A new portrait experience

After much ranting and raving from fellow moms, I tried a new place to get portraits taken. Last night we went to Portrait Innovations for our annual family photo. Up until this point, we have always gone to JcPenney. And for the most part, I've been happy there. You definitely can't beat it for the price. But I have had a few complaints. One is that it is always the most stressful experience. You feel rushed from the moment you set foot in the place until you leave. The entire time you are trying to keep your little one from losing it in a relatively small space. And also, if you go very often, your pics start to look kinda similar. I think it depends on the location, but sometimes you have to be proactive to get them to do something other than your kid in front of a white background.

So I was happier overall with my experience at Portrait Innovations, but I did spend more money, maybe about 30-40% more than I would've at JCP. But here were the highlights:

*I think it's impossible to go to any portrait studio this time of year and it not be busy. But even though it was busy, I didn't feel stressed. There was plenty of room, entertaining toys for Katy, and you got to SIT in front of a large monitor to review your pictures.

*They were really good at getting Katy to smile. I was nervous because of her recent anxiety, I thought she'd be so scared she wouldn't cooperate, but she did great. They were really good with kids.

*They encourage you to bring an outfit change and take lots of poses, so you are sure to come up with something that you like. (I actually brought a 2nd non-Christmas outfit for Katy, intending to get some generic 18-month shots, but I didn't like any of them, so I ended up with all Christmas poses, but that's fine)

*You get your photos in 20 minutes, rather than 3 weeks later at JCP. Plus, this place is much closer to my house than JCP, so when Katy was tired and hungry and I decided not to wait, I was able to run over there the next morning and pick them up - convenient!

*There were lots of props and different backgrounds, so you could come regularly and not get bored.

*They do have a $9.95 deal similar to JCP if you only get one pose. But if you go up from there, it's more expensive, like I said. I really like how JCP has the mix and match sheets for $3.99 each. That's just a darn good deal - you can walk outta there with a large stack of pictures for $30.

So many of you will see the results of this session in at least one form in a Christmas card soon enough. I'm not sure the next time around what I will decide - was it worth the extra money?