Really, I should have known that going to a big box store and expecting some good photos really wasn't going to happen. JCP was running a promotion with no sitting fees, a free 8x10, and a free digital file and we needed Christmas cards so I figured why not.
They are basically a big queue, trying to get people in and out as quickly as possible. I think they schedule sittings for every 15 minutes which isn't a lot of time. The girl who took our pictures (I hesitate to actually call her a photographer) seemed inexperienced and had no idea how to really pose us. She had us stand, each holding a child, and took a picture and then seemed at a loss as to what else to do with us. I suggested we sit and it was like she'd never thought of that before. We also missed out on what could have been good pictures because she forgot to adjust the lighting as we changed poses. With a 5-month-old, you have to get the shot when you can and not screw around with lighting.
I think we also missed out on good shots because they didn't have cameras that take multiple shots with one click - we had a bunch of pictures with someone blinking which could have been avoided if more than one picture was taken at that time.
I will give the girl credit, she did well with the baby and did get her to smile a few times. We ended up with 2 decent photos but no good ones of just the 2 kids together, which I said I wanted. Not all her fault, the baby didn't want to cooperate after a bit.
We did get our free photo and purchased a few others and got out for $12, not bad. The digital image is low resolution though and I'm afraid to actually use it on cards as I think it will be pixel-y.
Chalk it up as a lesson learned - we won't go back. read more