Sears Portrait Studio Closes Down

When my oldest son was born, we had Sears portraits done at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and one year. The prices were reasonable and we got to know the staff in the portrait studio. My second son just wouldn't sit long enough to really do the portraits, so I think we only took him a couple of times.

Now a tradition has ended, at the Wall Street Journal, "Lasting Memories? The Sears Portrait Studio Shuts Down: Photographer Had Been Experiencing Financial Troubles":

The lights have gone off on another American tradition.

The photographer that ran the portrait studios at Sears Holdings Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT and Babies "R" Us abruptly closed its business, at least temporarily ending a longtime retail tradition at those stores.

CPI Corp., CPIC -13.04% in a statement on its website, said it closed all of its U.S. studios "after many years of providing family portrait photography." The St. Louis-based company didn't explain the hasty closure, and calls to CPI went unanswered. However, the company has struggled financially, hurt by the rise of digital photography.

The news came suddenly to the retailers. "We were notified Thursday that CPI is ceasing its U.S. operations at retailers across the country immediately," Sears spokesman Howard Riefs said. CPI has provided photo services for Sears's customers since 1959 and has been the store's only portrait studio operator since 1986, currently located in all 788 Sears stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Sears "is exploring all options" to potentially provide portrait services as soon as possible, Mr. Riefs said.

The look and feel of the photographs—cloth backdrops, wide smiles and subjects looking slightly off-camera—became part of the visual dictionary of creative artists, being re-appropriated for everything from a band photo by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to the film poster for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

One former customer, Becky Schaaf, used to take her 4-year-old son to a Sears Portrait Studio every three months during the first year of his life, until she decided she could get the same result, or better, on her own or by finding local professionals.

"We started to realize that with a decent camera we could be taking strong photos," said Ms. Schaaf, now a mother of two in Ashland, Ohio. "I just got an iPhone…[and] for the day to day, we're just as happy with that."

Actually, I'm surprised the company didn't fold sooner. It's not like photography is just now changing or anything.

More at that top link.