The Picture People - online viewing for only 1 year!
I am a huge fan of The Picture People so much so that we left our beloved Sears Portrait Studio after trying The Picture People only once because I had one of their famous "Free 8x10 and No Sitting Fee" coupons.
We have used them for over a year now to have Emily's Portrait made every month of her first year and then, on Easter and Christmas every year after.
We have been so happy, the pictures always turn out perfectly and you just can't beat the software they use for cropping, triming, color correction and blemish removing to make the portraits you are about to purchase absolutely perfect! You get your portraits that day (in just under 30 minutes) and you can view them online for 60 days in case you want to purchase additional prints or if your friends & family want to purchase prints! If you are a Portrait Club Member ($40) you get online viewing of those portraits for 1 whole year plus a ton of other offers, coupons and freebies.
I can't say enough: we just love The Picture People.
Until recently...
Over the past year, I have tried three times to get them to upload Emily's 11month and 1 year portrait sessions online and, even after getting Customer Service involved, I've had no luck. Then, in June we moved and I got side-tracked with Emily turning 2 years old and just forgot about those two portrait sessions still sitting out there somewhere. When I took Emily to have her 2 year portraits made, I overhead another customer ask how long you can view your portraits online if you are a Portrait Club Member and the answer was "1 year". She then asked what happens after that 1 year and the answer was that 60 days after that 1 year expiration, the studio purges your files. That means they permenently delete them!
The light bulb went on in my head and I dug for those receipts from Emily's 11month and 1 year portrait sessions and realized our 60 day grace period after our 1 year expiration had passed... by three days. :( argh!!!
Not only did Customer Service at The Smile Store and The Studio itself never get my images uploaded but now, it doesn't even matter because they are gone... forever!!!
Yes, I bought a ton of prints those two days, I always do.
Yes, I got them to sign a Copyright Release so I can make duplicates of the prints I purchased and can send those to family & friends who didn't get a chance to view them online and purchase prints for themselves.
But, it's just not the same and I'm so upset that I have no digital file of those two portrait sessions. :( I copied the thumbnail images of all the other portrait sessions and have them saved on Emily's Babysite to look at forever and ever and that's what I was hoping to eventually do with these two sessions but that is not possible now and I'm just disappointed. I spent two hours on the phone this week ensuring those images really had been purged and that there was no way to view them online.
*sigh*
So, just a warning to all of you Picture People users: if you are a Portrait Club Member you really will lose online viewing of ALL your portrait sessions after 1 year they were taken, after the 60-day grace period. Be sure you copy those thumbnails and/or purchase all the pictures you really want before your viewing expires!!!
We have used them for over a year now to have Emily's Portrait made every month of her first year and then, on Easter and Christmas every year after.
We have been so happy, the pictures always turn out perfectly and you just can't beat the software they use for cropping, triming, color correction and blemish removing to make the portraits you are about to purchase absolutely perfect! You get your portraits that day (in just under 30 minutes) and you can view them online for 60 days in case you want to purchase additional prints or if your friends & family want to purchase prints! If you are a Portrait Club Member ($40) you get online viewing of those portraits for 1 whole year plus a ton of other offers, coupons and freebies.
I can't say enough: we just love The Picture People.
Until recently...
Over the past year, I have tried three times to get them to upload Emily's 11month and 1 year portrait sessions online and, even after getting Customer Service involved, I've had no luck. Then, in June we moved and I got side-tracked with Emily turning 2 years old and just forgot about those two portrait sessions still sitting out there somewhere. When I took Emily to have her 2 year portraits made, I overhead another customer ask how long you can view your portraits online if you are a Portrait Club Member and the answer was "1 year". She then asked what happens after that 1 year and the answer was that 60 days after that 1 year expiration, the studio purges your files. That means they permenently delete them!
The light bulb went on in my head and I dug for those receipts from Emily's 11month and 1 year portrait sessions and realized our 60 day grace period after our 1 year expiration had passed... by three days. :( argh!!!
Not only did Customer Service at The Smile Store and The Studio itself never get my images uploaded but now, it doesn't even matter because they are gone... forever!!!
Yes, I bought a ton of prints those two days, I always do.
Yes, I got them to sign a Copyright Release so I can make duplicates of the prints I purchased and can send those to family & friends who didn't get a chance to view them online and purchase prints for themselves.
But, it's just not the same and I'm so upset that I have no digital file of those two portrait sessions. :( I copied the thumbnail images of all the other portrait sessions and have them saved on Emily's Babysite to look at forever and ever and that's what I was hoping to eventually do with these two sessions but that is not possible now and I'm just disappointed. I spent two hours on the phone this week ensuring those images really had been purged and that there was no way to view them online.
*sigh*
So, just a warning to all of you Picture People users: if you are a Portrait Club Member you really will lose online viewing of ALL your portrait sessions after 1 year they were taken, after the 60-day grace period. Be sure you copy those thumbnails and/or purchase all the pictures you really want before your viewing expires!!!
