[mel]

But then again in a portrait sitting I just did I didn't much better avoiding trees in bad places. There really were a lot of trees. Hard to avoid them. I'm rationalizing . . .

[dadipentak]

I don't even bother buying them anymore. I quit when I got some back where one of the head of one my twins was shaved off on one side. It was beyond ridiculous.

I'd say no but since I'm a curmudgeon on other issues, I let it pass. She trades them with her friends and hands them out to her family fan club--it's like Facebook, only hard-copy ;~)

[mel]

I take my own then get them printed up at Costco in roughly the same sizes. They look better and the teenagers think they're cooler because they aren't like everyone elses. AND they're cheaper. But the school still takes the pic for the yearbook, which I couldn't care less about.

Have you thought about doing your own and then sending both to the local newspaper, with an accompanying letter? They might find it newsworthy (especially if the studio doesn't advertise with them).

The PTA might also be interested.

It wouldn't be a case of stirring things up for the sake of it, there really isn't any excuse for poor quality like that.

[krypticide]

Cute daughter, so extra shame about how the pictures turned out. Horns aren't too egregious, but everything else is.

Totally understand the thing about school photographers. At my latest graduation they had a few photographers take a few shots of us as we got our diplomas. On-camera flash, terrible lighting, terrible post-processing, and something ridiculous like $50 for a 4x6" shot. Needless to say we didn't buy any, and even the shots that my dad (who has some experience with old SLRs, but not DSLRs or anything within the last 20 years) took with my K20D and 70-200mm were way better.

[reeftool]

When my daughters were in school, they had a re-shoot option for students whose parents found the pictures unacceptable or were absent that day. Does this school offer that? They make their money when the parents buy one of the picture packages and if your daughters picture is an indication of overall results then I don't think too many parents will be buying.

[dadipentak]

When my daughters were in school, they had a re-shoot option for students whose parents found the pictures unacceptable or were absent that day. Does this school offer that? They make their money when the parents buy one of the picture packages and if your daughters picture is an indication of overall results then I don't think too many parents will be buying.

No need for a re-shoot as far as I'm concerned. If they just give us a new set with the color corrected, I'm fine and done with it.

[heliphoto]

I just assumed your daughter had been using that sunless tanning lotion .

[dadipentak]

I just assumed your daughter had been using that sunless tanning lotion .

indeed!

[lithos]

I remember some of ours. One, there was kid in my grade who by the end of school was about 6'10", much taller than anyone else. The next tallest kid was probably a good six inches shorter.

So, to even things up, they Photoshopped him down to make things nice and neat. I can't imagine what his parents thought. "Your kid's a freak - see what he had to do to make things right?"

Some kids' heads were swapped around, like in that old mortician joke.

Another classic was when they transplanted the background, so it appeared we were out in front of the school, rather than having the group photo taken on that Boring Bit of Dry, Featureless Grass Next to The River.

Of course, you may be wondering why the photo wasn't taken in front of the school in the first place. That's because if it was, there would've been a fence sticking up halfway through the tiers of students, and netball hoop sticking up through them on the right. That's where the tennis/netball courts were, that's why.

In the process of transplanting my entire year, some of the kids at the back had the heads mutilated with errant strokes of the Pen and Healing Brush tools, and the edges were surround by the classic aura of the Non-Feathered Selection.

Ninety percent of the parents complained, we had to resit, and ol' Blue Rose Photography or whatever they were called never came back again.