Portrait delays resolved by new contract
On Nov. 1, the Pawprint Yearbook and Visual Photography officially terminated their contract after a multitude of issues such as incorrectly printed or lost ID cards, 368 missing underclassmen photos, 86 missing faculty photos, and missed deadlines set by the yearbook staff. In addition, Visual failed to submit a CD with the complete and properly edited compilation of senior photos. Of the 643 seniors, 46 were missing their photos, and the contact sheet with students’ names was not included. Many of the photos had also been improperly photoshopped.
“There were a lot of pictures where people’s head and necks – as far as the editing goes – were lighter, but Visual Photography forgot to lighten their shoulders and so their shoulder would be dark,” said Grace Kovalick, senior and Pawprint staff member, “and they overly blurred people’s hair to try to make it look smooth.”
Other editing problems included issues with excessively lightened skin; blurred cheekbone, collarbone and jaw line shapes; and improper cropping of girls’ pictures, according to Pawprint adviser Michelle Saremi. Visual also did not donate the sit-in and production fees of $10 per student back to the senior class as specified in the contract, and had limited communication with customers, resulting in a “random selection” of final pictures.
“We just had a lot of problems with the fact that they didn’t let a lot of people pick their pictures,” Camila Wise, senior and Pawprint Co-Editor-in-Chief, said.
Wise added that the photos that the seniors selected to put in the yearbook were not the same as the pictures sent in by Visual.
As a result, after the contract was terminated, the Pawprint began a new contract with Monarch Photography, a Ventura-based professional photo studio, though they are moving to Camarillo next month. This marks the end of a decades-long collaboration between Visual and NPHS.
“When it affects so many facets of the school, how can you continue a working relationship with the company?” Saremi said. “(The) original owner, Debbie O’Connor, was so wonderful, so this is very sad…because when a working relationship that has existed for so long, when that dies, it’s almost bittersweet. They were so phenomenal, and to see the business deteriorate that quickly because Debbie is no longer with us is pretty devastating. I really loved working with her.”
Monarch re-edited the senior photos provided by Visual by lowering the levels, removing the bunched fabric on many of the girls, and cropping the pictures as best as possible. Additionally, seniors were given the chance to retake their pictures if they were dissatisfied with them because many of them never got a call to proof their photos. Around 70 photos, including those that were missing, were then scheduled to be retaken on Nov. 17, 18 and 19 by Monarch photographers for no extra cost.
“(Visual) had lightened my skin a considerate amount to the point that it looked like I was missing bones,” Kovalick said. “I got a reedited version back (from Monarch) where they tried to fix the editing; they made it so that I wasn’t as white blobbiness, and they gave me my bones back. I was more pleased with that, so I decided not to retake my picture.”
However, senior Cate Saylors decided to take advantage of the picture retake and was rephotographed by Monarch on Nov. 18.
“I was really excited and relieved to retake my pictures because I didn’t like the original ones (from Visual),” Saylors said. “They were very zoomed in and there weren’t many pictures to choose from. In the end, Monarch Photography was a much better service because they were much nicer and less rushed.”
Visual Photography was contacted numerous times but could not be reached for comment.
The yearbook staff submitted the senior pages by their Dec. 14 deadline, and Monarch will remain as the Pawprint’s portrait supplier for the foreseeable future.
“We’re very confident that we’re going to be in good hands for the years to come,” Wise said.
