1) Make your appointment the first one of the day
and the first day of the week. You see,
I do not like germs. I do not like people with germs. And, I especially do not like germs and people with germs around my babies. So, in a stroke of pure genius, I waited the three weeks necessary to secure the now-to-always-be-coveted first appointment of the day on the first day of the week. This way the props, backdrops and other germ harboring photographic apparatus has had two long days without reinfestations of the flu, or strep throat, or the black death.
Black death is making a comeback, you know. Also, I did not sit for fourteen hours in the lobby with all the germy people waiting for our pictures to be taken. When you're first, well, you're
first. It's a good place to be!
2) Take your own laugh factory along with you. How many babies laugh at feather dusters and stuffed animals trying to kiss them? Really. Every baby has a different rib tickler and for our baby boy,
this funny thing is a pair of Klackers. The Klackers work every time! After about thirty minutes, the Klackers were losing their magic and that's when we brought out the big guns... Nana! Nana walked up and started talking to Chubby Cheeks. He lit up like a Christmas tree! You won't be able to have our Nana or our Klackers unfortunately, but make do with what works for your little guy. (or gal, as the case may be)
3) Take over control from the wet behind the ears photographer. Let's face it, 99% of all photographers at these places are in high school or college and have no clue how to catch a baby smile. It is maddening! I explained to the photographer how it was going to be. I told the girl what I wanted, where I wanted it, what I wanted her to use, and when I wanted her to snap the picture. She was very obedient. It was a good decision on her part.
4) Don't be shy. Once the pictures were made, I went over them with a fine tooth comb. In this grand day of digital photography, Photoshop is your friend. I asked the girl to touch up shiny faces, eliminate a crack in the floor, put in lovely smoky borders and all sorts of other grand computer tricks. She would not have offered or even thought of doing these things if I had not been bold and asked for them. At one point I even had to tell her how her computer worked and that she could, in fact, do what I was asking her to do. Those of you that are faint of heart will come home with mediocre pictures. You must be bold!
With all of these things in place we came home with some rather cute pictures.
There are things I would change, poses I don't love, slouching shoulders that I missed. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist.
It is no secret that I despise the portrait studio experience. I have had so many bad experiences, well... I could write a book. Today I ventured back to the dungeon of picture taking by stepping into the portrait studio once again. I'm a glutton for punishment.
I am happy to report that my blood pressure is within normal limits, the photographer is in one piece and there was no bloodshed. It was a good day.
I have learned some lessons over the course of many years and I hope to spare you the portrait studio nightmares I have endured. Here is the Lady Why surefire recipe for a positive portrait studio experience:
14 comments:
Amazing pictures and a beautiful and handsome lot. I don't know that I have ever thought to be so bold at a picture studio. :-) Of course I haven't ventured into one in too many years either. We tend to do ours on our own I guess since the kids are older.
Ok I have prom pics up. Go look!
I've learned some of these tricks. We took a stuffed moose to our last session with a 2 year old. It was the final shot of the day and my absolute favorite.
I totally agree with the first appointment of the day. I'll gladly wait a couple of weeks so I don't have to spend an entire day in a studio waiting our turn. We usually go to a JC Penney studio and they ALWAYS seem understaffed. Telling the photographer what you want is important, too. I think they are trained to do just one type of shot.
Thanks for the other tips. Your pictures came out beautifully.
Great pictures! ChubbyCheeks looks so much like Mr.P!
Where did you have them taken?
ChristyB
We use Sears b/c it is closest to home and we get the cheapie deal of 30 pics for $10 or some such thing. But here are the negatives.
You get what you pay for. Usually the pics are good enough for us but some we've rec'd and I've refused to pay for b/c they were bad.
These are NOT professionals - "say cheese" is not the proper way to get a real smile.
It's frustrating b/c I tell them right out that I don't want anything fancy and that I want a close up shot from the waist up kind of. So they do maybe one of those like that and then say they are REQUIRED to take x amount of other pics and waste all this time even though I said I would NOT buy anything else.
So then there is maybe one or two poses I can actually chose from with my requirement of close up waist up b/c the rest are all these goofy poses or enhancements.
