Baby Portraits - Frankfort,IL

They do a wonderful job!!!! I have gone to two different Portrait Innovation studios and been please with both. The downside to them is it can get expensive because they do beautiful photos and it is hard to choose.

We've always gone to JCPenny. Their portrait club is a good value, and their coupons are also great. I've always been happy with them.

We have always taken our son to Kiddie Kandids, in Babies R Us! Their photographers are very good, patient and willing to really taken their time when taking phots of your child/children. I also like that you walk out with your photos and even have a cd (extra cost) to take home!

I have never used Portrait Innovations. I have been to 3 other places. I used to go to Kiddie Kandids all the time. The people there are really nice and the picures are usually pretty good. A couple things I don't like about them are that the kids are put up on a high platform. It's not so bad when the kids are tiny and can't move, or are bigger and listen the parent, but when you have a 1 and 2-year old who like to run around, it's not that safe. It's also a little more on the expensive side, and I really don't think you get much variety in the pictures.

Another place I went to was for my kids's Easter pics. It was called Celebrity Kids Portrait Studio. I really liked how you were in an enlosed room where my kids could just run around and be themselves. We got some great candids with them running around. Plus, since it was Easter, they had a bunny to pose with. I think the price was reasonable, but unfortunately they're not around anymore.

The last place I went to was Clix Portrait Studios in Lindenhurst. It's right around the corner from our house, and again, the kids can run around in the room and I don't have to worry about them falling off a platform. I feel that the price is comparable if not better than Kiddie Kandids. We were able to purchase a CD. So, now we can have the pics printed wherever we want. If we have it done from Clix, then it's only like $3.00 per sheet, but since we own the pics, we can e-mail them to family and they can have them printed at Walgreens or anywhere they want. I was really happy with them.

We have gone there twice and have had great pictures. I have also done Sears and Penney's and liked them too.

I took my kids to Portrait Innovations for their 6 month and 3 year pictures and I thought it was great. I had 2 horrible experiences at Sears (too bad, I wanted to support a local company). I have hired photographers to come to events, like baptisms. But Portrait Innovations was perfect to get these shots and I will definitely go back. The photographer and his assistant reallly knew what they were doing with the kids. I changed both of their outfits once and the photographer seemed to expect it and waited for us to get them ready.

The one thing I would warn you about is that they are trained very well to go through the shots quickly at the end. I bought way more than I planned on (although I love all of the shots I got). When I commented to my husband that I thought we had too much the salesperson sped things up rather than stopping so that we could talk. Like I said the reason I had this problem was because I really liked a lot of the pictures they took. Unlike at Sears where I had a hard time picking one photo that I really liked.

Good Luck,
D.

I prefer Penney's with a coupon, but we always go to Portrait Innovations for our family pictures because there is no sitting fee, you get the pictures the same day, and the one package is only $9.95. We have never had the "best" photographer at PI, but always get at least 1-2 shots that we could use.

For my D's first birthday, I took her to JcPenney. I know people that have complained about it. But I think it is really dependent onthe person taking the photos. My D did not want to smile at all. I could not believe it when she started to cry, she loves taking pictures. The girls that were there for props and camera were fantastic and really tried hard to get her to smile. My inlaws went to Walmart and got great pics but that was years ago. I have watched the ladies there and really don't care for the way they joke around and are loud. You can go to one of the places and watch them for a little while to see how they are--also ask for the photogs name so you cn schedule when that person is in.

BTW, I have heard great things about Picture Innovations in the people and product but they just would not fit for us.

They're fantastic! I took my girls there for my youngest's 1st birthday pictures and they turned out great! I highly recommend them. The photographers were great, very helpful and their prices are good. Weeding out the pictures takes the longest, but it's worth it. They took over 170 pictures in about 30 minutes, and I ended up buying 12 poses and almost 50 sheets! We still have pictures left, but they all turned out so good!
Good luck!

K.,

I went there, their pictures were wonderful, but they did not explain anything to my husband and I. That was our first experience there and did not know what to expect. They spent about 1/2 hour and the person who took our pictures was a jerk. I wanted my children to change their clothes and he was not happy about it, but I thought, look jerk.. I am paying for this not you. So, I went and changed their clothes anyway. He was not ready for us after we changed, he was in the back doing other things-what ever that was. So, the assistant started taking some.

He wanted a shot of my son on a chair that has no back on it. My son was only 11 months old at the time. So, I did not feel comfortable with that so I wanted to keep my hands on him so he would not fall. So, the photographer made a big deal of it. I was so ready to just walk out. But my daughter wanted her pictures done and at the time. So that is the only reason why I stayed.

