Mantel Fillers

There’s nothing as heartwarming as that scrapbook of family memories, filled with photos of the kids taken by the parents. You know, those parents with the hands that shake a little and the eyes that don’t quite focus.

At least it looks like the kids in the photo. There’s a tree, for sure, and some red eyes--yes, the red eyes, that must be the kids.

It’s not uncommon to find a family album full of imperfect photographs. That can be part of the fun--catching people being natural with very natural photography. But many families opt to supplement those amateur photos with shots taken professionally. Posed and in focus, studio portraits are the stuff mantels were made for.

We were inspired by the portrait contest at the Ventura County Fair and decided to check with some of the local portrait studios to see what they had to offer. We included both privately owned studios and those within department stores.

The Shutterbug & Kiddy Studio, a camera store and studio in Ventura, charges $25 for each sitting regardless of the number of people in the photo. (Sitting fees are what studios charge to compensate photographers for their time.)

On top of that, the cost for a basic package, which includes a pair of 4-by-6-inch and a pair of 5-by-7-inch photos is $65. An additional 8-by-10 will increase the price to $85 and customers can throw in an 11-by-14 portrait to round out the package for $105.

At Kennedy’s Photography in Oxnard, the sitting fee is $24. Customers can pick and choose their own photos, with the opportunity of previewing the shots before ordering the retouched and finished prints.

Single prints, for instance, cost $35 for an 8-by-10 photo and $20 for a 5-by-7 photo. Duplicate prints are discounted $5 each.

Over at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, there are several family portrait options, including the Sears Photo Studio and the Kinderfoto shop. Both offer discount options for repeat customers, a good option for families planning to document the month-to-month and year-to-year growth of their young children.

The Sears studio has two basic packages. After a sitting fee of $9.95 per person, customers can purchase a set of two 8-by-10 photos, two 5-by-7s, four 3 1/2-by-5s and 24 wallet-size photos for $24.95.

Or they can customize their packages. For a flat sitting fee of $14.95, the photographer will take a series of six poses and backgrounds and customers can chose which size and style they want to purchase. Prints are $10 per sheet, with different sheets including various sizes of photos. For instance, two 5-by-7 portraits make up one sheet and a single 10-by-13 photo is one sheet.

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For customers planning to return often, Sears offers a SmileSaver card. A one-time $24.95 charge covers sitting fees for two years.

And at the Kinderfoto Portrait Studio at The Oaks (there’s also a Kinderfoto affiliate at the JCPenney store at Buenaventura Mall), sittings are $8.95 per person.

Through October, customers can order packages of one 10-by-13, one 8-by-10, two 5-by-7s, 12 wallet-size and 36 mini photos for $9.95.

The shop also offers photos at $5.99 per sheet featuring any of six poses. Sheets are somewhat different than at Sears. At Kinderfoto, a 10-by-13 photo counts as two sheets.

For frequent customers, Kinderfoto offers a $24.95 club card good for two years of sitting fees.

And what’s a shopping trip without a stop at Wal-Mart? At the Oxnard store, there is no sitting fee and the basic package, for $5.95, includes two 8-by-10 photos, three 5-by-7s, 15 wallet-size shots and four 3 1/2-by-5 prints. Additional photos, with six optional poses, vary in price.