANNER!!

eastcoastlife said...

Amazing what they could charge for simple class photos! My son is out of mainstream school now. Thank God I don't have to go through this! :)

Grandy said...

ECL~ You are lucky!