children photos at Boots

[bea]

nothing like bumbleions dilemna.... yikes! a bit more mundane i'm afraid...

what are the company called that do the children portraits at Boots, Mothercare, Woolies...? i thought it was pixie foto or something like that and have done a search on google but no luck... reason is i'd like to see if it's poss to bget gift vouchers for a sitting - or something like that for a friends christmas pressie.... they live in wembley london, so if anyone knows of any good photographer studios in that area... would be interested to know what they are like and how much are you likely to pay...

a bit long winded and waffley... hope you all know what i mean...

thanks

I think you may be thinking of Parasol or Kodak which have mobile photographers who do the ad hoc shop work. Parasol do also have permanent studios in department stores like Debenhams so you may be able to get vouchers for those. Can't vouch for the quality though as I suspect it would be variable according to place/photographer involved.

LizS

It is definitely Pixifoto (not sure if this is the right spelling though). They usually turn up regularly around Christmas, so keep your eyes peeled. I know I will, as it is time for a new £4.99 photo! If I see them around, I'll post their number. Sorry, I did have it, but not now.

Boots have a "Watch me grow" gift experience package in their Christmas brochure - 4 sittings with photos, spread over a year - if that helps at all.

Pixi foto go to Boots. They're official title is Photo Corporation UK Ltd, Unit G2 Harrowden Road, Brackmills, Northamton, NN4 7ES The phone number of their reorder dept is 0870 2415000.
There are also branches of a company called Venture photographic, they do really contemporary pics, seem to capture the personalities a bit more

GillW - don't buy the package! The 4 photos mentioned only cost £4.99 each if you have them done with Pixifoto instore, and you can get them FREE if you have the vouchers from the Bounty pack given to you in the maternity ward. (I stupidly threw them away!)

allatsea... Venture look really lovely and now i'm getting quite tempted at the thought of getting some done with dd... how much are they for a sitting...? anyone know?

still would like to know more about pixi foto though! i've done a huge search on the web and can find very little... i'm amazed it hasn't got a web site! any one know?

Ta for all the information... keep it coming please!!!

Venture are promoting locally at Sainsbury's. I think that the deal is £25 for a sitting (1 hour) including one portrait, additional pics then start at £75 I believe. I know I sound like a rep, but I wanted to have dd photographed there, but dh thought it too expensive

Chincilla, I would disagree about buying the Watch me Grow package. It's from Olan Mills and the photos are much better than anything you get with the others. You have a session in a studio (only 10 mins) and a choice of about 8 - 10 to choose from. The one free is an 8 x 10 and you can buy others which are really expensive. I have had 2 years worth and have some lovely pics over the months. It is a nice gift to give someone.

Pixi sometimes got to other stores eg Mothercare and Woolworths.

I agree totally with Crunchie. I have had the sittings in Boots/Mothercare where you get a photo for £5 but it is always one that they have pre-chosen for you and is always the worst of the bunch.

On the other hand, since DD1 was born nearly 10 years ago, I have, like Crunchie, been part of the Olan Mills "Watch Me Grow" plan. Signed up for it most recently last December and, as Crunchie says, you have four sittings over the year (£20 I think I paid) and at each sitting you get one free 10 x 8 photo of your choice. My DD1, DS1 and DD2 have now all had their photos done with Olan Mills since they were babies. I find that when they start nursery/school I didn't bother taking out another plan as they have school photos and they don't change that much in a year but within a year of them starting school/nursery, another baby came along and I did take out another plan. Although it is called "Watch Me Grow" you can have as many people in the sitting as you wish and it doesn't have to include the person for whom the plan was taken out. I have had 3 sittings since Sasha was born and had the first one of her alone, the second sitting of all three children and the last sitting of Sasha alone (as DD1 is having her school photo taken today and DS1 is having his school photo taken tomorrow). When DD1 was born, I had a photo taken of 5 generations - my daughter, me, my mum, my nan and my grandma. Grandma since died but nice reminder of five generations of girls in the family.

Also, when I took out this most recent plan, they included a mini-makeover for my DD1. She loved it - bit like that make-over place at Bluewater (can't remember what it is called). They styled her hair for her, put a small amount of make-up on (she is not yet 10) and she took along a choice of tops to wear. We got one free 7 x 5 photo (and we didn't buy any more - although she looked lovely, were far too expensive).

Parasol/Pixfoto also have studios in several towns. We got a family photo done at the studio in Nottingham a couple of years back just before Xmas. We bought a couple of pics as pressies for parents at reasonable prices. Then in January they had a sale and I bought the whole collection for about a tenner! Great value.

Hi bea! - had dd 'done' at Boots twice - was fairly pleased first time around, but not so second time. First time, at four months, she was happy to sit on her bit of satin and smile, so it wasn't too taxing for the young girl aiming the flash (no - they don't come across as very professional!). Then, at a year old, she was having none of it. Squirmed all over the place, and the girl was getting increasingly irritated, trying to tempt her with cuddly things. In the end, she stuck a pair of rabbit ears on dd's head (NOT requested!), and took a quick shot of her looking bemused.
I found the main problem was that you are not given a specific sitting time - just turn up and take your place in the queue. So, if photos are taking awhile, you have a long wait. Similarly, if the queue is long, you feel your session is rushed. The 4.99 photo you have to pick at the time of the sitting - hard, as you don't know what they'll look like when developed, so invariably you wish you'd picked a different one when you go back to view! I also forgot to take my little slip of paper with me when I went to collect the photos, and the woman refused to give them to me - said I could be anyone wanting to pick up (and pay for?!) the photos - I showed her dd as my 'proof of purchase' ie 'this is the one in the photos', but she was having none of it!

Well, I have always found them professional in the photo taking, and have had three lovely photos of ds taken. The first time I agree, I was not prepared for which photo would be the best one to pick, so just went with their suggestion. However, the following two times I knew that I would have to pick one in advance for the special offer, so kept a close eye on what was being taken. Forewarned is forearmed and all that!

I think that Pixifoto fall down in their sales chatter when you go and pick up the offer photo. They are really pushy, and the first time I did buy two photo packs that cost a fortune. However, the other two times I looked at them and said, "Ooh how lovely. I'll bring my dh in to see them tomorrow, and order some then", and ran off with my £4.99 photo, never to be seen again!

Anyway, it's horses for courses isn't it?! Whatever makes you happy.

Venture are wonderful but very, very expensive.

£75 will get you one very small framed print - we ended up spending over £700 (and they miscalculated the cost - should have been more - ashamed to admit I did not correct them!!) - that was for 2 large photos, beautifully framed, and three of the smaller ones, and they threw in one free small one!

They are very cagey about telling you the proper prices before you commit, so be careful!
You also have to have 'their' frames, they will not sell you the photos on their own.

As I am always on about frugality on other threads I would like to make it clear it was my DH's idea & not mine!