Why do I put up with it - b/c it's good enough and cheap. The last photos I had done were excellent (by happenstance I'd say!).
Great tips! I hate going in the photo studio also. SUCH A HASSLE!
Linda
These tips are great -- thanks for sharing from your experience. I have yet to take my kids to a portrait studio because, truth be told, I was a little scared. :-) I love the avoiding germs tip -- I'm all about avoiding germs!
We don't go to the studio anymore. One year a bunch of homeschooling moms were talking about the nasty dreaded studio. We decided to take it upon ourself to find a photographer who will meet with us once a year for family and individual photos. Over the years we tried several photographers. One was grouchy, one was too high in price and maybe something else too, but then we stumbled on the best photographer ever. She charges us 25.00 for a half hour and will meet us anywhere in the city and does family photos and individual photos, they are fantastic. Now what to do about the photos of the first year with new baby! I hate photo places!
These are some fantastic tips! I recently tried to get a portrait of my three children (ages three and under) and it was a disaster. I wish I'd had these tips!
Great pictures.
We did this last Monday. At the end of the day. Yes, I knew better. No, I don't know what I was thinking. Our photographer was great. Our two year old...not so much. I banned him from any future family photos, he gave me a rare smile for that day and toddled into the lobby to find grandma and a drink.
Our photographer...did I mention she was awesome. Got some great pictures. And only one sans two year old. I am going to post them on my blog a little later.
the pictures look great. I went to my neices second sitting and the photographer was great with her. Sometimes I guess you just get lucky.
Whoa!
I work at a portrait studio - I'm almost 40 years old - and I DO get great pics and get babies to smile - unless I'm dealing with an overbearing mom. From reading your post here --- we would totally flag you as one of the dreaded customers!
Yes... bring in your own props and smile prompting toys!!! Good job there. Please leave those toys in your bag until the photographer asks for it. Nothing is worse than an entire session of pictures of the kid with one stupid toy they won't let go of! I have my methods... sometimes they don't work on each kid... then I go to mom's sure fire (which of course sometimes doesn't work either)
And while we're at it - stop feeding your kids to placate them during the session. I had a mom doing this the other day. Do you want a picture of your kid chewing? Trust me - you don't. And you'll blame me for it when every shot is worthless.
BTW - Saturday and Sunday are our busiest days... so your Monday morning appt advice is great for low pressure planning... but the props only got a 16 hour reprieve from germs.
I recognize that most of the portrait studios are staffed by college kids and an array of idiots. ON THE WEEKENDS. Typically the studio manager is there Mon - Fri - and at the company I work for... the studio managers have been doing it for years, and are really excellent photographers.
The reason studios are understaffed is because scheduling is based on a labor model. Wage based hours are limited, and they only get to call in more staff when the schedule is full 20 hours in advance.
You're only paying $5 a portrait sheet. If you want personalized service - call me personally and I'll come to your house for $300 - and charge you $40 a sheet.
I'm always so amazed that people expect a flawless, beautiful photo when they're only willing to pay $5 bucks for it. If you want a custom session... pay for it.
Go look for a studio with great photographers. When you're out shopping, ask to see their master gallery - we have a book with photos taken in OUR studio. When you see what you like, ask for THAT photographer. Ask for who is great with kids/ infants/ toddlers - we all have our specialties.
But DO NOT come in acting like you know more than the photographer. You may know more than the college kid.... but more likely than not, you are just interfering with what she knows works (and the requirements she has to meet for her company) if you're messing with her system - that's why you're getting crappy pictures.
The majority of my customers get incredible pictures... and ooh and ahh over how they didn't know they could get such great portraits from one of these studios. But the people who are overbearing and have bratty kids get crappy pictures through no fault of the photographer.
Finally, I don't want to sound mean.. but if those are the best shots ... I'm disappointed for you. I could have done much better. (Unless I was dealing with an overbearing mom)
TRS, sorry you don't like my pictures. I can assure you it was the photographer and not the subjects. :-)
Since this post was written I have tossed aside all 'portrait studio' businesses and gone with a professional photographer. It was better for everyone's blood pressure. :-)
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