.... I will share my story ..... been there done that ..... it is just too painful ...... i did it 2 years before and swore never again....
My child is Pri 5 this year and this happened in 2006 and 2007
Being the enthusiastic parent with a kid going into Pri 1 of course I happily volunteered to be a Parent Volunteer taking on the seemingly brainless task of event photographer that year for their fun fair, Moon Cake Festival and what not events. By end of 2006 I was automatically 'expected' to cover end of year, after exams , before-December Holidays celebrations. No asking no requests ..... suddenly something I volunteered for became MY JOB
Wah be prepared for complaints NO MATTER WHAT
- why so few pics of the Principal ? (oh i did not realize principal is the STAR of the event)
- how come a few of the teachers are not in the group photos (oh now I have to be the shephard of teachers)
- why I didnt use Flash
- why I use Flash
- why I shoot in medium res JPEG
- can I convert 80 of the 400 images into Black and White ?
- Parents complaining that I did not take photos of THEIR children during the fun fair (yeah, I am expected to shoot EVERYONE of the 1000 plus fun fair attendees NO MATTER WHAT TIME THEY ARRIVED at the event)
- Parents coming up to me directly to get prints instead of from the teachers in-charge of events
- Classic: "Why you take my son/daughter eating Mee Siam... so ugly.... please delete"
- Classic: "Why you take a photo of my son/daughter with a cream pie splattered on his/her face? Its published in the school annual Year Book and now everyone is making fun of my child" (oops sorry for causing the permanent emotional scar)
- Classic: "Can you come help shoot at little Dorothy's birthday party ? YOUR child has been invited too" (yeah my child gets invited to EVERY darned birthday celebration .... even from students from other classes my child does not know !! )
- Because of this my child now has not only new friends in schools but lost a few friends as well because of what I shot or DID NOT SHOOT ("Papa, Tommy said his mother told him not to be my friend anymore because you took a photo of him with a cream pie on his face that was in the Highlights of the Year in the School Yearbook")
When one newbie Pri 1 parent showed up with a 50D and L lenses, I pointed out the superior gear and asked to be relieved of my tour of duty ..... I never heard from them again ..... God help that new replacement newbie Pri 1 parent photographer
And the teachers are not stupid either .......... they always go for the Pri 1 parents ......
AND ONE LAST REASON I will not do it again (will only shoot FOR myself and family ) is because IF you go to ANY school function , there are more parents and grandparents toting DSLRS, compacts, iphones, ipad cameras and video cameras than at a United Nations press conference ...... AND NOBODY IS CONTRIBUTING/SHARING THEIR IMAGES .......
THE SMART parents..... these are the ones who dont bring a camera ..... they just ask for copies from OTHER parents who bring cameras ..... free CDs or even the cheek to ask for free PRINTs ..... at EVERY EVENT
.... and the next morning when I am late sending my kid to school , they still use their car to block my car from getting into the dropoff queue .......