Portrait Shoppe: Preparing to be Shot

If you read our blog regularly you may be wondering who that Amanda chick is and why is she writing on Portrait Shoppe's blog. I am the self-named newbie here. I started working for Portrait Shoppe about a month ago and having been easing into all the wonderful aspects of marketing. Being new to Portrait Shoppe and having never had portraits done here (gasp!) I thought I should find out what all the buzz was about.

I purposefully never sat in on any of the portrait sessions since starting so that when I brought in my family I would be able to give you a unique "mom" perspective. So, I checked my calendar carefully. For me, a lot of preparing goes into having pictures done. I just want to make sure everything is perfect. I have to make sure everyone is up on their haircuts, everyone has matching outfits and that the time is such that neither one of my kids will be cranky.  It can be a challenge for me! I hope I am not the only one that stresses out completely over things like this. (If I am, just let me think that I'm not.)

Thankfully only my oldest needed a haircut, but we all needed white shirts. (I had my heart set on doing a classic portrait with white tops and jeans.) I determined the best way to get everyone what we needed was to make a trip to the mall, a dreadful thought with two young boys. Just the thought of getting there was a little daunting! I am in the first trimester with baby #3 and in the throws of all the "ickiness" that comes with it.  I was afraid it would take an act of God for me to get my kids and myself ready to go. To my great surprise and pleasure, once we were there we did really good. My kids respond well to bribery, and a lunch at the food court and playtime in the mall playground goes a LONG way to get their cooperation with shopping. Mission accomplished!

Portrait Shoppe makes it really easy to do your portrait session with your kids in mind.   Naps? No problem! We were able to time the portrait session with my youngest son's nap in mind.  We came in to be warmly greeted by Shelly, one of our photographers. My kids were shy, but excited. Their excitement grew when they saw the colorful changing room with large murals painted on the walls and a chalkboard welcoming them by name. We quickly changed in to our white tops and headed for the studio.

Shelly was great at working with the boys. My boys are 2 1/2 and 5 and, as boys will be, were very interested in all the neat things to look at in the room. Shelly easily got them where they needed to be and pulled wonderful, real smiles from them. I was tired just watching her! She remained upbeat and excited throughout the shoot, making my kids feel comfortable and at ease. I have been to other studios where the photographer wasn't as patient and my kids were ready to bolt! This was so much easier. My kids didn't fuss; they were too busy playing with Shelly! At the end of the shoot their hard work was rewarded with treats and silly bands. Life doesn't get any better in their minds. The end result is a great experience for mom, dad, and kids and some beautiful portraits to add to our wall.   Check out a couple of our pictures below.

~Amanda