Mugsy Clicks

Click a topic in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list to the left.

If you are a School Representative please contact our Production Manager at schoolsupport@mugsyclicks.com.

If you are a customer:

The absolute fastest way to receive support is by sending an email.

You can send an email to Customer Support by clicking the Contact Us link to the right....just under SuperMugsy!  But please note: Our response email will come from info@mugsyclicks.com, so check to make sure your email system has not filtered our reply into your spam/junk folder.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT LEAVE PHONE MESSAGES AND SEND EMAILS! Please choose one method and know that we will respond as soon as possible. Our busy season can create a queue, but we will provide attention to each and every email or phone message. 

If you prefer to use the phone and reach a real human our number is 877 459 6847.

The Customer Support Dept. is Ext. 1. Production Dept. (for schools) is Ext. 2

PLEASE NOTE: Hours: M-F 11am-3pm.

Please rest assured that ALL messages will be answered in the order that they were received.

Your child's photos are saved in your online account so you never have to save envelopes or re-enter long access codes. Enter it once and never again!

Entering your email address to create your online account assures communication regarding orders, deadlines and special offers. We never give away or sell information.

Don't want more email? Just choose "Opt Out" when registering.

Click here to return and Register.

Your access code is found on the upper right hand corner of the order envelope that is distributed to your school approximately 2 weeks after your school's photo day.  Images/access codes will not be available until that time.

If you do not have your envelope/access code, click this link to submit a request.  (Please note: if you are not yet logged in, you will be asked to first sign in/create an account with us)

Please wait the two weeks following your child's picture day to request an access code.  We will then email your access code during business hours M-F.

To view and order photos, after you've logged in, click on the photographed subject's name, found here.

To order a specific pose, click on an image to enlarge it, then click on "Order Prints" (lower right corner). This will pop you into the Store and you can choose any photo package, single photo sheet or gift item to order from.

If at any time you want to return to your photo albums in your online account, click on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner of every web page, just below your email address. Then click "View Photos". 

To view and order class photos, after you've logged in, click on the photographed subject's name, found here.

We usually have the photos and they can be ordered, but please note the following:

Archived photos are not available online and tend to be a little tricky as they are no longer attached to the Teacher or child's name. We can find them for you, but it's a process. There is also an additional archive fee that would apply. (Between $15-$25 per photo, depending on how many photos are requested.) This fee is per photo shoot. ie. one fee to locate one child's entire gallery of images for that particular school year. Once located, order as much as you like at the current prices for that school. Also, if you have the old envelope or a record of the image IMG number (not for all, just one is enough), the fee is nominal since searching would then be simpler. If ordering class photos, please provide the Teacher's name or the identifying class name.

If you are interested in ordering older photos, please fill out the Request form, and after confirmation of receipt of the form, your name will be added to the Search Archive List. On the form, be sure to click "Older Photos, Pre-2010".  Click here to access the Request form.

Online orders for Individual Photos arrive in approximately 10 days.

Orders for Class / Group Photos / Class Gallery Prints use a separate handling system since they require a proofing process by the school administration as well as editing. Once those processes are complete the photos are generated and shipped on a separate schedule from individual portrait photograph orders.

Customized Gift Items require approximately 3 weeks.

Just make sure your child makes it to school on the Re-Shoot/Make Up Day and we'll take it from there. No forms, no calls, just be there!

Please place your order online.

Online ordering is open through June of the current school year.

If ordering online is not an option for you, please send your envelope to:

210 Jewell Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 and be sure to include your credit card information as no checks will be accepted, unless you include the additional $10. This covers the cost of shipping + handling. 

All special requests regarding photo day should be communicated to the photographer via a note presented ON PHOTO DAY.  We are not responsible for any requests (clothing, hair, etc) not presented to us at the time of the photo session.  We do not presently have a system to match email or phone requests to a specific child in advance of photo day. 

Due to the complicated scheduling that schools have to balance on picture day some students will end up coming to the camera after participating in some kind of messy activity.  If you are concerned about this, our suggestion is sending your child to school with an extra shirt, blouse or sweater to be put on just for photos.  A bit of preplanning can make a big difference in getting the best portrait.

Check out http://www.mugsyclicks.com/services/tips-hints.aspx.  You will find information regarding photographing students of all ages.

Our photographers do everything they can to modify the light to minimize glass glare. There are a few things we have no control over due to the fact we photograph outside-light sensitive lenses and highly reflective locations. We can sometimes retouch glare but dark tinted glasses should not be worn on picture day. We generally ask to photograph the child both with their glasses and without in order to give you the choice.

Make-up shoots are available for most schools--please check with the school after the original photo day to verify that a make-up session will happen for your school. On these make-up days we photograph any child that was absent or needed their photos retaken due to photographer error.

If you would like a re-shoot of your child for stylistic reasons however, we require that you enclose a $10 check in your envelope and write the words "re-shoot" across it and turn it in to the school by the envelope due date (listed on the top right hand corner) or at least 3 days before the scheduled make-up day. All reshoots must take place on the "makeup/reshoot" photo day there are no private sessions available at this price.

If the photographer made an error and there is a make-up day scheduled we will be happy to re-photograph your child as a make-up. You must return the envelope by the ordering due date with a note requesting make-up photo and why. This is only in the event of photographer error.

Due to the subjective nature of photography and illegalities of duplication we cannot issue refunds on photos... so please order carefully. If you are unhappy with the quality of printing you may return the entire photo package to our studio for review. We are happy to reprint or replace photos that we do not feel reflect our high quality standards.

