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If you're not familiar with this particularly offensive scam of a photography company then you probably know of one just like it. It's probably almost as bad, but not quite. It probably hires a giant posse of amateur photographers with Canon Rebels around their necks"”complete with a kit lens attached"”and their turnover rate is probably astonishing.

I graduated from Mount Royal University last summer (Class of 2011) after a very difficult, yet fulfilling, five years of both being a student and an employee there. The night before my graduation my mother flew in from Toronto to attend the ceremony. I hadn't seen her in half a decade.

The first moment of disgust with Lifetouch occurred just moments after I participated in the ceremonial flipping of the tassel from one side of your hat to the other. I went to get in line and have my graduation photos done, the first ones of my whole life and probably the last, and discovered that the line was already spanning the entire length of the hallway outside of the room that the photos were taking place in. Standing in my cap, gown and very uncomfortable shoes, I made the three-hour long journey of about 150 feet to the front of the line. Approximately two hours in I was stopped by an employee of Lifetouch and told that I had to give them $40 cash in order to proceed and have my picture taken. This was a "sitting fee" and was non-refundable and would not be applied to the cost of a photo package.

I was pissed.

As a professional freelance photographer, I was quite displeased at this non-refundable, not-applicable "sitting fee" because I am very aware that it's just a shameless, greedy practice to get more money for doing pretty much f**k-all. I was lucky to have someone behind me in line that was nice enough to hold my spot while I ran out of the room in my *** gown to find my mom"”who was impatiently waiting outside in the hallway"”and ask for the money to pay the sitting fee. If I hadn't already waited over two hours in line then I probably would have just left, but at this point I had already invested some time.

I paid the fee, waited another hour, and then had to watch helplessly as one of the two photographers started pulling people from behind me in line to get their picture taken. I had to wait another 20 minutes for photographer#2 because his name was already written on my receipt so they had to make sure that he got to collect his chunk of my $40 for pushing a button and handing me a bouquet of cheap, plastic flowers.

Months later, around Christmas time, I was told that I had to order my photo package soon or else my pictures would be deleted forever and I would never be able to order them again. I went online to choose a photo package and discovered that not only were the photo packages ridiculously expensive and un-customizable, but you also had to sell a kidney if you wanted a package with a photo CD included. I knew that my mom"”being a scrapbooker"”would want the CD, because god knows what kind of projects she might want to do in 10 years with some photos and some glue, and I wanted the CD as well. I mean, I was single at the time and don't have any children or anything yet, so yeah, I want some digital photos so that as my family grows throughout my life I will have something to give them when they ask for a photo.

So I got a few hundred dollars from my parents to pay for the package with a CD. There was an extra $20 or $30 for shipping"”though I'm sure it doesn't cost that much to send a two-pound box of paper and cardboard, but whatever"”and the package came with a bunch of other random *** that I didn't really need at all. Like a leather-bound picture frame that holds like 80 photos and some *** photo wallet, I guess for narcissists to put a million different pictures together of themselves.

The box arrived several weeks later and I've slowly been distributing the photos. I now have a boyfriend who's recently requested a photo, as well as many relatives that have asked for one.

I ran out of 8x10s to hand out so I just figured:

"Oh hey, I'll just take my photo CD down to Vistek and have them print another one since I'm going to visit my grandfather this weekend and I'm sure he'd like one too since he doesn't have a single picture of me and he loves having pictures of people." I get to Vistek and give the photo lab guy the CD. He loads it on his computer and I tell him which one I want, and then he notices:

"Oh, actually, I can't make your tiny little 20KB photo into an 8x10. That's crazy. I couldn't even make a 4x6 with this thing."

Fuming, I leave the store and immediately phone Lifetouch's Calgary number from the parking lot. I hadn't actually looked at the size of the photo files until this point. Of course, their office is closed. So I call the 1-800 number and tell the representative how unhappy I am with my $200 CD that has *** little photos on it that can't even be used on a website without graininess. She tells me that the "intended purpose" of the photos on the CD are just to e-mail to people.

Where do I even begin to address this totally flawed statement…

Why in the absolute eff would anyone pay as much money as I did"”which was primarily just to get the CD, I did NOT need all those wallet and 5x7 photos, or the *** leather frame or the narcissist wallet"”to get pictures to E-MAIL to other people? Without the intention of ever printing them or looking at them without the use of a microscope?

