Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Best Deal on Studio Portraits

Last week I shared some tips on maximizing your money spent on studio portraits of your family.  I have tried several different studios with my kids and reasearched others, so today I wanted to share the studio that I have found to be the best experience all around.

And the winner is - dum de dum - Target!  Here's why:

- No sitting fees - This is self-explanatory; you don't have to worry about fees.  If you don't like the pictures, you can go home and lose nothing.

- Good deals - You can always find Target portrait studio coupons in the newspaper and online on their portrait site.  The best deal is the $7.99 portrait package or $3.99/sheet coupon; I always keep a few of those coupons on hand.  Like most studios, they are also constantly running other specials.

- Fair overall pricing - This is the biggest factor for me.  I have been shocked in the past at the pricing tactics of other studios.  At one that I used, the corporate office deletes all the pictures each night, so if you don't order the images on CD (which was $80+), your pictures are lost forever.  This seems unfair and a bit sneaky to me.  At Target, you get the best deal on the prints that your order at your session, but if you decide that you want more later the prices are not outrageous.  I believe they are currently $14.99/sheet online (as opposed to $9.99/sheet regular price at your session).  Also, the lady at the studio told me that if you come into the studio to order additional sheets, they often have specials running of which you can take advantage, even after your sitting.

- Automatic online sharing - In our modern digital age, I think it is key to be able to share your portraits online.  At my recent session, I was pleased to find out that Target now offers online sharing for free with your session.

- Convenient - I have a Super Target almost literally across the street, so this is somewhat individual.  However, I also like that I don't have to make a special trip to the mall or other location to pick up the pictures.  Rather, I can pick up the pictures or order more prints while doing other shopping.

Using Target's Portrait Studio Works for Me.

Have you used Target's portrait studio?  Do you agree with my assessment?  What is your favorite place to get portraits taken?

Disclaimer: Although I am signed up as a Target affiliate, there are no affiliate links in this post and I get nothing out of recommending Target's portrait studio.  I'm just sharing my opinion based on my experiences. :-)

2 comments:

  1. We haven't gone a lot of places, but I didn't love Target. The photographer we had was sort of lazy and unprofessional, the "special" pictures she put together weren't very nice and it took her a long time to do it, and worst of all, it took at least two weeks to get the prints. A lot of places now can print them in house and you walk out the door with whichever prints you ordered.

    However, the price is good. What you said in your last post was important: If you know what you want when you walk in and don't let them talk you into anything else, you can often get a great deal anywhere. And if you have a scanner at home, you can share all your pictures online anyway. :-)

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  2. I've never been to Target. I actually never think about studio portraits, but I should. Thanks for the info!

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