Sunday, August 26, 2007
Please no teddybears........
I DREAD getting professional pictures taken of my children. It always ends up being a painful experience. Case in point- Friday's appt. at JCPenney. We got there on time only to discover that the elevator leading to the correct floor was not working. The saleslady suggested that I could take the escalator (hmmmmm a double jogging stroller with 2 under 2 and an escalator, I don't think so). I had to go on a 10 minute excursion to reach my destination. I had already told them on the phone that I would not be bringing nor needing "props". As a rule I think props distract from the cuteness of babies. But of course, they didn't listen. After 10 minutes of dancing around the photographer (and being exposed to her back side every time she moved) trying to make Julia smile I was ready for the session to be over. But wait, how about some props? When I said "No thanks" she told me she was going to use a cute little teddy bear because her manager was coming in that day and apparently managers want to see pictures with props. Hence another 10 minutes was spent trying to make poor little JuJu smile for pictures with a mangy teddy bear that I wasn't going to purchase ANYWAY. Then I waited for half an hour for the pictures to upload before being shown all sorts of cheesy teddy bear pictures superimposed with words like "love" on them. Once again, I do not like my pictures to have ANYTHING in them besides my children. Of course the lady also tried to sell me the great package deals ranging from $59-159. I left spending $13 like I always do after choosing 2 poses that IMAGINE THAT did NOT contain teddy bears. But don't worry, when I go back to pick up my pictures they always print out a few more poses to try to sell me ...just in case I decide I really do want that teddy bear one.
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10 comments:
Yeah, I'm with you on the prop thing. I always feel like props are a sorry way to compensate for poor photography or uncute kids. Since your kids are some of the cutest ever, the only reason I can think of for props is that the photog is not very confident in her skills.
Ah, hmm. Imagine that.
I miss you!
I always want just the plain black background and no props. Makes for better pictures. Sorry your experiences are always so terrible, but you can't beat the $13 price tag.
Classic! I love how they "have to" take pictures of poses you don't want. One time I went in, told the photographer that I wanted her to take pictures that were not close ups (because the last 2 portraits of Emma before that I ended up only ordering close ups, and I wanted some that showed her body, outfit, etc.). So, what did the lady do? She took one full body shot and the rest close ups. It drives me crazy! They must not really want to sell their pictures. Then one time when I took Emma in, the lady kept trying to convince me to buy the "enhancements" and to buy "more". She was basically saying that I must not think my baby is very cute if I don't want to buy every pose. So, I told her off! It felt good!
How funny because we spent Thurs. morning at JC Penney getting Allison's pictures taken! The elevator wasn't broken then, luckily.
They kept telling me over the phone to bring a prop or think of a 'theme' so even though I didn't want to, I brought a teddy bear along. Some of those teddy shots were cute, but that's not what we got. I just wanted a straight up picture of my cute daughter. When she suggested that I strip her down to her diaper so we could put her in the bathtub prop, I had to draw the line. I knew I would not even consider buying one of those. Anyway, we had about the same total, so sounds like a similar experience! I'd love to see the shots when you get them back!
Confession...We do have pictures of DD with props! When she was 2, we couldn't get her to stand still for two seconds to get any decent shot.. then along comes a nasty prop and she hugs the thing and we get a cute picture. Maybe if I was super good at photoshop I could edit it out!
I feel the same about props for the most part. For Matthew's 1 year old picture he wasn't standing well, so I brought his firetruck bike to sit on. It's such a cute few pictures. And Madeline has some sprinkled flowers and a fallen column in her 1 year old pics and it's adorable. So I've decided not all props are bad - and $13 is good!
I'm totally with you on the anti-prop thing. Oh, wait... when was the last time I got my kids pictures taken by a professional? I can't even remember! My poor, poor children.
I echo your frustrations. I tell them up front about no props: "I do not want them. I do not like them. I will not buy them." For the life of me, I can not understand why they want to waste their time & money, and my precious time trying to keep a baby in smiling form. Do they not realize the massive ordeal it is just to get what we want?
I agree - no props! Although, I do have the same fallen column and flowers as Rebecca for some of Alli's 1st year photos. If only Alli would have smiled that day, they may have been cute. But usually, I'm no props. Last time I said, I don't like collage pics either so please don't spend the extra time compiling those. I won't buy them. I just want to see my proofs, order, and get out of here. She said it was required that they put those together and offer them. SO annoying because she spent a TON of extra time making a TON of collages for the "enhancements." Why do I keep going back? I'm cheap. The price is right. Glad it's not just me though. Misery loves company, right? We're all experiencing the same picture day drama.
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