Most of my relatives can barely type on a computer never mind open a file. They want pictures to put in all their picture frames on all their freaking walls.

Not only that, at no single point in the entire transaction process of ordering the photo package was I informed of the miniscule size of the photos. I ASSUMED, as I'm sure most people would, that a package of that cost would come with decent-sized photos that could be printed and put on someone's wall or in a photo album or something.

I was then informed that "unfortunately you are not eligible to get any of the full, high-resolution photos because of copyright laws." I asked why I was charged so much money then and asked for a refund. After hearing the representative tell me this wasn't possible several times, she finally told me that she would have to have a manager call me back the following week. Knowing that this was all I could do, I said that was fine and hung up.

As a photographer, granted I haven't been in the field for very long and it's not my full-time job, I find so many particularly sickening issues with Lifetouch.

One, if you're going to charge your customers $300 for a photo package you should give them bigger than 20KB pictures on the CD that they purchase"”especially if the majority of the products you're forcing them to buy in order to get the CD are things they probably don't even want or need. The markup on everything I received must be like 1000%.

Two, the system for having the pictures taken of the graduates was completely disorganized and unnecessary. To force people to stand in a three+ hour lineup in a hot, smelly gown in a crowded room after they just graduated and have all of their loved ones waiting for them outside is obnoxious and just plain rude.

Three, and then charge each person a $40 fee for no apparent reason at all and not even tell them about the fee beforehand, or at least as their getting in line with some kind of signage… And to top it all off, the pictures weren't even THAT GOOD. I probably could have set up my tripod and taken better photos myself.

Lifetouch, you are the WORST kind of company.

Location: Calgary, Alberta

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Guest

1. The sitting fee is not greedy or selfish.

You're paying for the photographer's time. Grad sits are 20 minutes. You think the photographer wants to work for free? The fee also ensures your appointment, so that you don't back out and waste their time.

Almost all proffesional portrait studios require a sitting fee.

2. Usually grad portraits are scheduled ahead of graduation, by the school, with a sign up sheet to ensure line ups like yours don't happen. However, your school chose to schedule it on grad day.

That's your school's fault, not the photographer's. The photographer does not choose the date.

3. The company didn't force you into anything.

There are multiple packages you could've chosen.

You could've got grad pictures anywhere else, yet you chose to put yourself in this situation.

Guest

I WISH I WAS _ _ _ _ _

Guest

Lifetouch is a company simply looking for anyone in need of photography services. They have employees working their butts off for scraps. This company will hire anyone who submits an application haha!

Guest

I find it laughable that everyone says they were 'forced' to spend money on a CD. I've been ordering from this company for years because they are the company my kids' school system uses.

If you order online you can get any single item or any combination of items you choose - exactly the way you want them. I never want a big package. I buy one 8x10 and a CD. I've never been charged more than $25 for the CD (which I am able to print from at home), and I've never been charged for shipping.

The pictures go back to the school and they send them home with the kids. The only time we did a 're-take' because we didn't like it, they gave us all the replacements for free because that's their guarantee. If you think the picture is going to be so bad, then why are you paying for it in the first place?

Go to Target, JC Penney, Olan Mills, Sears, or Toys R Us and do a photo shoot, look at the digital images, and then choose what it is you like to look at. Most of these comments just sound like useless whining.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-866211

It's nice that you had a good experience, but the OP doesn't sound like "useless whining" - these are legit problems being presented. 1: "forced to buy a CD" - I can see this.

Of course you aren't "forced" (you could buy nothing), but the practicality of it is that if you want a product that's useful in the 21st century, it needs to be digital. So I would say that the CD is the minimum requirement for participating in this transaction. The photo company knows this and gauges you based on that. 2: sitting fee - This is a horrible practice, and they probably do it because a graduation is a once in a lifetime (or 4+ times, if you count 6th grade, middle school, high school, college, grad school, professional school and so on), whereas your child's school photos probably happen about every 2 months.

The photo company knows that once you've paid the $40 sitting fee, you're waay more likely to spend the rest to get your photos, or else your sitting fee will have been "wasted" (in for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying goes).

p.s.

My child also gets these photo offers at school, and the CD alone is $55. I don't believe your "never been more than $25 for the CD", unless maybe you're buying $100+ packages and the CD is an add-on?

