I first used Picateers last Spring in 08 and I have to say their customer service has gone above and beyond my expectations. I first met with Amitesh from Picateers at the PTOtoday show in Marlboro, MA. He followed through with a promise and we received an excellent photo kit that we couldn't have afforded so we were able to get started – ours to keep.

The process is easy and with help from Amitesh and then Steve who handles the technical support they always follow through. I am east coast and they are west coast, but using email, we are able to communicate easily and they provide fast responses.

We will be doing our second fundraiser with Picateers this fall which will be a “Friends & Family” photo shoot for all the schools in our 1400 student district. We will take group shots and individual student portraits during school lunches and on Saturday we will shoot friends and families.

Last Spring we had some great shots of two friends with their skateboards and helmets and a couple of girls with their drums. By having our volunteer photographers take four shots of each individual, group, or family, you get some great shots. Our photographer was great with the kids and by the forth shot usually had them all smiling. He was very impressed with the help he got from Steve and the technical crew who helped him take better shots after sending in a few test shots.

Our local volunteers who did the photography knew a lot of the kids already which really helped. All the volunteers who helped said they were really impressed with the school and the behavior of the students while we were there. This proved to be an added bonus we didn't expect as we build important parent and community involvement.

The background that came with the photo kit helped the pictures of the kids just pop. Adults could not believe the difference between our school's traditional photos done by Lifetouch and the photos done by our volunteers with the Picateers expertise. I am still hearing this year what a tremendous difference there was. Adults just came up to me out of the blue to share their positive opinions. The website is very easy to use and so convenient. If you do your part, you will find that Picateers does their job really well.

Good luck! This is a fundraiser that is well worth doing.

I found an article about how Larry Jacobs was sitting at his computer one night trying to print and organize all of his photographs from his child's kindergarten class and voila! Picateers was born.

What we need at our school is a SAFE photo sharing website that our parents, educators and most importantly our children could SAFELY log in to and order photos and photo gifts. I considered Shutterfly (mostly because I LOVE their photobooks) but I then did a search on Shutterfly and typed in the word “sexy” and ugh! there were some photos of things I would not want my daughter seeing. NOT GOOD!

On another note, while researching Picateers, I found their portrait fundraiser program. Although I am not sure that we could get the entire school population to agree to have school portraits done the way Picateers does it, I do find it refreshing to see that there are other options available to us. And I like that we can use the Picateers fundraising program for other things, like school sports or performances.

I also do REALLY LOVE the idea of having 25% of our photo order (not portraits) returned to the school, that the site is PRIVATE and that our children's identities are protected.

All of the information isn't exactly true. No upfront costs? You need a camera and a tripod AND lights. I'd say those total significant upfront costs! A photographer will be ready to create technically perfect images right after viewing a DVD training video? Can I get my phd after sitting through a short video presentation as well? Hmm….I suppose it's possible…

It will be interesting to see how long this fad lasts. All that glitters is not gold.

I tell everyone I am Picateers biggest fan!!!

There are hundreds of small local “school” portrait photographers that provide an excellent product at very competitive prices while struggling to provide all the “services” that the schools now require and give back, too. Most “school” photographers give back more than 50% of the monies earned to the schools in products and services – not to mention outright commissions.

This sounds like a great idea…however, it's been our experience that “volunteers” sounds good – but the reality is that very few follow thru. What happens then? How does the school provide the security that the parents and state require because the “volunteers” didn't get everyone photographed for an ID Card. What about yearbook images? What about the photos needed for the school “Disaster ” reference manual? What about the disruption to the school day? Most school picture days are just that one day or one half day.

I agree, some parents are very good at taking photos of their children, what about the 20 or 50 others that need to be photographed? And, perhaps if the schools didn't need so much in the way of “services” then photographers could provide their photographic services at a more appealing price.

Speaking personally, I have never felt that the prices I've paid, over the years, for school photos of my children as being unreasonable. I treasure every photograph, even the ones with the goofy expression or their hair not combed correctly. That is my child, at that time of their life. It's priceless.

Please remember that – and stop making this just a price and a profit center issue. Finally, shame on you Picateers, for attempting to “distrupt” an industry under the pretense of saving parents and families money, while lining your pockets. Good luck, you are gonna need it. Because, we are not all “Lifetouch”. And, “Lifetouch” isn't all bad.