JC Penny Vs Sears: Who Has the Best Portrait Studio?
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 8x10 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 8x10 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.
Published by Tashia M. Heath
I'm a Mother, a wife and a baby photographer. I love art, writing, drawing... using my creativity when I can, which isn't often. View profile
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31 Comments
Post a CommentI prefer JCP Portraits over Sears Portraits. They're not as complicating to get your photos and they give you an actual receipt. I was supposed to be emailed a receipt from Sears Portrait Studio after we had our pictures done Thursday, May 24 at 1:00 p.m. and I still haven't received it. JCP Portrait Studio gave me a printed out receipt after our session and I was able to view my photos online an hour after we finished.
Thanks for the info. I'm planning to have portraits done for my family and some with just my new baby girl.
Job
I just want to remind all the people here complaining about either studio what a difficult job it is. All the employees except the manager make minimum wage or $9.00 an hour at most. They also make ZERO commission. I worked at Penney's for 3 years. I did so to make a little extra money and because I enjoyed the work. Some costumers are great, but close to half the time guests are rude, pushy and demanding. It can often be miserable work. Wherever you go, please remember to be nice to the photographer. Would you be willing to work 8 hour shifts under hot lights dealing with other peoples screaming kids for no money? The people who work there do it for the passion, and they deserve some respect for that.
them into taking pictures during Christmas rush with only a week of training? They will never have unique or candid photos because all the photographers were trained the same way. Oh BTW, you dont have to look into the camera for every shot. That looks to posed and unnatural. Children do better with candid photos. That is how you capture the soul-seeing photos. They dont have to look at the camera to do that. A beautiful side shot or silhouette can bare a soul.
I worked for Sears for a few years and also left due to the fact that I didnt like the way the company was doing things. But my kids did go to JCPenney twice and Sears is a better bet. JCPenney studio was too small, they still used the table on my crawling baby & we felt rushed because they only had one room. The prices are about the same and all the coupons have restrictions they dont exactly tell you about until you get there. Right now all the bad experiences people are having at Sears are probably due to the guidelines the company is making the employees go by. I now have my own business and the prices of Sears and JCPenney packages are just as high as private studios. By the time you pay for all the fees, taxes and package prices at both, you will come out about the same as going to a individual owned studio. I say dont go to either. There are so many better photographers out there. Besides, did you know corporate run studios hire people with no photography experience and throw th
Sears = cheezy backgrounds & oversized props. (where is the child??)
JCPenny = as close to a private photographer you can get. No cheezy backgrounds & more natural style photography.
I've seen your pictures posted...Have you ever thought yeah good smiles but he's not really looking into the camera in the portraits taken from Sears? Eyes are the most important thing in a picture in my mind. They are windows to the soul.
Worked for Sears for 2 years left because I didn't like the companys way of how they do things. I switched over to JCPenney studio (also known as Lifetouch) I feel that this company gives back more to all its communities. Dontating money to the communities & countries who are in need. Each year we do memory missions to help rebuild parts of the world that are in need. JCPenney & Target studios are run by the same company. Our prices & portrait quality are best in the field & I will back that up.
Your visit all depends on the photographers experience & how well your child(ren) do with people they don't know. As for clothing changes.....All studios, when I mean all studios...I've worked for them all Picture People, Sears, Walmart & JCPenney (I have also helped out in Target studios as well) It all depends on what time of year you are going in for portraits. Try to avoid clothing changes during all holidays as these are our busiest times of the year as we are doing a good amount of sessi
A big difference for me is that JC Penny's offers individual portrait sheets at $3.99 with a coupon. With Sears, you have to buy 6 -8 at regular price before getting this type of discount. Sears didn't use to do this, but started about five years ago. It has made me take my business to JC Penny's. I would encourage Sears to rethink this promotion.
I love the Sears Portrait Studio at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, Ohio! I have the best pictures of my 13 month old! I have been there 3 times already and I am going back today! The girls that work there are awesome and they can always get my daughter to smile! They have several packages that start at $99.99 and they always have coupons for 20% off and no session fees. I get the $99.99 package the "Bronze Collection" with 8 sheets, a 10 x 13 and 8 enhancements. I am a super saver member so I always get an additional 8 x 10 for free. They also can print any sheet of pictures that is 8 x 10 or smaller right then for $2.99 a sheet with high gloss finish so you get to take your pictures with you when you leave! Then, Of course when you pick your pictures up they have 6 prints of 10 x 13's and 8 x 10's that they will sell you for $25.00 for all or $10.00 a sheet if you just want one or two. I always get all 6! So, for $125.00 I get a variety of 8 10 x 13's and 8 x 10's a