Guest

My very favorite is trying to order one 8x 10 print of my daughter's school photo. It's a bad pic of her, so I didn't want more than that.

BUT, I have to enter ALL of my payment info. before they even mention that there's a HUGE shipping/handling fee! There is NO indication of it in the cart or anywhere before giving them my credit card...even when I search the site and the internet to attempt to find the amount!!! RIP OFF!

And...my other daughter is 2 grades behind her, and in middle school still.

Lifetouch has a button at the bottom of their cart page that says "add another child from a different school," when you click on it, it says you can't. It says you have to pay first, then start a new order for the other child. Most people would.

However, I was mad last year about having to pay $10 SH for a $10 photo, and then $10 + 10 for my other kid, too, so they "waived" the shipping on the second (how nice of them!) The only place you can find this online is in small print in the middle of the FAQs or if you call and yell at them, apparently.

Definitely trying to squeeze every dime they can out of parents.

Very dishonest. I'd probably spend alot more if I didn't feel like they were constantly trying to rip me off!

Guest

I am a photographer at Prestige a Lifetouch company . I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.

I personally try extremely hard to get great photos of my students. I take pride in seeing them surprised at how great they look. I also get paid by the hour and not nearly enough . It is hard work, and long hours.

You might have waited 3 hour , but I assure you , the photographers probably put in 10-12 hours without a break.

I am there because I truly enjoy my work. i know the people I photograph will treasure their picture for a lifetime.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-849626

Nice comment, but this isn't her problem that you get low pay and stand for 10-12 hours without a break. That's on the company and the agreement you, yourself - not her, made with that company.What parents need to do is complain to their schools about these charges and practices they feel are unreasonable, unwanted, untenable, bad business practices, etc.

There are plenty of local photographers who will be willing to set up services that are more respectful of the photographer, the students, the parents, the schools.Absolutely no need for schools to think Lifetouch and their companies have a stranglehold on this business.

They do not. Parents complaining until schools take advantage of good competition is the ONLY way this disgusting situation will be changed.

Guest

All of you dear photographers who think of yourself as if you are some great artist who deserve copy right protection like you are creating some kind of a master piece every time you push a button and deserve to be paid for your work tens of times more than anyone else per hour you are full of *** You should be paid by the hour for pushing a button since most of the time the pictures taken are real garbage! And handover the original files to your customers without you retaining any rights over them. And please don't compare yourself with the photographers who had to do film and a lot more to produce a photograph!

Guest

Man, what did you people do before the age of people just GIVING AWAY their photos? No self respecting photographer would have ever given out negatives of an event for customers to reprint from.

The quality will be nothing like what is intended. If you want the write to reprint a photograph, by God you're going to pay for you. I think you should have to pay a ton in order to have the write to print another companies photos *** nilly. There has to be some way to make up the lost revenue.

In all the time I've worked with companies like this, I've never had problems getting a hold of people or getting refunds.

If you can even get a single number for a company, they can often direct you to the proper place. Being firmly in the internet age, if you can't find a phone number for a company, you're not trying hard enough.

Guest

I ordered picture - they took my credit card payment - a year later they still won't deliver the pictures - they say they lost the data or something - they never bothered to send me back my 43 dollar credit card payment - don't do business with this group - they are a scam

Guest

I'm not happy with Lifetouch either. My sister and her family had their picture taken and in the prints that she received, her eyes were closed.

So she gave the picture to me and asked if I could edit the picture so it looked like her eyes were open and I did.

I took the file to Walmart to print it out and they refused to release the photos to me because of copyright. WTH?

Guest

nvr really had a problem with them til my daughter just graduated high school and I go to order her photos only to find out that hers is the ONLY one out of the hundreds taken that was completely screwed up and, according to their tech, UN-fixable. So that once in a lifetime event we had can't be shown off cuz they screwed it up.

Thnx for your screw up, appreciate it. :(

Guest

I actually like the photos they took for my 3 yr old daughter a lot. The quality of most pictures taken at her preschool is good enough for many parents to open their wallet.

However, they are so expensive and now I know that I'll have to save for her future photos. They never gave us digital prints though.

Guest

you claim you're a "professional freelance photographer" but later on you say you don't do it as a fulltime job, that just means you're another *** with a camera ruining photography as a viable profession. You complaining about price means you know nothing about what to charge to run a photo business. They're already undercutting real photographers with a studio.

