[twitter]It’s school picture day today.

For the past couple of nights my wife has been test driving outfits, hairstyles, and having our son practice his smile.

It’s as well they should, judging by my Grade 1 picture compared to the one I took of Z as headed out the door this morning.

But I still don’t get the whole school picture thing and why we insist on doing it.

Let’s be honest, chances are you’re a ‘better’ photographer than the one that will come to the school this month. Better in the sense that you have the time to be more creative. You have the time to get the right shot. You have the time to go into photoshop and do the little extra things to make photos interesting.

School picture day is a cattle call. Next. Next. Next. Next.

And then we pay for them. Why?

We don’t need them and we pay for them. Sure, you can make the argument that the school could use the commissions as part of their fundraising, but this is one of those ancient traditional things that we do because we’ve always done it, not because we need to do it.

first day of schoolMy son will wear a very nice, proper shirt to school today. He will give a toothless, goofy smile, and my wife will insist on paying the $20, $40, or more for a photo package so we can send pics off to the grandparents.

My boys already have Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook accounts where we share pics with family. The photos I took on our front step are our ‘traditional photo’ – I could print those off for a dollar at the drugstore. I could scan the very cute picture my son’s teacher sent home the first week.

Instead, we will buy Photo Package A. Or Maybe D.

And then, while we drive to the post office to buy a stamp, my kids will FaceTime with their grandparents with my iPhone over LTE from the backseat of the moving vehicle. #irony

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