It’s amazing how things up and close at the mall with little to no warning. One day it’s there, one day POOF! it’s gone, like something out of a movie.
That’s evidently happened with Picture People, the “portrait studio” that was appropriately in the same wing as the children’s play area (near J.C. Penney’s.) Easy come, easy go.
Apparently, the Picture People has been disappearing from malls all over the country. The company has closed more than 100 stores, according to this article. Evidently, the company was owned by Hallmark until it was sold last year.
I took Peanut to the PP for a few of her early portraits. I just didn’t think they were that great, and I asked around to and found out that many of my friends took their kids to Sears. We have been happy with the couple of portaits we have done there. This means that you might need to call earlier to get an appointment at Sears, because they are going to be swamped.
9 responses so far ↓
Leeanthro // April 17, 2007 at 12:46 pm
You’ve got to be kidding!
I was just about to call and make an appointment for belly shots in the next couple of weeks. We have a membership. Krissy, the manager is fantastic. I wonder what she’s doing now.
What am I going to do? I need my belly shots. Krissy took some great ones of one of my friends with her three-year-old before her son was born. And she took the ones of my daughter.
They have taken ALL of our family portraits and Christmas pictures for the last 3 years.
khanada // April 17, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Sears does a pretty good job for a really good price. But for special occasions, I’d recommend making an appointment with Corley Studios in downtown Champaign. He does an *excellent* job and the prints are beautiful. He charges accordingly, but the pictures are so good that I’m happy to pay.
Lindsay // April 17, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I highly recommend Christopher Rory in Mahomet, he is AMAZING with kids. You should check out his webiste–www.christopherrory.com and click on the first link (children) to see the childrens pictures. I don’t think he has any sitting fee, and for $69 bucks you can get a decent amount of pictures done (I think that’s their smallest package).
Christina // April 18, 2007 at 11:34 am
Hi. My name is Christina and I am the studio manager at Christopher Rory Photography in Mahomet. I had heard our studio was mention in a post and wanted to get on and say thank you to Lindsay for her kind words. We LOVE photographing children, we have alot of fun with kids. The program Lindsay was speaking of is a program ran through Carle Hospital which is special pricing and doesn’t have any session fees. We do have a monthly program called Limited Editions that works the same way has the Carle program with the same pricing specials. They are monthly themed sets that we offer during the entire year. The Limited Editions are listed on our website-www.christopherrory.com-if anyone from this blog is interested in an appointment please call me at 586-RORY and I will have a coupon for you to save $10 off your first visit. Please feel free to call and I can explain what we offer or if you are in the area please feel free to stop by at anytime.
frugalmom // April 18, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Yeah, it is amazing how fast it happens. I am in the market for pics. My son has just turned one and we need some good family pics as well. Thanks to everyone for the info.
Leeanthro // April 19, 2007 at 6:40 am
A friend of a friend had Krissy, the former manager of the Picture People, do her wedding. She’s getting contact info for me. So if Krissy is doing it on her own now, I’ll let everyone know.
But what we likes was getting the prints right there and then. Not having to go to a website and order and wait.
We have an appointment for Saturday morning with Michael Ryan Photography who is going to be set up at the One Week Boutique sale and is taking appointments and walk-ins. He’s going to have a separate room set up as a studio. I’ve seen his work and it looks great.
lbotp // April 19, 2007 at 9:22 am
Christina — Thanks for stopping by.
Another local independent photographer is Allyson at Sweet Pea Photography. She’s a mom and does good work, I’ve heard.
http://www.sweet-pea-photography.com/
Allyson // April 20, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Hi, Lbotp!
I’m Allyson Sanborn of Sweet Pea Photography - thanks for the good word and the link to my website! Just to give a little more info, for those who might like it… I’m a stay-at-home-mom with two girls (3 y.o. and 2 months) and I work out of my home studio in Savoy. I specialize in maternity, infant, and childrens portrait photography. If anyone has any questions, they can also reach me through the website or at 217.637.1657 . Also, I reward referrals with a free 5×7 with their order (and someone from your blog just booked a session today - so if you’d ever like a session with me lbotp, you already have a free 5×7!) Thanks again for the kind words!
Angry Mom // June 7, 2007 at 2:50 pm
OK, if you’ve ever heard of the photographer called Michael Ryan, DO NOT use him! While his pictures are pretty good, his service SUCKS! A friend of mine had pictures taken by him mid-April, and she still hasn’t received them! Phone call after phone call has resulted in low communication from Michael Ryan! First, he told my friend that her pictures would be mailed within that week upon her contacting him (before Mother’s Day!). Now, he just doesn’t answer her phone calls or e-mails!
If you want your pictures done nicely, use him. But beware - you’ll be dead before you get them!
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