What’s with ‘Fuzzy Pickles?’

“Say CHEESE!”

Be honest now: how often does that really work? Almost never, as we have found out. The babies cry, the toddlers look scared, the teenage boys grimace and the teenage girls roll their eyes, and most kids stretch out their necks, throw back their heads, and flash a big, toothy, eyes-squinted-shut smile that, albeit cute, just doesn’t capture much except the expensive orthodontic work.

We’ve found that telling kids to smile and trying to force smiles on them is one of the worst things you can do if you’re aiming for a beautiful and natural portrait. So at the portrait shoppe you won’t hear “say cheese!” Instead, you’ll hear us telling jokes to the kids, doing looney tunes style slapstick comedy, and making them laugh by asking them if they eat fuzzy pickles, or if they smell stinky feet in the room. Then, when the kids start laughing, not only do they have more fun but their portraits are natural and more beautiful, as we capture them as they are, not as someone has told them to be.

In that way, ‘fuzzy pickles’ also captures us. Portrait Shoppe is fun and colorful. We believe in enjoying the experience as much as taking a beautiful portrait. We thrive on spontaneity and flexibility. Above all, we want to be like us, not imitators of someone else. Really, we’re just big kids ourselves.

So, fuzzy pickles to you! We hope you have a fuzzy pickles kind of day today – you can bet that we will.