Why your school photograph preview looks a little different

A school photograph captures a moment in your child’s life: a new school uniform, a missing tooth, a smile that changes every year. We love being part of that, and school photography is a part of our business we really enjoy.

Recently, school photography has been a huge topic of conversation and was even discussed on This Morning and BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show in the last few weeks. It has been in the news as some parents have taken it upon themselves to screenshot the image, upload it to an AI, and ask it to remove the watermark. So we thought we would add our thoughts to the mix.

We have been taking images at schools and nurseries for over 20 years, and it is a core part of our business. We often meet children who have been into the studio, and it gives us a chance to market to families that may not know of us.

We have no way of knowing if anyone has taken our work and uploaded images to an AI to remove the watermarks, but this year we have introduced a moving preview that shows different sections of the photograph rather than displaying the whole image at once. We understand that this takes some getting used to. When you’re choosing a photograph of your child, naturally you want to see what you’re buying.

But we’d like to explain why we’ve introduced it.

Why a watermark is no longer enough

AI can be a wonderful tool, with many useful and creative applications, and indeed we use it for expanding ideas, creating marketing plans, and other ways for us to add efficiency to our business. Unfortunately, it has also made it easier for people to take a screenshot of a photographer’s preview and remove the watermark.

That watermark has a purpose. It allows us to show our work before purchase while protecting the photograph from being used without payment. Removing it doesn’t make the photograph free. It means someone is taking and using work that the photographer has created without paying for it.

Our moving preview is intended to make that more difficult. It isn’t there to frustrate parents; it helps protect the work that makes this service possible.

Are photographers paid by the school?

There’s a common assumption that the school pays us to come in and take the photographs – well, I would like to dispel this myth. We are not paid by the school, and our income comes from parents who choose to purchase. From those sales, we also pay commission to the school, so that the children can have those added extras that the school budget will not cover, as well as fees to the supplier we use to deliver the service.

Before any orders arrive, we’ve already invested time in organising the visit, bringing and setting up equipment, photographing the children within the school timetable, preparing the images and uploading them. Afterwards, there are orders, enquiries and administration to manage too.

School photography involves much more than the few moments your child spends in front of the camera. When a photograph is copied instead of purchased, the work has still been done, but there is no payment for it.

Please think before uploading your child’s photograph

There’s another reason to pause before using an online watermark-removal service: you’re uploading a photograph of your child to another provider. Before doing that, please check who operates the service and how they say they will store, use, or share uploaded images. It’s worth understanding where your child’s photograph is going, especially if you are using free services. Any control you thought you had on your child’s image will be lost, and there is no way of knowing where it may end up.

We want choosing your photographs to be enjoyable

We know a school photograph is a tradition that we hope will last and can mean a great deal to a family. We also want you to feel comfortable with your choice. If you’re struggling with the preview, please contact us so we can help. Feedback matters, and we understand that protecting our photographs needs to sit alongside a good experience for you, the parents, as we hope you may want to visit our studio as a family in the future.

There is no obligation to buy. We simply ask that, if you would like to keep or share a photograph, you purchase it rather than screenshotting it or removing its watermark.

Behind every school photograph is a person, a small business, and a great deal of work. Thank you to the families who support ours.

We also offer school mini sessions in our studio, and these can be booked here: https://www.timelessimagesphotos.co.uk/school-nursery-photoshoots/