Getting professional photographs taken of your family can be very pricey. Having them done by an independent local photographer can run several thousands of dollars. Many people simply cannot afford to pay this much money to preserve their memories. Luckily large retail chains like JC Penneys and Sears have created fast, easy and most importantly affordable portrait studios within their stores. Both JC Pennys and Sears have great perks, but which one to choose?
When I was first looking for a place to have my families first photos done I looked at JC Pennys because they offer several different club discounts depending on your needs as a family. One program expecting parents may be interested in is the “Parent-to-Be Program.” This is a free program is for expectant parents. Signing up entitles you to special maternity picture offers, no sitting fees and a free 8×10 portrait. If you have a six-month-old baby or younger you can enroll in a newborn program. This program also advertises that you will not have a sitting fee and will receive a free 8×10 photograph. Other promotion’s JC Pennys offers are, the birthday club, portrait club and a variety of printable coupons to choose from. Because of the special savings offers, I was able to get two different photo packages for less than $130.00, which I found to be very reasonable! The photographer was able to get my 5-month-old son to laugh and smile for the camera which I am completely grateful for! I was however disappointed with the lack of flexibility the photographer would give me. While scheduling, I asked if I could bring different outfits for my son. I was told no over the phone because no additional time would be a lotted to do so. The day of session after all our pictures were taken the photographer asked if I brought outfits to change my son into for additional shots. Of course I did not and was upset because I was told otherwise over the phone.
For my son’s First Birthday and Easter I decided to try Sears. The Sears Portrait Studio offers several types of discounts as well. One discount that I think is well deserved is the Military Discount. The Military Discount is given to those who are serving in the Military and have a Military Identification Card. Customers who meet the criteria can expect to save 20% on their entire online portrait purchase. Sears also provides several printable and online coupons. Some coupons include the “Trial Package” coupon, the “Graduation” coupon and the “Special Events” coupon. Customers can also choose to enroll in the “Smile Savers” club which is a club one can join to avoid paying a sitting fee. The Smile Savers club is good for two years after you join. I personally joined the Smile Saver club which means I will save a lot of money on our next family pictures. I had a much more pleasant experience with the photographer at Sears. Without question I was allowed to put my son in multiple outfits. She was very child oriented and was able to catch him at his best. I would definitely say that my experience with Sears went much better than my first experience with JC Pennys.
Both JC Pennys and Sears have incredible perks, but what about pricing? Portrait Sheets for both stores cost between 14 and 16 dollars. Individuals with coupons should expect to pay less than this, but the average without any discounts still remains around $15.00. Whole packages often change price depending on sales events. Portrait packages for both retailers can start as low as $9.99 and go as high as several hundreds of dollars. I spent about the same amount of money at both JC Pennys and Sears. I would have to say because of the special savings offers and coupons I got more for my money at sears.
It is very obvious that both JC Pennys and Sears have mirrored each other in many ways. Both portrait studios offer exceptional photos at an even better price. In my personal opinion if I had to go back to only one of these portrait studios it would have to be Sears. JC Pennys did an amazing job on our first pictures but my experience with Sears was much more positive and rewarding. I would recommend the Sears Portrait Studio to anyone looking to get their family pictures taken at a reasonable price.
