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Professional Portraits - Finding a Professional Portrait PhotographerCapturing the quintessential portrait of someone has always been an art. In the old days, it was even more of an art, as the artist had to be an accomplished painter or drawer, and it could take days of modeling to get just the right image. In the modern world, with the advent of photography, the method of capturing an endearing portrait has changed, but the art portion is the same as it has always been. A good portrait photographer gets to know his subject, spends some time with them, and ultimately brings out their character to be captured on film. In this guide, we will look into portrait photography, and address questions like: How much does a portrait photo shoot cost? How can I find a good portrait photographer? How good are those "chain" portrait studios?
Finding a Portrait Photographer - Wedding Portrait - Maternity Portrait - Infant PortraitsThere are a million good reasons to get a portrait photo - weddings, graduations, family reunions, new babies, pregnancy and maternity - the list goes on and on. Some bold folks even want a nude portrait of themselves to remember their youth and vigor by. Chances are, there are at least a dozen good portrait photographers within 20 minutes of your home. Most photographers are willing to meet with you in their studio to display some of their work, talk about their style and background, and find out about what you are looking for in your portrait. Some specialize in children's portrait, some are known for their maternity portraits, others are wedding photographer experts. So you will probably end up talking with several before you pick the one you like. A good portrait photo will stay in the family for decades if not generations, so the time invested to get it right is worthwhile. You can always look in the yellow pages under "photographers", but these days it is just as easy to search online for a good portrait photographer.
Check out this site first -- http://photography.respond.com. You can either fill out the form there for what kind of photographer you are looking for (group portrait, family portrait, etc.) and have photographers contact you directly, or browse though the listing of metropolitan areas on the right side of the screen and check out the names, contact info, and websites of portrait specialists right in your town. We found more than 50 listed in our area. Alternatively, you can visit WPPIOnline.com -- which stands for Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. Most professional portrait photographers charge a minimum sitting or session fee for an hour or so of studio time, then you pay for prints that you want. Expect to pay $150-$400 for a sitting. Old-style photographers with film cameras tend to charge more, while more modern digital photographers who realize that anyone can copy or make their own prints from a digital image often offer better deals -- many times just a sitting fee for their time, and they then deliver the proofs to you on CD or online. From a personal opinion, we don't support the idea that photographers should make big bucks selling paper -- their income should come from their time shooting good photos. No one wants to pay $50 for an 8X10 when you can get one at WalMart for $3.99 -- so shop around and find someone whose style and pricing both agree with you. Portrait Studios - Sears Portraits - JC Penney - Olan MillsThere are a number of long-established chains of portrait studio stores. We've all heard of them and seen them at or near the mall. Sears has long leveraged their reach of retail stores with all kinds of consumer products, from house siding to insurance to, you guessed it, portrait studios. You can go to SearsPortrait.com to find out about the services they offer. At their site, they even offer an online coupon for discounts on your portrait setting -- for example, you get a free wall portrait (10x13") and no session fee (Mon. - Fri.), when you buy 6 portrait sheets at a regular price of $8. You'll find a variety of other offers there as well, like 10 portrait sheets and 2 10x13 wall portraits and 2 portrait collages for $129; a trial package of 35 portraits for $10; a graduation portrait special for $100 than includes 10 portrait sheets and no session fee. Like most studios, Sears offers a large variety of props and backgrounds to choose from, appropriate for any portrait setting from children to weddings. They even do business portraits. You can punch in your zip code and find the nearest Sears Portrait Studio near you. You can book a session online or call 1-888-PORTRAIT to schedule an appointment with them. We've used Sears Portraits twice in the past, and except for a slightly chaotic studio experience on one occasion, we can recommend them as we were pleased with the final results without the high private photographer prices.As kids, we used to make the trek every few years to Olan Mills for a new family portrait photo. And 30 some odd years later, Olan Mills Studios is still out there and going strong (OlanMills.com). Olan Mills has been in business for more than 75 years, with hundreds of studios located all around the country, mostly from their partnership with KMart -- you'll find a studio is many Big K stores. They sell portrait sheets, which are either an 8X10 or a 5X7 with 4 wallets, for $7.99 -- a price that is pretty hard to beat. Larger sizes are also available of course. Like most portrait photography studios, they shoot photos to cover pretty much any event - anniversary photos, baby pictures, bridal photos, graduation portraits, pet pictures, etc. You can even pick up a coupon on their site entitling you to $1.99 sheets after you purchase 8 sheets at the normal $7.99 price. We haven't used them in years, but they were always reliable in the past with good quality prints to choose from. Finally, JCPenneyPortraits.com is another widespread photo chain found in most Penney department stores. You can find the closest studio to you at their website. Pricing and products are similar to the other portrait studios above. We have not used JC Penney personally so we are withholding comments.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.
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