Photo Finish

Sean's preschool sent home a notice stating that they had arranged for a photographer to take each child's photograph. Note that the official school photos were already taken in November. After the taking of these new photographs, the photograph would be rendered into a colored drawing that parents could then have the option of purchasing. If we didn't want our kids to have their photos taken, we had to sign the form and return it.

Call me a Nervous Nelly, but this sounded just a little odd to me. Even if the drawing would be destroyed if not purchased, I didn't like the idea of trusting this uknown photographer with it. Having seen samples of the drawings, I wasn't especially impressed with the quality and knew that I wouldn't be purchasing one. I returned the form indicating that we were abstaining from the festivities.

When I picked Sean up from school on Wednesday, I noticed he was wearing a "I smiled for the camera" sticker. "Did you have your picture taken today?" I asked. "Yes," he answered.

Setting aside my innate wimpiness, I asked the teacher about the sticker. It turns out that all the kids sat for the camera; for the kids who didn't returned the form, the flash went off but no picture was taken. Okay, then, but wouldn't it have been nice to explain that at the outset?

I guess I was just uncomfortable about the whole concept, especially the "opt out" requirement. For something as personal and potentially exploitable as my child's image, I just don't think it's a good idea. Maybe it's just me?