[Wisdom]

Recently I had pics taken of our son at JC Penny. The pictures came out nicely from what I could see on the computer (I've not received the prints yet). But I'd like to have pics done of our son where I can get them on a disk as well as prints so I can use the photos how I choose (like in digital scrapbooking). Are there any places that will do this? Also, my son got a scratch on his nose a couple of nights before the JC Penny appointment and it showed on the pictures. They said they couldn't remove the scratch (I forget what this is called--when they can remove flaws from a photo). I thought with today's technology that all photo studios could remove something like that. Are there any photo studios that do this?

[dutchgirl2]

I don't think any of the chain photo studios will do touch ups for their customers. It's an 'in and out' kind of operation usually with a set time frame for every booked session. If you're looking for touch ups in photo shop you would need to go to a professional photographer I'm afraid. There are plenty out there who will also sell you the digital negatives of your session. And lots who won't. I have always offered them for precisely the reason you gave. People love to be able to do stuff with the pics, scrapbooking, cards, websites, what have you.

However, as far as chain studios go I do believe portrait innovations will let you request your digital negs after the session, but only of the prints you've purchased from them. You could check and see if you have one where you live.
Although I'm sure your son looks adorable in his pics with or without a scratch on his nose.

[jalapeno]

We get photos done at Sears and they have a package that includes a disk with digital copies and a copyright release. Not sure if they could do the photo touch up to remove the scratch though.

[DURHAM5102]

I have gone to Portrait Innovations and depending on how many poses you pick you automatically get the cd and it has all of the poses on it not just the ones that you ordered

[dutchgirl2]

The disc you get has the pics on them in low resolution though. If you want the high res ones you have to request them. But maybe the low res ones are enough for scrapbooking?

[aclee]

I agree that you might better off with a person, and not a chain. I give a high res CD with my sessions, and will do minor touch ups like that, and black and white etc...check CL or do a google search for someone in your area. You may find that it's about the same as going to a chain, but you can print/use way more pictures. It's much more personal.

I however only shoot outside, or in a person's home, so if you are looking for studio shots, that might be higher end and more expensive because the person has the studio overhead.

If you get the high res shots from the chain store on CD you can end them yourself in a program like Photoshop.

Good Luck

Good

[DPline]

We have done sessions at Portrait Innovations and gotten the entire session on CD. The resolution seems good on them! I have never asked about touch-ups though.

[BrandyHagz]

I found a professional on Craigslist who took hundreds of shots of our family and they turned out great! She didn't sell me prints, she just edited them and burned them to disk then mailed it to me.

Worked great - cost under $100 and I got the Photographers Release with it.

[Amber76]

The Portrait Innovations CD's produce good enough quality in small size picture (like up to a 3x5 or so) but if you want larger ones, the quality definitely suffers. Also, printing places won't print their pics in any size without a release, so if you print your digital scrapbooks at a Kinkos or anything like that, it won't work. You could print them at home, though. Hope that helps!
As far as doing touch-ups, I know Picture People does that, but they don't do a CD with the pics so no scrapbooking. They did a great job of covering my son's major IV burn on his hand when he was a newborn.

[committedsoul]

Walmart now does everything digitally and they also can include photo enhancements. This also includes touch ups, if necessary. Granted, you do not get your photos the same day, but it is worth the wait. They also offer the option of ordering the entire session on CD. I have always been satisfied with their portraits since they have gone digital.

[gigigeorge]

We use Sears and you can buy the high resolution cd without buying any printed pics for $99 (this includes the release and all photos taken and ones they do in store with enhancements) or on some of their packages the CD is included. The Sears we go to is able to do touch ups to photos as they have done them for us in the store. I like to just get the CD then I can decide how many of which poses I need instead of feeling pressured in the store, then I print them to walmart.com for $.12 a pic... which still works out WAY cheaper than their in store prices !

g,

[JGarrick]

Originally Posted by Wisdom

They said they couldn't remove the scratch (I forget what this is called--when they can remove flaws from a photo). I thought with today's technology that all photo studios could remove something like that.

Retouching, even digitally, is more art than science, and a lot of the big chains aren't going to want to do it because it's time consuming to do well.

However, if you can get digital image files, you can load them up yourself in Photoshop or any other photo editor and do your own retouching, then get them printed wherever you normally would.

Some professional studios will sell you the digital images, many will not. You can also check places like Craig's List or just ask around. There are a lot of part time photographers out there that are skilled enough to do good portrait work, but don't want to deal with the overhead of a studio.

If you don't mind gambling a little of your time, there are probably also lots of students and others trying to break into professional photography that would be willing to do the work for free in exchange for a model release allowing them to use your photos in a portfolio. I did a lot of "time for prints" work years ago, and people are still doing it now.