Lifetouch | At Home with Tech

November 5, 2023

Is the Lifetouch Digital Package for your Child’s School Photo a Good Deal?

After your kid’s school picture day, it’s time to choose which photo package to buy. Here’s how to figure out what might be best for you.

I have a confession to make. I have dozens of unused Lifetouch school photos of our son still sitting in their original envelopes. They span back over a decade of my middle schooler’s life. What happened?

Quite simply, I ordered more photos than I needed. Each year, I’ve really tried to order to right package for my family. But the truth is the package configurations are supersized with options I don’t need. I’ve never wanted those little 2×3 wallet photos to give out. (Doesn’t a digital picture on a smartphone serve the exact same purpose?)

Sure, an 8×10 print is nice. Even a couple of 5×7’s. But really, it’s the digital file that’s most important to me. Then, I’ve got the keys to do exactly what I want with it. I don’t really need a photo factory churning out a high volume of prints for me. (Caveat: I’ve got a smaller family.)

But of course, Lifetouch wants you to buy prints. That’s their profit margin. So, the digital file is difficult to isolate.

Welcome to the Digital Landscape
Now, Lifetouch (owned by Shutterfly) offers their new Digital Only Package.
Yay! But wait…

It contains two digital versions of the exact same photo. One has the standard blue background. The other offers the background of your choice.

You also get the option to stamp your kid’s name and grade on the front, and the option to allow a Lifetouch artist to retouch your kid’s photo to ‘improve’ it.

Really?

Keep it Real
So, I don’t really want or need a buffed-out photo of my 13-year-old son. He’s perfect. And I say that every kid is perfect. There’s no need to change anything. Seriously. I understand why a parent might want to improve a photo, but that’s not the way your kid looked in that moment.

If you’re buying school portraits every year, like I’ve done, I think it’s best to think of them as a progression of a child’s life over time. That’s their ultimate value. We all have thousands of photos of our children that we’ve taken ourselves. We don’t really need another photo.

But taking the same photo year-over-year… and then putting them together in a montage… I find that’s a magic equation to help tell the story of a person’s early years.

The Basic Package
For $19.99, the Basic Package offers plenty for most needs (unless you have a large family). You get the digital photo file with the basic background (forwarded to your Shutterfly account). Plus. you receive a few prints:

2 – 5×7
2 – 3×5
4 – 2×3

The two 5×7’s are useful, and I can pop them in frames. The rest will sit in the envelope forever.

Still… spending twenty bucks for a portrait, the digital file and a couple usable prints is a good deal.

The Digital Only Package
For $36.99, the Digital Package still only gives you the one portrait. Sure, they say they give you a second digital file with a different background. And that’s true, but I don’t feel that almost doubling the price is worth it for the exact same picture of your child.

No, I don’t need the ‘premium’ touch up treatment, thank you very much.

And I absolutely don’t want his name and grade burned into the image of the digital file. That’s really limiting for future use in my own photo montages of him that I may create. (I just want the ‘clean’ photo.)

Basic is Best
If you compare the two packages and strip away the undesirable pieces, the Basic Package gives you more. You get the digital portrait plus a few hard copies.

The Digital Package effectively gives you the same digital portrait. And that’s it. For almost double the cost.

So, this year, I’m buying the Basic Package.
Click.

Barrett’s Suggestion for Lifetouch
If I were to design a Digital Only Package that I would want to purchase, it would contain four digital files.

2 digital files with the background of my choice
2 duplicate files with the name and grade burned into the image
Optional premium retouching service (if you insist)
$29.99

You’ve got to believe that eliminating the printing/packaging/delivery costs of physical prints is a huge savings for Lifetouch. Why not beef up the Digital Only Package a bit and bring the price down?

Food for thought, Lifetouch…

November 6, 2022

Why You Should Spend More for these Backgrounds in your Lifetouch School Photos

It’s another Picture Day! Here’s why choosing the right background is the most important part of your kid’s Lifetouch Picture Day portrait. And what exactly is the right background…?

