Swindled!

Ok so it has been so long since I blogged.  My eventual goal is to move from the occasional rant, then disappear back into my private life.  Since I have blogged, I have experienced one of the most amazing times of my life...fatherhood.  It is everything and more, an absolutely incredible experience.

Well it's time to take Graham's first pictures.  Yep, that means we get to take him to some foreign place, set him on an un-disinfected blanket that hundreds of other babies have drooled on, put him in positions that no infant would ever sit in, flash lights in his eyes and watch him squint through each shot, then pick out each shot that we think we love yet don't quite know until we get them home.  Notice how I didn't include the step of going over pricing, packages, etc.  That is because it almost doesn't happen!

Now picture this; You walk into a supermarket, someone shoves a piece of food in your mouth, tells you all about how great it is, explains the different ways you can prepare that food, you walk up to the counter with it, go through the entire checkout process, and have to pull your card out before you know the price.  Does that sound like how you want to grocery shop?  NO WAY!  Then why in the world do we allow this process with baby pictures??  Not once did someone talk about packages, prices, coupons, or anything else that would allow us to get an idea of what kind of investment we were about to make.

My wife and I are pretty into the teachings of Dave Ramsey lately.  He would absolutely be floored at this process of throwing money at an emotional sale after getting through the entire process.  It seems to me that these companies would have more guaranteed sales if they walked customers through the entire shopping process prior to snapping one photo.  This would also keep them from expending any resources (labor) at the risk that someone (me) walks out halfway through the process because all they can think of is the $400 that the photographer mumbled under his breath during the shoot.  Now I don't mind putting down some scratch on memories of my child, but is that $400 somewhere to start?  Does it include all the photos I want or do I have to pay hundreds more to get those?

My point in all this is to empower those parents out there to not be afraid to ask, "What am I spending at the end of this process?"  Granted, some high schooler will look at you like you have a foot growing out of your face, but you are making the right decision.  You are the better husband/wife/parent for getting these things in place before someone reaches into your bank account and takes your kids' college fund in the spirit of making memories.