Photographer Frustration
Grrrr. Does anyone else get frustrated when trying to get pictures taken professionally? I won't even start on the unpleasantness of taking family pictures or how they get more complicated the more kids you have. I pick the time and the frequency of our family photos very carefully to minimize the stress and grief as much as possible. Kids' photos though, I try to make happen more often, usually at least once a year. It's slightly easier once they get in school, unless their school pictures turn out lousy, like Ryan's did this year.
So I've been trying for over two months to get Dallin in for a photo while he's still a little baby. And Jared hasn't had a successful photo since he was 18 months old. We tried last summer, but the photographer at Wal-Mart literally scared him so much that all we got was tantrums and tears. So this time I've been debating between Sears and Wal-Mart, both of which are relatively convenient for us without being ridiculously exorbitant in price. The last time we tried Sears, the pictures turned out okay, but weren't really worth the price we ended up paying for the package, and the customer service was poor. I hadn't seen the guy who scared Jared at Wal-Mart for awhile, so I went ahead and made an appointment there for this morning, reasoning that even if the pictures didn't turn out perfect, at least I didn't have to invest $60 or more to keep them. I got the boys dressed in their respective outfits and got over there on time, a feat in and of itself. Dallin was fed and rested and happy, and Jared was even acting like he was going to cooperate. The photographer seemed a little harried, but was nice enough. And then she started snapping pictures of Dallin's cute little smile and realized the camera wasn't working properly. Arrgh!!! We hung out for a little while and even did some shopping while she tried to get it working, but no luck.
I did get a coupon out of Wal-Mart for a free advertised package, but I'm back to the same dilemma. Do I reschedule and go for inexpensive because the kids are so unpredictable at any given time that the photos might not turn out that great anyway? Or do I go with Sears again, pay more, and still not have any guarantee that the kids will cooperate. Or do I try an independent photo studio here in town that will cost me an arm and a leg, but probably give me much better service (and I still risk the kids not cooperating).
I honestly think with a few photography lessons and the right equipment, I could do the pictures myself as well or better than most photographers we've tried over the years. Maybe someday. In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions for resolving my dilemma? I'll probably go back to Wal-mart and use my coupon this time, but I'd like a better solution for the future.
posted by Harmony @ 11:58 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
I like Walmart for individual pictures because it's low key, there aren't generally lots of people in that specific area and if I can either find someone to watch the kids who aren't getting pictures or take treats, then I can just focus on happy kids. Sometimes there are quirks, but the nice thing is that usually you get the discount, but at other places you have sitting fees, etc. I'd say try Walmart again, even if you only do one child at a time (which sometimes eases the stress on you too) Where they don't have sitting fees, it's not a huge deal to just prep one child at a time.
We use JCPenneys and are members of their "smile saver" program whatever it's called. It looks like it's regularly 39.99 for 2 years
What this gets you is no sitting fees, which is important the more people you have in your family. We go once a year for family and individual pictures.
There are always coupons in those direct mail magazines for $3.99 portrait sheets, so we just clip one and take it in.
I feel your pain! I would NOT recommend my solution, which is to completely avoid the whole family photo thing.
We just try to take family photos at random times when I happen to think everyone looks relatively nice or the kids look cute or a baby blessing or a fun family activity, or whatever the special occasion may be. Then when I get a photo I like, I take it in and have it blown up to a 8x10 to stick on the wall. Every once in a while I feel badly about not doing the "real family photo" thing, but obviously I don't feel badly enough to do anything about it. I expect that once my kids are old enough to dress themselves, keep themselves clean for more than 5 minutes at a time, and they can understnad the whole concept of smiling for the camera - then we'll try for a professional - with everyone matching family photo shoot - or maybe not...
We do JcPenny's also my mother in law has the smile saver program and lets us use it. I guess when I move farther away I will break down and get my own. Also if you go to their website and look under the coupons link they usually have one for 3.99 per sheet the only way I will go there. And we have always turned out with good pictures of the boys and family I think (my husband's dislikes any picture with him in it) Good Luck!!
Harm,
your experience sounds a lot like ours at the Walmart in Vernal. The kid taking the pictures looked like he had learned how to use the equipment about 15 minutes before we got there. Any pictures that happened to get the boys smiling would end up being off center. Didn't anyone tell them that since the pictures are digital, they can zoom out and then crop later? We ended up getting a sub-par family photo package for 4.99 (promo) and a disk.
As for other options, our sister-in-law used to do all sorts of her own family photos when her husband was in dental school. She would just set up a sheet on the couch and sit the girls with some flowers or something. All you really need is a mid grade digital camera (4-5 megapixels). After that you can do a lot in photoshop. Especially if you change the photo to black and white. Everybody looks better sans color.
Personally I've never been a big fan of the formal portrait. Something about dressing up and slicking back the hair just doesn't seem to represent reality. I prefer the casual, spontaneous snapshot. They usually capture the kids personality better anyway. Think about it, in 30 years which would you rather look at, Jared sitting calmly on Santa's lap with a pleasant smile on his face, or Jared screaming and desperately trying to get away from the mysterious bearded stranger to whom Mom just abandoned him. There's always a better story behind the second.
You know, my mom has a tradition of having a family picture taken every year - has been that way since the year they were engaged, and I think two were in a studio - we did one in our pjs on bean bags, one where everyone dressed up in their hobby attire with appropriate props, one where all the girls were in flapper dresses and the boys were in white shirts, suspenders and hats period appropriate (that's my favorite). I think family pictures are supposed to be fun, outdoors, clothes somewhat coordinated and fun. Save Walmart for the kids personals unless you want to just bag it altogether and enter the digital age and do it yourself. You can usually find a friend who can point and shoot for the fam (or just wait until you are back in UT and have fam take the picture)
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The JCPenney thing sounds good. Our local JCPenney is only .8 miles away. Unfortunately the closest JCPenney with a photo studio is 168.4 miles away in San Antonio, so that won't help me this time. I think we'll use the coupon and give Wal-mart one last chance to earn our business. I like the fact that when I shop there I can almost always find what I'm looking for at a reasonable price, but I still avoid that store as much as possible. (Actually, I don't enjoy shopping and avoid most stores as much as possible.)
I do like the informal (and more memorable) photos, but I like to get professional ones occasionally too.
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