Our son’s 7th grade school ‘Picture Day’ is coming up, and it’s time again to decide which Lifetouch photo package to order. Sure, it’s nice to have another official ‘portrait,’ but I’ve already got plenty of photos of our twelve year old. For me, the reason to pay for yet another Lifetouch picture is only if it visually represents a specific moment in time. If you can’t tell it’s his 7th grade photo, what’s really the point?

While you can also write that detail on the back of a physical print, it’s best if the photograph itself displays the year or his grade.

The Two Best Digital Backgrounds
The ‘standard’ background offered in the less expensive photo packages is relatively useless. It’s just a colored background. That gives no indication that it’s a school portrait from a specific year.

In the old days, it may have been worth it to have one of these generic ‘professional photos’ for the coffee table. But today, come on… aren’t we all photographers who are capable of capturing countless amazing moments of our children to frame?

The standard background is a non-starter… I don’t need it. Don’t want it. Not worth it.

And remember, the portrait is shot on a green screen. In the post production process, the digital backgrounds can be easily changed with a click of a button. It really costs nothing to switch them around. (This is all about the perceived value of something, and what people will pay for it.)

Here are the two best digital backgrounds:

7th Grade
2022-2023

Either of those backgrounds provide the critical context. Without context, the photos aren’t school photos.

So, will you pay more for the right background in your kid’s Picture Day photo?

That’s certainly the hook for me.

The Digital-Only Package
I really only require the digital file of the portrait. (I can print out my own photos, thank you very much.) There’s no need to pay a premium for a physical print.

Clearly Lifetouch knows this, and they’ve been pretty stingy over the years giving up digital files, and they baked them into the more expensive packages.

Happily, this year, Lifetouch offers a Digital-Only Package for $34.99.

For that price, you get two digital files and no physical prints. It’s actually the same photo, but you get that generic background with the first photo file. Fortunately, the second photo file can have the background of your choice.

So really, you’re getting one jpeg for thirty five bucks.
(Then, you’ve got to print it out yourself, if you want a hard copy.)

The Basic Package
By comparison:

The least expensive Basic Package is $19.99.

You get one digital file with the awful standard background
And a few physical pics with the same standard background

Not interested.

And what do the more expensive packages get you?

The Plus Package
The $49.99 ‘Plus Package’ provides:

A whopping 5 digital files with the background of your choice
Plus your kid’s name and grade listed on the bottom of the photo
And all of the prints you’ll never really need (1 8×10, 4 5×7, 2 3×5, 8 2×3 wallets)

Do I need 5 digital backgrounds? No, not at all. (Only the two matter to me.)
Do I need all of those prints? Nope.

All that said, is it nice to have a couple prints? Sure. That way, I don’t have make the effort to print anything out. It’s delivered and done.

Delivered and Done
Is it worth $15 more to get what I really want and not have to boot up the Lester Printing Factory?

Or should I just spend $35 on the Digital-Only Package to get the one usable file and call it a day?

I’m sure the execs at Lifetouch have spent a fair amount of time noodling over this exact question.

$50 for what you want or $35 for what you need?

On mylifetouch.com, the Plus Package is promoted as “Best Value.”
After all of my griping on this topic, I must admit…that much is absolutely true.

Plus it is.

Click.

Fifty Bucks a Year?
Will I ever break free from my annual spend for Picture Day?

Unclear.
(I certainly haven’t reached escape velocity yet.)

But here’s one way to resolve my ongoing dilemma, if at least at least for another year…

At the end of the day, all I really want are the digital files with the background of my choice. Plus.. maybe one physical print for the convenience of not having to do it myself.

And how much does Lifetouch charge for an extra 8×10?
$16.99

So by choosing the Plus Package for $49.99, I’ve actually saved myself two bucks!
(By comparison, the Digital Package plus the à la carte 8×10 print = $52)

I call that Lester Math Logic.

Happy Picture Day. And don’t forget to smile.

