Sears Portrait Studio

The picture-​taking process was fine. It was fast but the girls were nice. It was a pretty fast process. The WORST part of this whole experience was trying to pick up the pictures. They said they’d be available a week later. I show up and the studio has all of the lights on but no one was in there. I found a Sears employee and they said that no one has showed up for two days. I tried calling multiple numbers with no answer until I finally got someone at the studio. They said there were «shift changes.» Either way, they say their hours are one thing and we have gone multiple times to get them and no one is there. I will never go back to them for anything. Not reliable.

I used to love going to the Sears portrait studio and took my first child every month to 6 weeks of her first year. They prices can’t be beat and the service was amazing. BUT since their old manager Melissa left the place has completely gone down hill. It is such a shame. The current staff is completely clueless and fairly incompetent. I took my 2 kids in and I ended up cutting the session short after she could not get a decent shot. She was never ready to snap up the good shots. It as a frustrating experience and that was the best part about it. I went back once there after and still was dissatisfied. Melissa always used to call me to let me know my portraits were ready for pick up but these new girls haven’t called and it’s been about 2 weeks since they should have been ready. It’s the little things. It’s a shame. When Melissa was still there I would have given them 4 stars but now it’s for sure only a 2 star experience.

I think I need to break this down into two different experiences:
The picture taking — 3 or even 4 stars
The after pictures sales pitch — 1 star
The guy who took our pictures was super nice and did a great job trying to get my 13 month old’s attention. He is a handful and wasn’t feeling very cooperative but he got a few good shots out of him and we appreciated his efforts.
But the ordering of the pictures was painful at best. For starters, I just wanted to snatch the mouse out of his hand and do it myself. I wanted to be able to zoom in and out and center the shots because he wasn’t showing us what the finished products would look like. On top of it, the packages that are supposed to be this big sale and deal SUCK. When you break them down, you’re not saving much of anything at all.
This is what I did: went in, took the pictures, ended up only buying 2 8×10s for $ 20 or so. Then when the pictures were available online, I ordered them off the website. I googled around, found an awesome coupon code and ended up getting all the pictures that I wanted for $ 24 plus free shipping when they told me in the store it was going to cost me $ 70. Also, online I was able to center the pictures and zoom in and out myself instead of relying on someone else to do it for me.

I had a really good experience here. Went for a same day portrait (really nice that they can print them out on site for a small price). Great customer service — our photographer was Melissa. Very friendly and professional — and the end she showed us all our options and we walked away with our picture collage happy. The price is right here, too.

They take great photos. My first choice of course is picture people, but because my son is just sooooo photogenic (lol) I always end up spending at least $ 200 for the same size package that would cost me about $ 15 at Sears. So, to sears we go. The photographer took a few good shots but being that my son is 3 he is on the move. I was a bit dissappointed that all she could think of to (attempt) to get his attention was to say my son’s name and say «Uh Oh». Umm… the kid is 3 years not 3 months. Whenever I’d get him to sit still and flash a quick smile… she wasnt ready (argh). But I commend her because she was very patient. :)
Overall three shots came out great and using a few coupons from the internet we got a great deal (only $ 22 including tax) and the day was saved.

I’m a procrastinator, which is how I wound up here — two days before Fathers Day. I normally use Picture People, but when I called on Friday, they told me they were booked solid until Monday.
So I called Sears Portrait Studio, and they got me in that afternoon. Now, understand my daughter is the most beautiful child ever. (I’m biased, but it is absolutely true). The challenge is getting her to a) smile on command and b) remain in a posed position. She is in perpetual motion and stubborn to boot, so it’s no easy task.
The photographer was patient and brought out props for her to play with. Combined with my wrangling, we got some usable shots. After about 10 minutes, I got to look at them on the computer to make selections.
When she sat down with me to finalize my order, I noticed that one of the photos had a small red dot, on the background. After I pointed it out, she opened up Photoshop tools to try to fix it. The dot was much less noticeable when she finished (and, truly, few would have noticed it anyway).
But she explained that these red dots sometimes do appear on the images — some sort of computer or camera glitch (I forget which she said) — and that some customers only see them after the photos are printed.
So…if you are aware of this technical problem, shouldn’t you try to fix it — rather than fix the flawed final product? Hmmmm… I don’t think I should have to be on the lookout for flaws caused by your equipment.
Anyway, I chose two shots to be printed out that day, so I could give them as Father’s Day gifts (same day = $ 6 more for each photo). My remaining order was ready for pickup six days later (tonight). At home, I noticed another small red dot on an 8 X 10. *sigh*
Prices are reasonable ($ 7.99/per sheet), even without a coupon. My daughter looks beautiful (as always), but I don’t know if I’d return here for fear of «red dot.»