Yep we went there 2 months ago to get some Christmas shots taken. I think it was a great experience; I walked away with 30 christmas cards and their $9.99 package that includes a crapload of pictures and I spent less than $30. The quality was just as good as any other studio shoot in my opinion.
A friend of mine has taken her daughter there for every "month older" shoot. She says the quality and convenience can't be beat, especially for the price.
I love them. I've tried Sears and JC Penney and both times walked away disappointed and vowing to never deviate from Portrait Innovations again for studio photos. I will say that not everyone shares my attitude, but I offer this with a few suggestions.
First, try to avoid weekends and the after school hours completely, if you can. I usually schedule for 10-ish on a Tuesday or Thursday (which are my days off) and I usually have a great experience. Our only bad experience has been when we had a 4:00 appointment and there was a family there with some awful children and the parents didn't do anything about their behavior. Some friends have gone on weekends and also had bad experiences.
Second, I suggest taking DH or another person with you. Much easier to have one person to wrangle the child back into place or hold on a stool and one person to help make the child smile. The photographers are usually pretty good about getting smiles, but sometimes parents or other close relatives know how to get those smiles better. This is also helpful if you have a crazy child like mine who would make the photo choosing process more difficult. In our case DH takes Adam outside for a walk, or takes him home, while I stay and choose the photos and wait for them to be printed.
Re: Portrait Innovations
I love them. I've tried Sears and JC Penney and both times walked away disappointed and vowing to never deviate from Portrait Innovations again for studio photos. I will say that not everyone shares my attitude, but I offer this with a few suggestions.
First, try to avoid weekends and the after school hours completely, if you can. I usually schedule for 10-ish on a Tuesday or Thursday (which are my days off) and I usually have a great experience. Our only bad experience has been when we had a 4:00 appointment and there was a family there with some awful children and the parents didn't do anything about their behavior. Some friends have gone on weekends and also had bad experiences.
Second, I suggest taking DH or another person with you. Much easier to have one person to wrangle the child back into place or hold on a stool and one person to help make the child smile. The photographers are usually pretty good about getting smiles, but sometimes parents or other close relatives know how to get those smiles better. This is also helpful if you have a crazy child like mine who would make the photo choosing process more difficult. In our case DH takes Adam outside for a walk, or takes him home, while I stay and choose the photos and wait for them to be printed.