From today's (10/11/09) customer service phone log:

Professional, high quality portraits at school photo prices . . .

A quick head's up here.  If you have read our "Heart-Felt Message" you know our philosophy regarding pricing so you can just get back to the business of your life; you have heard enough about this subject from me already. If not, dear customer, here is my manifesto of commerce...

Okay, so let's talk frankly about our prices.  No tap dancing.  We provide professional portraits at school photography prices.  If you truly compare us to our competitors product and services you will find we are all pretty darn close in price,  but not at all close in quality or services.  Advantage: Mugshots! 

We use some of the best photographers your community has to offer.  They spend time being trained in Mugshots Style to produce the best product possible.  We all use expensive professional gear.  We have almost 20 years experience in the "new school of photography".  Our combined years of photography experience is in the hundreds!

Our photographers shoot for free unless you like what they produce and decide to purchase.  One print alone from many of these photographers would set you back about $100. You as parents are using your combined buying power to get a GREAT PRICE on a professional product at ABSOLUTELY NO RISK TO YOU. There is no 'send your child to school with a check in the envelope and cross your fingers that you'll like what you've bought'. This is a free service with no commitment to buy. So yes, we charge a nominal $10 shoot fee, yet only in the case of a customer-elected re-shoot.  

We offer multiple images to preview before purchasing. If we don't do a good job you don't order.  We take credit cards, offer online services, we give you extended purchasing deadlines. 

Our investment in online ordering services is helping to heal many a broken family argument over who got the "picture envelope"... they can view and order separately and have the photos delivered directly to their home. Relatives can order for themselves as well.

We provide a large variety of free services to your schools.  Our company is incredibly customer service focused in this seasonal "quick in quick out" industry.

So there it is... a long winded answer, which in shorthand translates to, " we will never be the cheapest- but we will always strive to be the best value"

Photo Scholarships are available.  If you have recently lost your job or if your economic situation is such that you need help purchasing your child's photos you may email us - info@mugsyclicks.com with a request for a photo scholarship. (Having been a single mom raising 2 kids I know what it is to be challenged and we will do what we can to help you out.) 

Humbly yours,

Linda Russell CEO and still in the trenches

For the most up to the date info check out our Unleashed Family Portrait site--this is where up to the minute info is noted.  Hope to see you there!!

Hair Grooming, Face-Cleaning and Pricing- not necessarily in that order.

This time of year we receive lots of feedback from our customers. Much positive, some negative, a bit of highly valued constructive and a dash of mean-spirited. We try to balance them all equally but as a small company, of sometimes thin-skinned artists, the deep cuts occasionally overpower the back pats. Why negative feedback wins out over positive provides many a therapist enough revenue to support a household and is probably best left up to that science. So, accepting that I might sound defensive, which is not my intention, I thought it might be helpful to share with you, our valued customer, a bit of what happens on a photo day and a word or two regarding our pricing.

First, quite honestly, we love kids. We love photographing children. No one who works for Mugshots is allowed to be even remotely indifferent to the value of being a young human making sense of the world. We all specialize in reflecting a positive view of each of your unique children, and since each child IS unique, we have varied successes in capturing the "perfect expression". Some children are "natural smilers", some are "shy", some are "independent minded," some have had their natural smiles ruined with glued together "cheese" teeth (as in the dairy product, not the expression). We work hard at our job, we care, and we accept the challenge of each photograph as if it was the most important one of our day. We invest our time, equipment and experience with the hope that we will create a photograph that a parent will cherish enough to purchase and share.

Photo day is a whirlwind. Class schedules must be met, name and image data must be kept straight. There is sun, wind and weather to manage. Clean faces, combed and uncombed hair, straightened collars, sweater/no sweater, hair behind the ears, in front of the ears, parts/no parts. Braces, missing teeth, snaggle tooth smiles, zipper closed mouths and tongues that stick in cheeks or poke thru smiles. Glasses, no glasses, noon lightening that affects sensitive eyes. A crooked clip on tie that refuses to straighten. A virus of children who think it is cool to "NOT smile, no matter what" or "smile like America's Next Top Model" or smile with true dedication, with just their lower teeth. A sweet lamb-chop who is trying so hard to please their shoulders are hooked to their ears. We care about ALL of them. Our hearts sink when they come from PE with sweaty red faces. We fan them with cards to cool them down. We fret over whether to tame or celebrate their "bed head".

We focus our lenses with skill and commitment. We strive for success, and most of the time your children are working just as hard with us to make a photo that pleases. This is why we spend the additional time and money to create multiple images to choose from and show them to you before you purchase. We do this because we are parents just like you, and we want to provide you with photography you will value. We know that photography is a process and both your children and your photography team may need a few chances to reach success. Which brings us to pricing. Our commitment to value means while are prices maybe slightly higher than the "traditional" school photography companies we believe it is better to use professional child photographers from your community, invest in innovative proofing programs that offer you choice of images as well as previewing before you invest your hard earned money. We know life is busy, so you get months to order with no penalty. We take credit cards because most people prefer to pay that way. If you order online your photo order doesn't sink to the bottom of a backpack, it is delivered quickly to your home.

We also know money is tight which is why we have not had a price increase in over 5 years. This year we have added a number of packages under $20. We constantly strive to keep expenses down as we continue to grow and improve.  Each new school that joins Mugshots allows us to amortize improvements over more individuals which is how we have built our company without compromising our value.

We will never be the cheapest school photography company in the market, but we promise you we will continue to treat your children as valued subjects and your business as privilege.

With Gratefulness,

Linda Russell-CEO and Chief Trailblazer