You make money off of prints, having a CD of full res means you can print out as many as you want. You really think it makes sense to sell something for the cost of 3 prints, so you can make an unlimited number of prints?

A sitting fee is charged because you're doing work with no guarantee people will buy prints. Car mechanics do the same thing with diagnostic fee. They're doing work to figure out the problem, you can decide not to have them do the repairs.

And most schools have the senior portraits done months ahead of time, its most likely your school's decision to do it the day of graduation.

Good luck at failing as a photographer, because if you charge the prices you're complaining about you'll be bankrupt soon enough, and you'll water down the market for the rest of us.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-638242

I too am a Photographer and I find your harsh comment to be unjustified. They were honest about a bad experience with good reason.

No business should leave anyone waiting for 3hrs. Especially when they have family members (some elderly) also potentially waiting. I also agree that they should've had a sign or posted a flyer days/weeks before the event with full details. No one enjoys surprises...especially where money is concerned.

Regarding the CD, I understand copyright laws as I also have the same rules, but when they provide a CD they should more clearly disclose the purchase details. If you had been in this situation, you'd been just as frustrated. As for insulting this photographer, it's very unkind. Why are you so defensive of Lifetouch and quick to insult someone who admitted to not being a working professional yet?

Everyone must start somewhere. There are many photographers who charge a large amount for a CD or flash drive with all the prints and include a personal use print release license. I even do it. Who wouldn't love the extra income from forcing print sales?

Yet, I don't do this because of the impact on the environment. I allow clients to choose what they want. Of course the CD costs more than prints for the fact that I am losing print sales. In reality, many times they return for the unique products I offer.

In this person's case, do not assume they will fail because they were complaining about prices. They were complaining about VALUE and there is a big difference. Lifetouch did not justify their expenses with the lack of professionalism and clarification. I can only assume by your words and harsh attitude that you are also a photographer.

I can only hope you aren't as rude to your clients.

How can photographers expect to make an impact documenting our world if they are so harsh and rude to each other? Remember...we were all amateurs once.

ashley lesniak
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-638242

I use to work for JCP Portraits and I know for a fact that if you purchase a CD all the images are high resolution.

Guest

Wow, I am sitting here trying to decide what to buy for my daughter's 8th grade graduation pictures and was thinking of ordering the CD as well. I would be very pissed if I ordered the CD that is supposed to have pictures for social network and ARCHIVE which should be high resolution pix.

So this is definitely making me think. I may just have her dress up and take her to portrait innovations for a like photographer.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-606279

When you get a CD from life touch, it's a full CD, with even sharin options Rught on the CD for Facebook and twitter. Copyrights installed and able to print.. This persons an ***!

Guest

Thank you!

I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee and trying to get the LT website to show images on my iPhone. Today is the due date for my daughters sub par photos to be ordered and I misplaced the paper order form.

The site didn't work for me so I tried alternate routes by googling 'lifetouch packages' and found this blog.

Last year I was FORCED to order the (nearly) 50$ packages that I didn't want just to receive the photo file cd; the two packages of photos sit, nearly full sti, in a cabinent. Waste.

So this year they have a package for JUST the cd. As a graphic designer and aspiring photographer (schooling in Feb) I feel a disc is my best option so I can edit and duplicate the image as I see fit.

Last year lifetouch told me that I'm not allowed to scan and duplicate the photo due to copyright (and I realize this applies to the disc as well) but I say, it's a photo of my 5yr old daughter, *** them! I can accept SHARING copyright but in no way will they tell me I can not do as I wish with an image of MY child.

Anyways, I had NEVER viewed the CDs (there were two packages/photo shoots done) so I was oblivious that the picture was only 20kb. 20kb? What f'in year are we in??? I paid WAY more for those *** files? I could have scanned the photos at better quality!!

Anyways, these photos aren't even good; 'ok' at best. I take better photos in my sleep (and edit them accordingly to look great) and I had pro photos done at WALMART (it was a gift) that look amazing! Granted, to get the disc from them it would have cost me 100$ so I just stuck to the photos.

I'm glad I read this blog- you confirmed the way I already felt but as a "good parent" I felt obligated to pay for this garbage. Ty for reminding me to open my eyes!

:)

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