I was at AAFES (Army/Air Force Exchange Service; our post store) and there was a vendor, National Studios Inc., who was offering one large portrait for $20, also including makeup and hair by professionals. I got to my appointment about 20 minutes early, but then I had to wait 3 hours with a bunch of other pissed off service members to get through hair and makeup.
After I was glowing orange (terrible makeup job, but hair looked nice) they took me to the make-shift studio part which was just sectioned off by the black backdrop and a rack of crappy tuxedo jackets and boas. They used a low quality, hardly semi-pro Nikon camera. I had a Nikon D2xs in my backpack, I should've had them hook that up. It was right then that I knew the photos would be poor quality (yes, a good camera would've made the difference. I know this because I am an Army photographer).
Then they started posing me and taking photos which didn't take long at all because they were rushing disgruntled customers through. A few weeks later my photos were finished and I went back to check them out. I got my one $20 portrait and they offered different sets (which is typical). But I didn't really want ANY of them because they all looked like they were taken with a disposable camera, plus I looked pissed off in every one of them. I gave in and bought the best set which was $80. I know, I'm an idiot. I look like angry beauty pageant contestant. Mysteriously after they charged my card the charged dropped off my account... Thank GOD! It wasn't worth the stress or the money. Go to Wal-Mart, they probably use better cameras and have better prices.
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