If you are a mommy (or daddy), I highly recommend Kiddie Kandids for your baby's milestone portraits. I had been planning on making sure that I get baby E's milestone moments captured at a portrait studio.
I didn't get to do so with my older two, due to financial issues and being young at the time, so I vowed to get it done right with this new one.
I had been on the lookout for potential places and came across Kiddie Kandids when I was shopping for the last items on my baby registry at Babies R Us. I grabbed one of their flyers when baby E was about 2 weeks old and took a look at it once I got home.
I had been planning on having pictures done with all three boys, but had to keep postponing because the boys needed haircuts or baby E needed an outfit. Now that I had time to take him, I didn't want the older boys in the picture this time around because they have been swimming outside for the last week or so and they are darker than dark, LOL. I want them at their natural color for the photos.
So I will wait until probably the middle of fall when they lighten up to take pictures of all of my kids. Probably when baby E is about 6 months old.
Anyways, I took him today to get his newborn/infant photos done. I wanted to make sure they were done before he was 3 months old.
I was afraid that either a) he'd be sleeping or b) he'd be awake but very fussy. Amazingly, the lady who took his pictures was very very very good with babies. Unfortunately, baby E didn't flash us a smile, but I did get some pretty good pictures for his first studio pictures.
My appointment was set for 10:15AM but according to the confirmation email (I made the appointmet online) it states to be there 15 minutes early. So I gathered up all my kids and we headed down to Brea and got to the Babies R Us at exactly 10AM.
They did have a party in front of us that had just started so they asked me to walk around the store and wait until I got paged over the intercom. Which was ok with me because baby E was asleep and I needed to pick up a few things.
I finally got paged and it must have been perfect timing because baby E woke up. I changed him into his nice clothes and our session started. The photographer was very patient with the baby, but it does help that baby E was in a subdued mood. After a few shots (about 10 minutes or so) baby E got fussy because he had a poopy diaper and he was hungry so before the last few poses, I went ahead and changed his diaper and fed him.
The photographer took the next party who also had a 3 month old baby and I had to wait until they were done which took a little too long (but really wasn't that long) because baby E fell asleep at the exact moment it was our turn again. LOL.
The photographer shows you a book of ideas on how you want to take the pictures, but if you have an idea of what you want, you can definitely express that. But if you have no clue what would look good, they are trained and very well trained at that to capture those precious moments.
Before this I had never been to a portrait studio specializing with babies. I would definitely go again and will go again.
The portrait packages aren't that bad in price either. There is no sitting fee which is a plus especially if you are taking family photos. The package prices start at $119 and go up to $330. They also have other keepsakes you can create like photo mugs, portfolios, mousepads, etc.
I ended up getting the least expensive package which gave me what I was really after, the 8x10s and 5x7s for the picture frames I have in my living room. They also give you a portrait CD saving you the time of having to scan the photos onto your computer. Makes it so much easier to share online with friends and family.
As a mommy, I would definitely recommend Kiddie Kandids especially if they have a good photographer on duty. Make sure to make an appointment, but they do accept walk-ins.
*The location I visited was the one inside the Babies R Us in Brea, CA.
For more info on package pricing, to see their gallery for ideas and to make an appointment online: KiddieKandids.com
Now onto baby E's pictures. These are just a few of the pics I ordered.
This was the first pose. He really was ready. But no smiling.
I made the appointment the day before and coincidentally I had my nails done the day before, thank goodness. LOL. I didn't know that she would picture him like this. Didn't want to have ugly hands while holding my baby.
My mom likes this one and she said it looks like he's trying to listen to tsismis. LOL. Ainstein commented on it on FB "how YOU doing?" LOL, love it.
And this is where he fell asleep. Even at that, he's still such a cutie cutie. My lil did a good job today!
11 comments:
i love his little ladies man pose! too cute! i had an appointment a while back at kiddie kandids but didn't show. lol.
picture people is really good too. they are a bit more pricey but they are baby friendly as well.
thanks for the review. i have always wanted to try kiddie kandid.
another good place to go take baby pictures is at jc penney. i know, it kinda sound ghetto. but a good friend of mine always rave about how great they were and she happened to have the 50% off coupon on the collection. so overall, the price wasn't that bad at all. you should definitely check them out too. =)
i can forward you the coupon when i get them. =)
francesca
@Francesca - yes, I have a few friends who took their kids to JC Penny. I would love the coupon when you get it. I have many more picture taking sessions in my future, lol.
aww thats so cute ill keep in mind kiddie kandid !! lol the pictures are adorable :)
awh, he's so precious :) I just want to squeeze his cheeks! :D
oMgoodness!! Baby E is just the cutest!! :) I am not thinking of having a baby yet but I will take him/her to this place whenever i'll have one! ahahah :)
Btw, you said you have a shishem store near you? where you located at?? ;D are they expensive?
he is such a cutie! u have all boys right?
what a cutie pie!
these pictures makes me want to have my own.. :) he's too cute for words.. i'm sure he means everything to you. :)
jaclyn,
here is a good coupon for jc penney portraits. they're like 40% off now.
http://www.jcpportraits.com/offers/emails/8-20-09_coupon.html
so check it out. =)
francesca
I strongly suggest choosing another studio. Kiddie Kandids has not worked for us. Here is the deal:
At 2 weeks, the pictures arrived and I went to the studio to pick them up. To my dismay, the quality was horrible. The images were a bit grainy and the shading and brightness were terrible. My daughters face was shadowed and the overall tone was just plain off. I immediately refused the pictures and was informed by an unappologetic consultant that they generally do not retouch the pictures. After expressing my dissatisfaction, she said she would inform her manager when she arrived later that day.
Stephanie, the Store Manager, neglected to call us and I initiated the phone conversation. She came off as cold and explained that they can send the pics to the lab for retouching and if by chance we were still dissatisfied, they would offer a 50% refund and would NOT receive any of the prints! Can you believe it? I was livid!
After voicing my disgust and intention on moving up the corporate ladder, she agreed to have the prints expedited from the lab after the holiday weekend and overnighted. She assured me that they would be in on that Wednesday and that both her and I would review them. That day came... no call. I went into the store, there were no pictures and Stephanie was not even scheduled to work! The consultant on staff said that it was likely the pics would be in the following day and she would pass the message along and have Stephanie call me ASAP.
I called the District Manager and left a message informing her of the situation. It is now 2 days later. There has been no call from Stephanie, the Studio Manager, the District Manager, AND we still don't have our pictures over 3 weeks later.
If you are considering this location, go to Target. It is right next door and they did a great job for our daughters 6 month portraits. I am truly sorry that we gave this studio a chance. They have failed miserably to satisfy our needs as a paying customer.
Post a Comment
Comments, Suggestions or questions? Feel free to speak your mind. Always glad to hear from my readers!
Would you like a response back, please include your email address in the comment or check back as I do answer questions on the same entry. You can also email me at jroseonline@gmail.com
If you would like a response to a question you ask, please include an email address or some other way in which I can contact you and I will respond.