Creative Photo, Columbia

Cars line up at the drive-thru window, where instead of bags of burgers and fries, staffers hand over bundles of glossy personal photos. Inside Creative Photo & Digital Imaging, digital techs convert media such as VHS tapes, records, and reels to DVD and CD, while across the store, photo experts transfer snaps onto album prints, museum-grade canvas wraps, and gifts such as coffee mugs and puzzles. Heirloom family portraits, ravaged by rips and sun damage, doff their imperfections in the photo-restoration lab, and an onsite portrait studio captures clans as they update their sweater sets through the years. Creative Photo & Digital Imaging also hosts photography classes on subjects from how to take better pictures on camera phones to the intricacies of digital SLR cameras.