S/O: Family Photos - Where to go?

Which is better Sears (or similiar in the mall studios) or hiring a professional photog?

Why I ask is that we've never done professional photos as a family and it has been 2 years since I have had the girls' photos taken. Our last Sears sitting sucked. I paid a lot (IMHO) for some really sub-par photos. I'd love to get thier photos taken again and I would love to have a family photo taken, but I want nice photos out of it and not pay an arm and a leg to get these photos done.

What to do? I don't even know where to start looking for a local photog!

Try the Yellow Pages or ask around...someone at the girls school might know of someone...
I would totally steer clear of Sears or anywhere like that and go with a pro...I just like them so much better!

I can suggest looking on here. They have photographers listed in one of the forums and you can always post and ask. Another place to check is Craig's List for your area. So many times I have seen FREE listings for photographers who are just wanting to build their portfolio and would do the session for free and you get all the photos free just for allowing them to use your photos. So youd only really need to pay for printing and would likely get the ability to edit etc. Lastly I know in my local mall there is an awesome photographer (not like a sears or jcpenneys but a professional photographer). Id check there because you can go in and get a feel for what they do and look through photos etc and they are usually pretty reasonable.

Also I really like Olan Mills. They are not professional photographers but the photo quality and poses are much better then others Ive been to (and Ive done Sears, Target, Olan Mills, Kmart and JCPenney in the past)

Definitely steer clear of Sears or Penney's. No offense to anyone who likes them, but I got seriously P.O'd back in April. My sister in law realllly wanted to get the kids' pictures done together at Penney's. She had a great experience before, booked the same lady again and had a great coupon. We got there and the photographer didn't even spent 10 minutes with these kids and she didn't try to get them to all cooperate either. When we got the kids all packed up she told us that for some reason the camera hadn't been working and most of the photos didn't take. We had to take them back in there - no apologies or anything - and do it over again. She didn't even spend 5 minutes with them that time. When we went to review the pics there was not ONE good one. Nothing that I was going to pay money for. There was one halfway decent one but it cut off right at Claire's chin. She said that for $$$ we could get the photo matted and then it wouldn't look so bad. Really????? I don't lose my cool very often, but I most definitely did that day. I even called to complain and they contacted her district manager. When I called I found that she was the studio manager. Anywho, I know this was incredibly long winded, so sorry!! lol I'll never go back and I make sure I tell everyone I know that wants to get pictures done about my experience.

We've always gone to the Picture People but this year I'm definitely thinking about going the "professional" photographer route. I always think it's nice to have photos in a "real" background instead of a backdrop.

Pro pro pro!! Anything but Sears of JCPenny or anything like that.

If I lived close I'd do them for ya

I have been really pleased with Portrait Innovations. They allow several outfit changes during a session, and they don't rush. They have generally taken anywhere from 60 to 75 photos in one sitting, and they will sit down with you at a large monitor and crop things as needed (wish Penney's had done that LOL). And what I really love (other than good price) is getting photos in about 15 minutes. If you buy three or more poses, you get a CD of all the photos taken free of charge.

Of the department store studios, I think Sears is the worst. JC Penney does a really good job, IMO. I've taken my girls there a lot and have always been happy. JCP doesn't do as well as a professional photog of course, but they're good and you can find nice coupons on their website.

I just read through the rest of the replies and it's funny we have such different opinions. Our JCP is really fantastic. The women who work there have been doing it for years and are really good. It just might be our store though.

OK, carry on...

I personally really don't like the studios.... the backdrops are usually boring or ugly. I had a friend that was hired at Picture People to take pics during a summer away from school.... and she had absolutely ZERO photography experience and didn't even have an eye for it.... and I think that tells you something about the "photographers" they hire. I'm sure there are a few good ones out there, but I really think it's a gamble and I usually could take better pics of my daughter than they ever could.

I DEFINITELY say go with a professional photog and shoot OUTSIDE! I think they are so much better! Honestly, no idea how you go about finding a photog, a friend just referred me to her and that was that!

pewtertm said:

I have been really pleased with Portrait Innovations. They allow several outfit changes during a session, and they don't rush. They have generally taken anywhere from 60 to 75 photos in one sitting, and they will sit down with you at a large monitor and crop things as needed (wish Penney's had done that LOL). And what I really love (other than good price) is getting photos in about 15 minutes. If you buy three or more poses, you get a CD of all the photos taken free of charge.

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I :wub: PI. LOVE. We don't go anywhere else.

what about trying a tripod and doing it yourself? You are a great photographer! You could do it!

juliebee70 said:

what about trying a tripod and doing it yourself? You are a great photographer! You could do it!

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I need a WAY better camera. I am hoping for Christmas/Birthday rolled into one.

Look for a natural light pro photographer in your area. I love what they can do. I hired one to do family pics last summer. I spent $500, but got a CD with all the images in it, in addition to tons of photos for our house and relatives. I'll never regret it.

rochelle789 said:

I just read through the rest of the replies and it's funny we have such different opinions. Our JCP is really fantastic. The women who work there have been doing it for years and are really good. It just might be our store though.

OK, carry on...

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I'm with you Rochelle. I love our Penney's. And it's inexpensive with the great coupons that I get.

However, I would LOVE to have ours done by a professional. I am actually going to talk with two different friends of mine to see if they will do our Christmas pics this year. One is an aspiring photog and I'm hoping he'll do it for free. The other charges $200-$300 for a sitting and you get like 15 photos, which honestly is not that bad considering travel, set up and take down and the time to process and print.

I have had some FANTASTIC photos done at Penny's, BUT they don't touch up their photos at all. So in Dec I had a bunch done of the boys at Penny's to send out to family and my parents did some in the studio. Both kids were happy and smiling at penny's and grumpy and shy for the pro...

The professional pictures are breathtaking and hte Penny's' pics suck.

I worked at Penneys doing photos for 3 years. Some are good and well trained. I have always thought it was a good idea to do the portrait studio for the give away photos and then go to a pro for your own photos, then you can spend less with the expensive. If you are hurting for money at all, the portrait studios can do fantastic jobs. Don't buy any photos you don't like, don't book photos on a weekend or evening (some evenings are slow find out in advance which for your area). Yes, on the busy weekends, we were required to give only 10 minutes per session. Good luck!