Holiday Portraits: Where Should You Have Your Next One Taken?

Whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah , Kwanzaa or Festivus, mothers and grandmothers will be scrambling for the next two months to get holiday portraits of the special people in their lives. Prices, coupons, designs, and how many people the studio can accommodate should be considered before your visit. Here are a few options to keep your holiday scrambling down to a minimum.

Target / J.C. Penney Portrait Studios

Target and J.C. Penney Portrait studios are both operated by Lifetouch and offer the same basic packages and products. With a coupon available on either website you can get your portraits at just $3.99 a sheet with a free 8x10 portrait. The also offer a $5 off coupon and 12 free cards when you purchase 40. They offer both single and multi-image greeting cards in 41 different designs including their popular "Decorations" greeting where your family can be seen shining inside a Christmas ornament. The size of the cards are about 4x7, but the image sizes vary from card to card. There are three holiday backgrounds to choose from as well as their normal background selections. Target and J.C. Penney studios have a $9.99 sitting fee per person. Unless you have a coupon that eliminates their sitting fee or you're a member of their Portrait Club, the sitting fee could end up costing more than your actual order. While studio and background sizes vary, these studios claim to hold seven adults per sitting. After placing your order, the portraits should arrive in-studio in about three weeks and for a fee you can view and reorder portraits online.

Sears Portrait Studio

Portrait sheet pricing is $7.99 per sheet without a coupon. With the coupon on their website, you can get a free 10x13 wall portrait and get a sheet price of $2.99 after the purchase of 6 sheets at regular price. There is a flat $14.99 sitting fee at these studios whether it be for one or twenty people. This studio has changed their card designs for this holiday season with 12 brand new options. These studios also have different graphics that can be added onto all types of cards to personalize them and more than triple your options. Greeting cards are available with the first 20 being $39.99 and every 10 after that is $10.00. As of November 8^th, Sears has yet to release a coupon for their greeting cards, but usually do closer to the holidays. Two brand new holiday backgrounds, including a realistic snow scene, are available this year to supplement four past favorites. Some studios may still have older holiday backgrounds available even though they're not featured on the website. Although they have the least amount of holiday specific greeting card designs, these studios have numerous "fine arts" and other portrait gifts available to customers both in their studios and through their website. From the day of your order, portraits should arrive within 14 business days. On-site printing is also available for greeting cards and wallet size through 8x10 sheets for a fee. Online viewing and sharing is free with your order for 6 months. This studio allows families to schedule their appointments through their website as well as by phone.

Olan Mills / Kmart

Olan Mills offers a coupon for $1.99 sheets after the purchase of eight at regular price ($7.99). Although that coupon grants a free sitting fee, there is a $4.95 packaging and handling fee for your portraits. This studio offers 21 different holiday greeting card designs. Portraits will be ready in about two to three weeks or you can have your whole order (up to 8x10) printed on-site for $9.95. Not much information is available from their website, but a local associate informed that they offer online viewing and ordering for an extra fee that will stay up for two months. Studio sizes vary by store and region, but two local studios said they could fit 14 to 17 people comfortably. Appointments can be made through their website, but for groups over five people it is strongly suggested that you call the studio directly.

Kiddie Kandids / Babies R Us

Kiddie Kandids is offering several holiday packages this year starting from $119.95. Their smallest holiday package includes nine sheets, an archival cd, 24 greeting cards, a sheet of gift tags and three border creations. If individual sheets are preferred, the first seven sheets are $16.95 each and after that they come down to $9.95. A free 8x10 color portrait coupon is also offered on their website. Their website offers a product pricing list of almost everything available. They have three holiday backgrounds including a Central Park snow scene. There are about 30 different greeting cards to choose from and all can be personalized. These studios offer on-site printing for free and no sitting fees. If you book an appointment with Kiddie Kandids online, you can receive a coupon for six free greeting cards. Their studio sizes are limited so this is another place to keep the gang away from, but perfect for younger children.

PictureMe!/ Walmart / Go Photo

Walmart portrait studios feature a $9.99 package that includes several sizes and 19 wallet sized photos to give out to family and friends. There are six holiday cards available with a price tag of $19.99 for 20 cards. Coupons are not available on their website, but they do send out offers and information via email. No sitting fees are applied at this studio, but from experience they can only hold five people comfortably per portrait-obviously not a place to take the whole extended family. The portraits and greetings take about three weeks to arrive at the studio for pick-up.

Picture People

The front page of their website offers a free 8x10 or 10x13 wall portrait. 21 different winter holiday greeting cards at 34.95 for 25. Their website offers different portrait gift ideas including a really nice Portrait Sculpture that comes in 2.3 x 3.5, 5x7 and 8x10 with prices starting at $15. A cute Portrait Tie is also available. There are no sitting fees here and you can order by the pose. One pose consists of one 8x10, two 5x7 and eight wallets of the same shot. At $46 and $40 for each additional pose, this is a pretty penny. You can order by sheets with each sheet being $18 each. They offer basic backdrops of black, white, blue, green, clouds and brown, but they have great seasonal props. A two person ride on train, stuffed reindeer, child sized snowman and various sizes of snowflakes look great in individual and family portraits. Portraits up to 10x13 are printed on the spot and ready in about an hour. Larger portraits and specialty gifts are ready for pickup in two or three weeks.

Make sure to book your appointment early to keep waiting periods to a minimum and to allow time for your portraits to arrive in the studio. Even with an appointment, going to a photography studio on a weekend in November or December is a painful experience. To find out how many people per portrait a studio can accommodate, please call the studio directly (not their 1800 number). Studios vary in size-some will be able to fit 20 whereas others will only be able to fit five. Also, look in parenting magazines and newspapers for more coupons and offers.