Senior pictures. New to me. How do I find cheaper photographer?

[BusynMember]

We found two really good photographers who will cost us maybe $150/$200 tops. One won't charge for the shoot and will drive quite a distance to take the pictures. She is just starting out and all we have to pay for are the pictures and if we recruit her anyone new we get $30 credits.

The other one does a shoot for $150-$200 and gives us the CD and we can develop whatever we want, as much as we like. Both will go on location. Jumper wants to do her basketball shoot and her prom queen shoot inside the school and they are letting her.

So the digging I did really worked out. Thanks for the suggestions, guys!!!

 

[SuZir]

That is awesome!

I'm so happy for Jumper that she can have this wish come true. She certainly deserves that. And I'm equally happy for you that you will have a joy to be able to grant that wish for her.

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks a lot, Suz Your suggestion helped me a lot.

 

[AnnieO]

I was going to suggest Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Sears... I had mine done at a trendy place that did all the seniors' pics, and we had to have them done there to get on the class photo. I've no idea what they cost my parents and I don't want to know. I wore a sweater in AUGUST for them. It was awful.

I wanted Onyxx to have the same opportunity, and the same company is still around and is the official one for her HS, too. But we were broke last summer, we never had time and I was very pregnant... So when we did the family pics in November, in the living room, we did hers on the motorcycle outside. Needless to say, I am glad we didn't go too overboard, because she's not graduating...

 

[BusynMember]

Well, we can afford $200. And she can wear what she wants to wear and probably even take extra pictures with her BFF and boyfriend so she's all happy now...lol.

Now I would not do this if she hadn't tried hard in school. She'd get the pictures our camera and our paltry skills could provide

 

[alongfortheride]

I just sent the kids to Sears. They actually did a nice job and the price was ridiculously cheap. All the grandparents had copies which I never would have done with the real senior pictures.

 

[susiestar]

Call the various photographers in your area. I worked on the yearbook and newspaper in hs and did some work with one guy who did most of the senior pics in our town back then. I got a different photographer to do mine because that guy was a HACK and charged 3x more than was reasonable. If you talk to various photographers and explain what you want, you will get MUCH better prices than that. NO WAY should there be a $400 shoot fee. in my opinion 3 outfits is nuts. We did an indoor shoot and the photog wanted to do outside shots but I didn't. He was trying to get more people to come to him for senior pics so he asked me to do an outdoor shoot for free in exchange for being able to use the pics for advertising. I am not model quality but he wanted a few more people than he had to use in his ads.

There isn't that much needed to get good photos, esp outside. It shouldn't take very long. Heck, I know people who got their weddings including 2 hours of photos at the reception for under $400, and that is within the last year. Call around. There is NO reason to pay those prices.

 

[busywend]

My difficult child has soo much fun doing this it was worth every penny. She felt like a movie star and said she wanted to do a photo shoot every day! It was so cute!

 

[trinityroyal]

MWM, I'm so glad to hear you found a photographer who has reasonable prices AND Jumper can get the grad pictures she wants.

I still have vivid memories of my grad pictures *shudder*. We all had to wear frilly high-necked Victorian-style blouses, my hair was teased up into something resembling a bee-hive, and the photographer made me do the "hand model" poses: chin on one hand, chin on both hands, one hand under chin with the other on my cheek and wrists touching. And the soft focus. I cringe whenever I think of them, and have no idea what they cost. I assume they were expensive, what with all the fuss.

I am so happy that Jumper will have pictures she can look back on with a smile, not a grimace. Yay!

 

[BusynMember]

I am too!!!! The photographer she liked the best, after looking at the pictures, is the one who charges $150-$200 for a sitting fee and three outfit changes AND an outdoor shot and gives us the entire CD so we can take it to Walmart and get as many pictures as we like, yet they are the same quality, as far as posing and background, as the big money photographers. She even does some black and whites and green screen. If we have t hem printed at Walmart, we can afford as many bigger pictures and wallets as we like. I'd sure like a few to hang on the wall. We don't have any extended relatives to send the pictures to. The wallets will go to Julie, Jumper, Sonic, me and hub and the rest will go to her many friends.

Everyone is happy.

 

[trinityroyal]

MWM, that sounds great! With the CD of pictures, you have maximum flexibility to choose exactly what you want. Yay!

 

[DDD]

What??????? Jumper has a boyfriend again and we haven't heard the news????????? DDD

 

[BusynMember]

DDD, she does. He was her best friend for about a year and helped her when J. disappeared and left her shattered. They started hanging out together ALL THE TIME and she told me he was her best friend by far. I could tell, as time rolled on, that she liked him and I talked to his mother and she said that he lliked her a lot, but they still insisted they were just friends, which was fine with me. Finally, finally, finally he asked her to prom and she still insisted they were just best friends. Shortly afterward, he FINALLY asked her if she'd go out with him. I guess that, in this neighborhood, this is how you declare your relationship. She said she would and they've been going out ever since.

A nicer boy for a second boyfriend after J. we couldn't ask for. His family is GREAT and love her and she is at his house a lot. He is a very, very bright kid, has a fraternal twin (they all hang out together) and is a good athlete and way taller than Jumper, which is TALL. He is not a "fast mover" sexually at all. He's rather naive about that and Jumper likes that. They are still best friends only now they send messages to each other that say "Love you."

He is not model gorgeous like J., but is a nice looking boy and they look cute together. There is no drama so there is not much to say except she is with him all the time (LIKE NOW...lol). He is a year behind her in school due to being several months younger. This is not uncommon around here. They are about seven months different in age.