So I just need to vent. This morning, we went to get our family pictures taken at a chain studio called Portrait Innovations. I was really disappointed in our experience. It was very fast paced--I felt like we were rushed (the whole session was no more than 1/2 hour for 2 adults, 2 young kids). The photographer only offered 3 backgrounds: white, gray, & black. No props, except for a chair for my sons to sit in. We only had about 5 pictures taken per pose, for about 40 frames shot. My kids would not smile, but it seemed like the photographer didn't try too hard either. I have been to studios where they would jump around & act silly but that did the trick. He would click before anyone was even ready. In the end, he asked if I wanted to do anything else, & I said no, thinking he had already offered what was available. After all, he is the photographer, shouldn't he have all the creative ideas?

While we were waiting for the pictures to print, I started noticing the other families photos. One family had over 80 frames to choose from, another family had all sorts of backgrounds. To make it worse, when our pictures did come out, you can see the shoe dirt marks on the white background. I didn't notice this until I got home, my mistake!

All in all, we had a couple decent pictures, but definitely not worth the $63 I paid (I got lured in by a $9.95 pricing but you pay way extra for other poses). I should have just gone to Walmart & paid $6 a sheet! Any recommendations for another studio? I wonder how much a professional photographer would be.

I have had good luck with JC Penny. I do have to say...it can get expensive. They ask you do you want all these extra things and if you do the price goes up. I just want/need nice pictures of my kids/family- I wish it was all just one price! Though you can get coupons from JC Penny and the sheets are $3.99. So if you stick with those you can get alot of pictures for a great price.

My BFF goes to her JC Penny store and she has left without getting pictures if she does not like the shots. Or she just gets a few of the $3.99 sheets and will try again later for better shots.

I love Portrait Innovations, all our best photos have been there. I would take them back up there, ask to speak to the manager and let her know how you feel and the dirt marks on the background. I know they will give you another session for free if you do. They normally take almost 100 photos, it's so hard to choose. Sounds like you got a bad photographer that was stressed and rushing b/c of the weekend crowd.

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

The only place I have luck is Picture People. I only go with a coupon as it can get pricey. At the one I go to, the manager has instructed the session person to get to know the kids, play with them, etc. They take the most breathtaking pictures. Because of their rep though, they book fast. Our Pennys can't take a picture to save their life. We did get a portrait innovations near us but they have very limited backgrounds when I checked them out. Maybe some have great selection and some don't.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.

We've always used professional (or semi-professional) photographers. It's just the way our family has always done pictures. My parents always did it as well, so it's just very 'normal' to me. The sitting fee varies - we've paid anywhere from $50 to over $200 for the sitting fee. It just depends. We often split the fee by joining up with another family member - say a sibling, doing a big group shot of all the grandkids and then doing individual or family shots after that and just splitting the one time sitting fee. Then you just pay for the prints you want...you decide how many, what sizes etc

If you have an college near you, you might consider posting a job on their bulletin board at the art building...a lot of students are more than happy to do family photos for extra cash and it's typically a lot less than a professional photographer. Just depends if the student can and will do the printing...and if they can accomodate the sizes/types of photos that you want.

I would definately speak to the manager about the shoeprints on the background ASAP, that's unacceptable IMO and they should make it right either with a refund or retakes.

we have done Sears and Jcpennys. SEars is tooo much money. We were going there beacuse it was closer to us and Jcpennys I have to pay 10 for them to ship them to me we do drive the 2 hours to get there tho. For me it is worth it I use the free sitting fee or I was a club member when dd was younger and got them done every 3 months. But now I just use the coupon for free sitting and $3.99 sheets . I get A TON of pictures for both sides of the family, Aunts, cousins, uncles, grandparents greatgrandparents, ....etc We give pic to EVERYONE but we also don't live near them and they see us 2 times a year.

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I have to say that I also love portrait innovations (and I also live in your area...) I've never had a bad experience. They've always taken their time, given us lots of options with time to change outfits. They have great people working there who have always taken the time to make my DS laugh (which can be tricky at times.) But I also always make sure to book when I know they won't be busy (during weekday mornings usually.)

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I went to Kiddie Kandids last year *inside babiesRus*

I LOVED it, the price, the photographer and the walking out with my pics THAT night!

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I take my own. I have a really good camera, but a cheaper camera works great also. We go to a local site that makes a good background and I start taking pics. I did this for my dd graduation pics. I took like 80 pics with my digital put them on my computer and figured out which ones we liked best. Didn't cost me a dime, just a few hours and a little gas for the drive. We ended up with several good ones and plus have a good memory of the afternoon spent together as to frustation and regret.

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"Happy Easter", April 4th

I used to take pictures for Sears. I can tell you from experience that 30 minutes is more than enough time to get great shots. I also think that 40 shots is more than plenty. We used to do 20 max.

It is likely that you got a new photographer who isn't comfortable doing anything but the standard poses. What I would suggest is going back in with your pictures and talking to the manager, explaining that you are not happy with the photos and ask for a retake with an experienced photographer.

Good luck.