Olan Mills Portrait Studios

[mommytotwo]

Has anyone had experience getting pictures taken with this company?
How was the quality, prices, background choices, how long did it take for pictures to get back to you....?
Did you get any pictures taken for Christmas yet?

 

[sleepyone]

I have used Olan Mills before and, the photos were beautiful. There were lots of backgrounds and props to choose from. I can't remember how long they took to come back; I'm thinking 2 weeks.

 

[mickeyboat]

We have had ours done there many times. The quality is excellent and the photographers are very good. I have liked the backgrounds and props as well. They take about 2 weeks to get back.

They are pretty expensive, but sometimes there are coupons on their website, and you can get a card so once you spend a certain amount, you get the next set of pictures half off.

At our last sitting, they took 5 poses - I had them do one of each kid separately and three of them together. Only one of them together turned out because there was a "light leak" in the middle of one of the pictures and eyes were closed in another.

One thing I really don't like about them (and I don't know if it is like that at all Olan Mills studios) is that you do not have a chance to look at the pictures and order the poses and sizes you like of each one. They develop a certain amount of each pose and you buy the ones you like. If you want to order extras, they cost considerably more. And it is really hard to leave pictures of your kids behind, no matter how much you like them.

Our Olan Mills is located in our K-Mart store. Every week they select a picture of the week to display at the studio. My girls' pictures have been selected twice, which they thought was really cool. So did I since you get a free big picture.

Hope you get nice pictures!

Denae

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

Wow, those places are still around? We had some around here while I was growing up but not in many many years...

 

[mommytotwo]

One thing I really don't like about them (and I don't know if it is like that at all Olan Mills studios) is that you do not have a chance to look at the pictures and order the poses and sizes you like of each one. They develop a certain amount of each pose and you buy the ones you like. If you want to order extras, they cost considerably more. And it is really hard to leave pictures of your kids behind, no matter how much you like them.

Denae

I would not like this feature either. I like to see what I am going to get an what package I would like to order. But, we will see how things are handled at the studio here.

Thank you Denae and sleepyone for the info.

 

[Sandy V.]

I hadn't heard "Olan Mills" in a long time, either!

This may have changed, but what I didn't like was that they INSISTED on coming to your house to "close the deal". I am very much a "my home is my sanctuary" person and at the end of a long workday, I don't want to be bothered. I told the representative that I could come in the next day to sign the paperwork at their office (yes, they DID have one), and he would have none of it. He said that he HAD to come to my house. So I told him to forget it.

Hopefully, there's much better about this now.

 

[tinkerbell27]

Actually I just called them earlier today and made an appt for my kids. She said they were all digital now. They take your pics , you can see them right away and order what you want in the same day !! You get them in 2 weeks . Sounds pretty good to me !!
Kelly

 

[mommytotwo]

That does sound good.
Could you post back here once you finish your appt. and let me know how it goes.
I tried calling the studio here but no one picked up the phone or there was no message, so I'm just hoping that they are still there.

 

[Christine]

I haven't used Olan Mills in about 10 years because they closed all the studios in our area (although I heard that they had "moved in" with K-Mart). So, I'm not sure that the quality is the same.

Anyway, they were the most expensive of all the portraits I had done, but they were, by far, the most beautiful. Worth every penny. Even 10 years ago, they had gone digital and you were able to see the pictures on the TV screen as they were taken.

 

[CharityLynn]

I was an Olan Mills Photographer for almost 2 years (I'd go back in a heartbeat if it weren't for the hours). I had my own studio in a local K-Mart, man I miss that job. LOL

Someone else posted that they went digital, which is cool to hear, they were talking about it when I worked there 2 years ago.

As for the pictures Olan Mills is more exoensive then say Sears or the Walmart studios but the pictures are very good quality. There are several backgrounds and tons of props.

I believe a full package (which was 5 poses with 5 sheets each pose) was almost $130. But check their website for promotions.

You are definately getting your money's worth.

 

[kellydizfan]

I wish ours didn't close up- I would go back in a heartbeat to get christmas pictures done. They are beautiful and the backgrounds were gorgeous. I would definetly go and get the pictures done there! It took a couple of weeks for them to come back but well worth the wait. I ended up purchasing every picture taken as they all came out really great.