No Innovations.

Last week (was it last week? I've lost all concept of time in MN-land), Eli and I did something I thought I'd never do. 

We went to one of those photo-studio places. You know ... the ones with the fake backgrounds where they try sell you expensive packages and your photos are ready in an hour. Yeah, that sort of thing. They have them in malls and in shopping areas. A few of our friends use them often. So one day I woke up and decided I wanted to try it. Since Eli had just turned 18 months, I thought an "official" 18 month photo would be good. I called them and we were there a few hours later. Bam.

And I didn't love it. I thought maybe I would. I wanted to. I really did. But I didn't have a great experience. I think that mostly falls on the fact the photographer was a bit of a dud. She didn't seem to care about Eli, getting him to smile. She just wanted to get her 3.2 shots of each background and move on to the me-buying them stage.

Also, I knew what I was looking for. A shot of Eli standing and smiling with a minimal background. But did they ask me what I wanted? No. They just did their thing. I did insert my thoughts (can we get one with him standing now?) and the pose I chose was from that suggestion!

I have decided to do a little pro-con list for you, in case you have ever wondered about these places. This is just my experience with one place (Portrait Innovations) and I am a self-proclaimed photo snob... so keep that in mind.

PROS

• If you are okay with only one pose, you can get a lot of photos printed for only $10-20. It's quite cheap. 
• It's fast. You can get an appointment within hours, have your photos printed and in the mail to family three hours later (like I did). 
• If you rarely take photos of your kid(s), it's a great way to get a shot of them to share and have in the memory book. It may not be the best photo ever, but at least you have one. 
• I think this would be a wonderful idea to those that have lots of kids and don't get enough group shots of them.... because taking photos of lots of kids is tough and hard to be intentional about doing. Again, it may not be the best shot of each of them, but at least you would have one decent, purposeful shot of them together for the memory book. 
• They cater to kids. In this store, there is small play area. I did see a "no drinks or food" sign as we left and I laughed at that... how can you have no snacks for a 1.5 hour (that's how long they say it can take) window of time? I was glad it took us less time and that they let Eli eat. 
• It's good to have physical printed copies of photos to give out. How many photos do I take of Eli but never print and mail? This forces you to get them out to doting family and friends. 

We got ALL of this plus an ornament for $18 total.

CONS

• The end result is a very church-directory-look for most photos. This is due to their studio-type backgrounds and lighting. 
• It's a very canned process. They aren't very innovative. They have a certain way they do things. Four backgrounds, about three-four shots in certain poses for each. I knew what I wanted but they didn't ask me, they only wanted to know why we came in for photos (birthday, holiday, etc). They are used to people that come in and want them to just do everything for them. I am not that person. 
• How good your experience is, I believe, is very much based on the employee you get as your photographer. If you have one that cares about their job and is willing to work with your child/ren to get them to smile or be silly, you are going to have a much better experience. We did not have that. There was a wonderful employee that was playing with Eli and I so wish she would have been the one to take the photos.
• After the photo shoot, you have to sit through each photo and say which one you like best. It feels just like the eye doctor. Which do you like better? A or B? Right or Left? Then you have to go through all the ridiculous packages (where they make their money) and say no...no... no... Honestly, if the shots of Eli would have been spectacular, it would have been harder to say no. I'm also good at resisting people selling me stuff I don't want. 
• You really have to love one pose... because you will get a lot of that one pose!
• It can be expensive. The normal packages with multiple poses start at $100 or so and keep going up.

Verdict?

If you aren't like me and don't take a crazy amount of photos or if you have ten kids and need a good family shot, then definitely try these type of places out. It's worth it! And even though I didn't love it, I'm glad we did it for the experience and the nudge to get more physical printed photos out to family and friends.

And if you'd like one of these Eli photos, let me know. I think I have 17 left.

-Heather