Skipping the school pictures trend

Last year was our first year of having a kid in school. When we received a packet from his school advertising school photos we debated for a bit and then decided to buy the cheapest package which included a few different sizes of his profile and the class photo. 

It's tradition, right? It's something that, as good parents, we're supposed to do. 

Right?

I was not happy with the results. 

Hulk's Kindergarten photo

First, the class photo - it wasn't even a real class photo. It was the individual profiles of each of the kids on the same page. They weren't all together in one photo.

Second (and this is what really bothered me) was Hulk's actual photo. To me, it looks photoshopped. His smile doesn't seem genuine. 

So, this year when we received a packet from his school advertising school photos we debated for a bit and then I threw the packet into the trash. I then received various emails from the company that produces the photos reminding me that it wasn't too late, I could still order pictures. Hulk was even sent home with a packet of sample pictures they had taken of him. 

I was not pleased. 

I understand the tradition of taking school pictures, it reflects back to an era where it was expensive to own cameras and produce pictures. Having your school picture taken was an important point in the year because it was one of the few times that a child would have their picture taken. Copies of these pictures could be easily made and passed on to grandparents. Growing up, these pictures could be cherished. My mother-in-law still has every school picture of all four of her children hanging in the front room of her home. 

But now, we have cameras on our phones. I regularly text pictures of my kids to family members (including my grandparents) and will bulk print copies a few times each year to give to our grandparents. Hulk has had more pictures taken of him in six years than my grandparents have probably had taken of them in their 80 years. Combined. 

JC is very good at taking pictures and even has some smancy camera that he'll pull out when he's really serious about getting a good shot of the kids. 

My point? 

School pictures is an outdated trend for us. If it works for your family, great. But for us it does not make sense to continue spending money on something we do for ourselves on a regular basis. So when I receive that packet from his school next year there will be no debate, it's going straight into the trash. 

#sorrynotsorry