After it was time to pick out our pictures, the photographer starting to get an attitued with my husband. He did not explain how things worked to my husband or anything. He kept clicking here and there and changing things. We were so mad by the time we left. We spent about $300 there.

The pictures are great, but his bed side manner was terrible.

I hope you have a much better experience then me.

L.

I always go to Portait innovations. They do a great job & are reasonably priced. I used to go to Picture People but that got too expensive & i found that Portrait Innovations does just as good a job. I've also tried JC Penney but personally was not a fan of their cheesy backgrounds & tiny rooms thatmade it hard to move around in to get good pictures.

Portrait Innovations is awesome! We just got our family Christmas picture there and I've been taking my kids there for 2 years now. You have to ask for the package which is $9.99. You can look at their website to see what it entails but includes lots of pictures. They take TONS of pictures (50 - 130 depending on how busy they are) and you can choose any picture to be your package. If you spend $100 then you get their CD with all the pictures they have taken. You can use these to make duplicates as well. I send them to Snapfish (Snapfish says they are low res but I've never had a problem enlarging them to 8x11 or using them in a calendar.) to get more if I need to. They print them right there and you can usually get them within an hour. Right now they are busy with the holidays so you will definitely need an appointment.

Hi,

We had a terrible experience there. We will never return. We scheduled an appt but was taken 2 hours later. I have a great person if you'd like. She is pricey but well worth it!

S.

Yes, they are a great place. We've gone 6 times and been very pleased all of them.

I love Portrait Innovations. Had bad luck with Sears and Penney's.

I have used Portrait Innovations quite a few times in the Chicago area and have been very pleased with the pictures.
I like that the photographers move around with your child(ren) - they (photographers) will lay on the floor, etc to get a good shot. They take about 100 or so photos and then you sit down and pick the ones you like. They can also do special effects on the photos. Plus you get them the same day. For the price I think they are a wonderful place to get portraits.

I have used Portrait Innovations and really liked them...they have a special deal that they give for first timers, a variety package for $9.95. Plus I think you have to purchase $60 or $80 dollars worth of pictures and you can have the CD for like $13 which gives you all the pictures that were taken...each time I have gone to Portrait Innovations they usually take about 50 pics of each one of my kids so there are a lot to choose from. Now I also did both of my kids baby announcements at Babies R Us photography studios and was very pleased but of course they are a little more expensive.

Hope this helps!

Never went there but Wal-Mart actually does very well. I used to go to the expensive places and then saw my friend's pictures from Wal-Mart and they looked just as good and were half the price! They have lots of backgrounds to choose from and everytime I have went, have had very good pictures. They are all digital now anyways.

I generally would recommend them. When my son was very little, they were great about having a second person there to get him to smile for the camera. Now that he's a little older, though, they weren't so great with that and he still needs it. Nevertheless, they still got some great shots.

The hardest part is limiting your purchase. Because they take 100-150 shots, reviewing them is extremely overwhelming. I try to limit myself to 3 poses plus the $9.95 special so that I get the CD of all the shots. It's hard to limit, though, and the sales person always says, "But it's only $10 more to get one more pose." I've tried to explain that it's not the $10, it's the fact that most of the photos will then go to waste because I just don't have that many family members who want photos of my little guy (he's the 14th of the cousins and I have one on the way).

I've used PI at the Glen for my son's 10-day old, 1-year and 15-mo photos. I'm planning to get some Christmas ones taken soon. I did his birth announcement cards there, too, by the way.

I hope this is helpful. Feel free to email me if you have more questions. Good luck!!

I have had good luck with Target portraits.

Hi K.,
I have never heard of Portrait Innovations, but Kiddie Kandids at Babies R Us is wonderful! I had both of my children's first pictures done there and it brought me to tears.

Happy Holidays!

my only complaint with them is that they wouldn't do baby butts. My two older kids have pictures we got at Sears were they were naked laying on their tummys with angel wings. Portrait Innovations did the angel wings, but she had to leave her diaper on. It wasn't as cute. But that is just their policy. The pictures were excellent quality for the price and we got the full attention from our photographer. She wasn't rushed at all! It was a nice experience. We use them often.

Picture People are amazing. While they have a high sticker price, there are always coupons by mail/online for one free big photo. Get your hands on a coupon. If you become a member you get more free sheets.

I have found this well worth it. No sitting fees, so even if you only get one good photo, it's free (but I always buy at least one and would feel funny JUST taking the free one.) But, they are that good, honestly!