JC Penney Portraits or Portrait Innovations

hilwithonelary

I'd like to get some photos taken of DS for the holidays. I want to end up with one or two good shots. I'm not looking for something fancy or artistic, I just want pics of DS dressed nicely with a plain background. Does anyone have experience with JC Penney or Portrait Innovations? Do you think these would be decent options for what I'm looking for? What do you think I should expect to pay?

ABColeslaw

I've done both.  I'm not a fan of JC Penny.  Its a lot of money for portraits that are exactly the same in quality.  ALSO, portrait innovations has a team of people who occupy your kid and make it way less stress!

zeptattoo

We did JC Penney and had a great experience.  The photographer was awesome and Snuggle was at a great age to both pose and be a ham on film!  I think we ended up paying about $200 something, but we also did family photos.

I would schedule quickly though considering the time of year.

millikenk@shawnee.edu

We've done JCPenney every time with DS. We love it. They do an awesome job. I think we normally pay $100-$150 depending on how many I have to choose from. Even when DS doesn't cooperate very well, it seems like they get a lot of great shots. They typically have a lot of coupons so that you get a ton of pictures (for family and yourself) for the cost stated above. Go to their website to check out the coupons! Good luck!

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zarapipe

We did picture me studio in Walmart for our Christmas shot. We just got the 7.99 package that gave us a free 10x13 plus we got an extra sheet for $20. Not a bad deal. I also signed up for their picture smiles club for $10 and now on every order its BOGO for extra sheets and a free 8x10 for every purchase. So in the future I will just get the 7.99 special and then get extra sheets for $10 instead of the normal 20.

 

memali26

We've used JC Penney a few times and I have never been disappointed. Great pictures, the photographer at our location is awesome with kids, and I always have a coupon so I can get out for around $50. 

We used Sears last week. Never again. Never.  

vshadd00

I have had most of DD's pictures taken at JcPennys. I have only had one photo shoot that I hated. Lucky for me they sent me a survey asking for my review. Well I told them how bad it was a they sent me a letter to receive a free photo shoot with 10 free sheets. So DD's 1st birthday shoot was FREE. I can normally pick my pictures up in 10 days.

ashnoelle

Not sure about JCP. We just went to Olan Mills and got a ton of stuff for around 70 bucks. That was 24 x-mas photo cards, 2 8x10s, the grow with me plan, a cd with all of the photos that day, and I think we got another sheet too. It helped that we knew the guy who was picking out the package for us. He kinda hooked us up, but it seems like they have better deals than JCP for the same quality.

melody921

I just took DS to Portrait Innovations. They have the $14.95 package, on sale now for $9.95, that gets you an 11x13, two 8x10s, four 5x7s, four 3x5s and 32 wallets. They have a variety of plain or decorated backgrounds and some props. They also do Christmas cards. If you want more pics, you can get them, but you don't have to drop a ton of money. This was the second time we've been there, and I think they're a good choice for quick, inexpensive prints.

Kitiara5512

We have had a portrait membership at JCP since last summer for mat pics. We love getting C's pics done there, the people remember him every time we come in and are very good at getting him to pose. We have had two or three groupons pop up for them, and have never gone in without a coupon.

lindac1

I'm not sure where you are, but check the groupon deals.  They had one the other day for JC Penney Portraits.  $40 for  Six single-image enhanced portrait sheets, 10?x13? or smaller One Be Squared portrait, 10?x10? or smaller One single-image CD Standard sitting fees for all subjects in the photo shoot are waived 40% off additional purchases of portrait sheets, greeting cards, collages, posters, or enlargements made that day

It said it's normally a $209 package.  Not sure if it's still a valid deal, but worth checking out!

mrsjengle

We had Lo's NB pics taken at Penney's, and they sucked. I do not recommend them.

 

MissKateMac

A lot of people don't like JCP but we have always gotten good pics from them.   Also, we spent $50 the last time we went and that included Xmas cards!

spring_time

I have done both.  For DS's first year, we went to JCPenney every month.  I was not looking to spend a lot, so I usually bought the one pose package for $7.99, and usually one other sheet.  I never left paying more than $30.  I have had mixed results with the photographers.  After going for awhile, I have a preferred photographer.  I also did not think it was really high pressure sales.  Finally, you can order more prints off the website.

I have also had pretty good experiences with Portrait Innovations.  Again, I usually went in with the idea that I would only buy the one pose portrait package. Inevitably, however, I always walked out with about $50-$90 worth of photos. Unlike JCPenney, they are high pressure sales.  Once you leave the studio, your photos are deleted from their computer.  You cannot order them online at a later date. No mom wants to regret their pictures, and this made me doubt my opinions which ended up costing me more money. Also, I do not think the cost of the pictures is very clear, it is rather confusing.  If you buy 5 sheets, it costs one amount, if you buy 6 sheets, it costs another amount but you get an enchanced photo...I never felt like I knew where I stood.  Finally, if you are looking for a background that is not a solid color, the two times we have done that at Portrait Innovations, the prints have been pretty dark.

Finally, I recently read on the Bump that Portrait Innovations is leaving their watermark scrolled across the bottom when you buy the CD.  I do not know if this applies to just ordering regular prints from them.

Of the two, I have been happier with JCPenney, but I am also aware that it totally depends on the photographer.  I never felt scammed by them, and have never sat in my car trying to figure out what I actually paid for. 

Temp937723687505543

We've always used Portrait Innovations but this last time was very disappointing (I even posted about it, I was pretty upset).  Anyway, the pictures weren't that good, but the worst is that they put "portraits.com" on the bottom of every picture on the CD I purchased, and the quality of them now is so bad that even a very small picture printed out is blurry.  I won't go there again.

mommytoconnor

I use portrait innovations and think they are much better than JCP, backgrounds are much more festive too for holidays.