Family Portraits: For Expecting or New Parents, What to Expect

The question:  Would it be more cost effective to take family portraits and purchase the prints from the portrait studio?  Or, would it be better to take family portraits, and purchase the image rights on a CD, allowing you to print your own pictures?

My wife and I were blessed to have our first child in April this year.  When our son was almost four months, we scheduled to have family portraits taken at a studio, in one of the larger retail merchandise stores, because we had received a coupon for 40% off.

Before we arrived, we had decided on a picture package which would include 14 portrait sheets.  The cost of this package was $169.99, so I was thinking we would spend around $100, after the 40% discount was applied.

We arrived to the studio, not really knowing what to expect, other than to wear similar colors.  We took our photos, and then the photographer told us she would upload the photos and show them to us, so we could make decisions on what photos we liked.

I left at one point to change our son's diaper, while my wife and the photographer were looking through the pictures.  I came back from the diaper changing and they were finishing going through the photos.

The photographer showed me the selected choices.  She did so by flipping through the photos saying things like, "You're getting 2-5x7s, 1-8x10, 4-3.5x5s, 8 wallets..." and she was saying it fast, like she was auctioneer almost, while flipping through the photos on the computer just as fast it seemed.  I just nodded my head and said something like, "Sounds great!"

The photographer ended by saying how we could have all our photos on a CD, and we would have the copyrights to print whatever we liked, even putting the pictures on the internet to share friends and family.  Our total had crossed a certain price range, so the Image CD, "Would only cost us $29.99."

After one dirty diaper changing and about twenty minutes later, we were checking out for a grand total of $253.86($271.00 after tax).  $253.86 was with a 40% discount, the regular price would have been $384.84!  We had purchased the initial photo package we had agreed upon, the Image CD, and 10 additional photos as well.

"What were the extra $150 worth of charges?", you may be thinking.  After deciphering the receipt AND reading all the fine print in the photo pamphlet, I started to see how the price added up.

We ended up with 20 photo sheets in all, but were charged for 24 sheets.  The photo pamphlet reads, "Multi-Image enhanced portraits...equal two portrait sheets".  We purchased 4 photo sheets that were multi-image(example provided below), containing two or more pictures within each photo, so we were charged for 8 sheets, making our total 24.  We were 10 photo sheets over the 14 included in the original portrait package, and the cost of the additional 10 portrait sheets was $91.91, with the 40% discount applied.

(example of a single image photo on the top, and a multi-image photo on the bottom)

Also, I didn't consider the sitting fee and the Image CD in my initial price estimate of around $100.  The 40% discount did not apply to neither the sitting fee, nor to the Image CD.  The sitting fee was $29.97 and the Image CD was $29.99.

When all the numbers were added up, it was $271.00 after tax.

For the total of $271.00, we received:

22 - 5x7s

4   - 3.5x5s

4   - 8x10

2   - 10x13

1   - 10x20

8   - Wallets

= 41 photos

At this point, you made need a coffee break.

If my wife and I had ordered JUST the Image CD, after shooting the photos, the Image CD would have cost us $99.99 by itself.  We would have also paid the $29.97 for the sitting fee.  
Our total, without ordering any picture prints, would have been: $129.96 + $8.77(tax) = $138.73.
The difference we would have saved, from $271.00, is $132.27.

Could my wife and I have recreated the multi-image photos, and if so, could we have ordered 41 photos ourselves, with the same lustre finish, and a 10x20 photo printed on canvas, for less than $132.27 from an online site or in a store?

I've compiled a few of the most popular websites people recommend for printing photographs, and the amount it would cost to print our 41 photos. One website had ALL the sizes we originally purchased, others didn’t.  Some websites offered a lustre finish on photos, some didn't.  It should be noted with the orders below, it’s assumed we are able to reproduce our own multi-image photos like the studio.

MPix.com is only site I've found that has all of the same sizes, lustre finish, and choice of canvas printing for a 10x20, like the portrait studio offered. If we had ordered the EXACT same order from MPix.com, as we had from the studio, our total would have been:
$99.79(pictures) + $5.95(S&H) = $105.74.

Using MPix.com, we would have saved $26.53.

Shutterfly.com was the next site I tried. The first thing I noticed was that Shutterfly.com didn't have the 3.5x5, 10x13, or 10x20 size prints. Also, I didn't see an option for lustre finish on Shutterfly.com. I priced 41 pictures on Shutterfly.com, using picture sizes as close to the missing sizes as possible. Instead of 3.5x5, I used 4x6. Instead of 10x13, I used 11x14. Instead of 10x20, I used the 16x20. For the 41 pictures ordered off Shutterfly.com, the total would have been:
$74.41(pictures) + $12.47(S&H) + $6.73(tax) = $93.61

Using Shutterfly.com, we would have saved $38.66.*

Snapfish.com is another site I tried. As with Shutterfly.com, Snapfish.com doesn't offer the lustre finish and the 3.5x5, 10x13, or 10x20 size prints weren't available either, and I substituted those again: Instead of 3.5x5, I used 4x6. Instead of 10x13, I used 11x14. Instead of 10x20, I used the 16x20. For 41 pictures off Snapfish.com, the total would have been:
$58.09(pictures) + $8.44(S&H) + $5.16(tax) = $71.69.

Using Snapfish.com, we would have saved $60.58.*

Costco.com was the last site I tried. Costco is a warehouse club, that requires a yearly membership of $50 to use the store's services.  If you are already a member at Costco, ordering prints from Costco.com is the cheapest site I've found for prints.  Costco.com, like Snapfish.com and Shutterfly.com, didn't offer all the sizes, but it does have the lustre finish.  I again substituted picture sizes: Instead of 3.5x5, I used 4x6. Instead of 10x13, I used 11x14. Instead of 10x20, I used the 16x20.
Assuming you're a member at Costco, for 41 pictures ordered off Costco.com, the total would have been:
$27.81(pictures) + $1.88(tax) = $29.69.
Using Costco.com, we would have saved $102.58.*

*It should be noted, again, that the orders on Shutterfly.com, Snapfish.com, and Costco.com didn’t have the same sizes as our order from the portrait studio, only Mpix.com had the same options available.   Also, Shutterfly.com and Snapfish.com don't offer the lustre finish, from the choices I saw.  We also would have had to create our own multi-image photos, if we wanted the exact same order, which we purchased from the studio.