NAHS Allow Senior Yearbook Photos to be taken by senior's choice

NAHS - Allow Senior Yearbook Photos to be taken by the senior's choice of  photographer!

 

Historically seniors at NAHS have been allowed to have their yearbook photo taken by a photographer of their choice.  For Class of 2015 the principal mandated that all senior yearbook photos be taken at Mark Lawrence Studios in Haverhill MA.  We seek to allow Class of 2016 and future classes be allowed to submit photos from their photographer of choice as long as the photo meets published guidelines. Why? -          Up until the Class of 2015, Seniors have been allowed to have their senior yearbook photo taken by a photographer of their choosing, but starting this past year the NAHS principal is only allowing senior yearbook photos from Mark Lawrence Studios. -        

  The Yearbook should be for the Seniors and Seniors should be allowed to submit a photo of their choice by the photographer of choice as long as it meets published guidelines. -         

Students and their families do not want to have to go to out-of-town at least twice (photo shoot & preview) to get a free photo for the yearbook that they don’t want anyway. -         

‘Free’ photo is very limited in scope and doesn’t offer many choices (indoor vs outdoor) vs those who pay for a more elaborate photo shoot. -          Masco, Haverhill HS, Central Catholic Hs all have ‘contracts’ with Mark Lawrence Studios but also allow Senior photos from other photographers as long as they meet submission guidelines. -         

Other States such as New Jersey have laws that prevent this – N.J.S.A. 18A: 18A-49 Contract for taking yearbook pictures, use of other photographers’ photos permitted states that a board of education may enter into a contract with a photographer for taking pupil yearbook pictures.  The hiring of the photographer by a school shall not prohibit a pupil from engaging a photographer of the pupil’s choice nor prevent a picture taken by that photographer from appearing in the yearbook if the picture meets the specifications of the yearbook staff.  (P.L. 2003, c.313)