November 8, 2020

How to Decide which Lifetouch School Picture Package is Best for You

Buying School Picture Day photos doesn’t have to feel complicated. Here’s how I determined what to order…

Our son is in fifth grade, and I’ve been faithfully ordering Lifetouch School Picture Day photos for years. Each time, I pledge to only buy what I really need. Invariably, I realize there are compromises to be made that have necessarily increased the price point. This year is no different. But this time, I think I got it right.

At the end of the day, all I really want is a digital file of my boy’s school portrait. I can then print additional photos at home. I don’t need Lifetouch’s more expensive prints. (Although I do understand that’s the foundation of its business model.)

Also, the photo’s background needs to reflect that this is a school photo and display my son’s elementary school grade. Otherwise, it’s really just another generic posed photo which holds little value for me. The photo has to clearly be his school photo. (I’ve got plenty others.)

If you have a similar perspective, here are my suggestions on how to get the best deal when ordering your Lifetouch photos (assuming there’s still a school picture day scheduled in your neck of the woods during this year so affected by COVID-19).

Order the Basic Package
I really don’t want all of the extra prints that are part of the more expensive packages. (A few prints are just fine.)

I’m looking for the one digital file with the correct background. (And my son’s class photo would be nice too.)

The good news is the Basic Package gives you:

1 8×10
2 5×7
the class picture (size unknown)
and the digital file! (available as a download via Shutterfly)

All that costs $14.99.
(That’s a much better price point than the forty bucks I’ve been spending in previous years.)

BUT…

You only get access to the generic background with the Basic Package.

Then, Add to the Basic Package
There is a workaround, but it’s an analog solution…
(shudder)

You can add on an extra printed photo to your package and then choose the background you really want for that additional print.

The next step is to simply digitize this physical photo when it shows up. (Scan it or take a picture of the picture.)

Then, you’ve finally got what you wanted in the first place. No, your digital copy won’t look as perfect as the original photo file, but if you order an 8×10, your scanned version should be fine for most uses.

And the price for that extra 8×10?

$14.99

So add that to the original $14.99 Basic Package for a new new total of $29.98 (plus tax).

Consider the Plus Package
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of MacGyvering your purchase to save money, your next choice is to go with the Plus Package for $44.99. That officially unlocks the option to choose your own background(s), and it also provides a whole lot more prints that you may or may not want. (In this smartphone age, does anyone even use 2×3 wallet photos anymore?)
Here’s what you get:

1 -8×10
4 -5×7
2- 3×5
8 -2×3 Wallets
the class picture
and the digital images via Shutterfly

Plus, you get the name and grade on all prints and basic retouching.
(I’d already have the grade as part of the background. As for the photo-retouching… I think that’s unnecessary for kids.)

Barrett’s 2020 Lifetouch School Picture Day Purchase
There are a couple of other packages that offer additional combinations of physical prints, but that didn’t move the needle for me.

I kept my focus on Basic vs. Plus. And it boiled down to this:

Spend $15 more for the Plus Package to easily choose your photo backgrounds (and get more prints)
Or keep it ‘Basic’ and order the extra 8×10 print with the right background. And then scan that print.

I took a look at my past purchases, and I’ve always gone Plus.

But I have a confession to make. I have a cabinet at home filled with photos that have yet to find a final destination (album or frame). In it, there’s a folder containing years of Lifetouch prints I’ve never used. There were just too many. It’s a painful reminder that I never needed all of those photos in the Plus plans.

Sure, spending a little more for the Plus Package provides all of the ordering flexibility you’ll want. But if you don’t use what you buy, that’s not good value.

So, I decided to keep it basic this year:

The Basic Plan for $14.99
Plus the extra 8×10 print for another $14.99 with the background that says 5th Grade

Click.

Buy What You Need
Future Barrett might laugh at me for going through all of this effort to save $15. But Future Barrett might also nod approvingly at my ability to finally get the equation right for my actual needs.

I think that’s called progress.

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