We are in the process of signing a contract with Picateers to process our High School marching band photos. I'm still looking for any feedback on this company (service, turnaround, quality, secure internet, hidden fees (s/h))
I found Picateers at the Marlboro, MA PTO Today Expo. I was impressed with the ease of picture day both for students and the parents (ordering). The choice of pose, date of picture day, etc. is selling me quick. I also would like to hear from others who have used them!
Thanks so much for the testimonial. I found out Picateers will have a booth at the Chicago PTO show and I will Definitely be going, so I can talk with them.
I'm at the high school booster level, and we are always competing with the other boosters for the same parent pocketbooks. We hold a medieval renaissance feaste (100 kids in costume) and a marching band with approx 100 students, too.
The school issued photographs at the middle and high school levels can be just dreadful. The parents can at least edit for content and pose appropriately.
Picateers sounds like a win/win. The parents get a nice photo, and the booster groups make a little money.
I did hear that for event photography, the photos are shipped to the school, not the individual parents. Which I think would work out okay.
Just wondering. How did the parents get notified of their "code"? Did you forward some message to them?
I am the Director of Technology at Berean Christian High School in Walnut Creek, CA. We have a student body of about 430. I first heard about Picateers at the ACSI Convention in Sacramento two years ago. We had an issue with our event photographer so I decided to give Picateers a shot at our Winter Banquet. I set up an on-site location and arranged for students to have their photos taken individually, couples or groups at no obligation. I took the photos, did minor Photoshop work to them, burned them on a DVD and mailed them to Picateers. They did all the rest. They contacted all who attended the Banquet and sent them a special code that gave them access to the photos. They took the orders online, had the packages processed, sent them directly to the customers and handled any customer complaints or modifications. End of story. I am expecting a check shortly for 50% of the price to the customer less tax and shipping. I have received nothing but rave reviews on their quality and customer service. Best of all, I am on to my next project with nothing left over to handle.
I highly recommend Picateers if you have the personnel or parent volunteers to take good photos. They are willing to help you get set up and walk you through the steps.
I have contracted with them to do our Junior-Senior Banquet in April and plan to have them handle our senior portraits, mug-shots in the fall, events and sports. They can provide student ID cards and picture books for a nominal price.
Not sure if I would use this for "Photo day" as our school also uses the photos for school lunch ID's.
But Picateers might be good for a Sock Hop, Kindergarten Graduation, School concerts, high school musicals, marching band, soccer teams, pom squad and the like.
Please reply if you've used them and if you would recommend their services.
Be careful with this! Organizing school picture day takes a lot of work, and the company we used at our school solved a lot of problems. They dealt with unhappy parents, provided refunds, and organized all of the information. I would definatley not want to use parents or teachers to take pictures of our kids.
