Day 384 - Portrait Saturday

For the kids' first birthday, Lisa and I weren't too sure what to get them. Our closet and drawers are full of clothes and toys, so what else could they possibly need? I suggested to Lisa that we buy the kids a new a/v receiver so they could listen to their Classical Baby videos in TrueHD and 7.1 surround sound. Suffice it to say, Lisa called me a dumbass. But I stood firm and told Lisa it would be more exciting to hear her call me a dumbass in 7.1 surround sound. So she called me a dumbass while circling me.

Finally, we decided we would take the kids to a portrait studio for their first birthday. Perhaps it's a little bit more of a present for us, but the kids will still have these photos as a memory of a time when they were soiling their pants 1-2 times a day.

After researching a few studios around Los Angeles, I was shocked to find out the cost. They were almost as expensive as hiring a photographer for a wedding. If I found a package price that wasn't too expensive, they hardly gave you any pictures at all. Sure we think our kids are cute, but I'll be damned if Emma's and Andrew's pictures are going to take money away from my video game fund.

Thankfully, one of Lisa's friend told her she took her kid to this portrait studio at their local mall called Picture People. One big plus is that there are no sitting fees so no harm done with crappy pictures. So Lisa made an appointment with them and we were set to go.

With my parents in tow, we all hit Picture People for our 1pm appointment. The process of taking the pictures wasn't that bad at all. It was all quite automated: 1) Take pictures of kids in front of backdrop with professional lighting. 2) Wait 20-30 minutes to see pictures on a large 30" computer screen. 3) Select photos that you want. 4) Wait another 5-10 minutes and take photos home. 5) Empty checking account to pay for photos.

What took the longest time was to select the photos. It didn't make it much easier Crazy Grandma Ichikawa putting in her two cents...

"You rike dat picture? Other one much bettah!"

"Dey so much cuter in person."

"Why eye so squinty in dat one?"

"She rook rike a prostitute and he rook rike a hobo!"

Eventually, we picked a handful of photos and bought a package deal. With this package we received: (1) frame with a 10x13 photo, (1) frame with four 4x4 photos, (2) sheets of wallet-sized photos, and (3) sheets of 5x7 photos. It wasn't too expensive, but it wasn't that cheap either. Let's just say that my Nintendo Wii will probably collect some dust this month.

Although I was a bit bah-humbug about this whole portrait adventure, my dad said I may not appreciate it now, but years from now I'll be glad we did it. So I asked my dad how many years? And my dad said, "At least thirty."