Looking for a Mother's Day gift? Just got engaged? Need a new Facebook profile pic? Quality studio portraits usually cost a fortune, which is why so many of us resort to outdated or arcane visual documentation techniques: Clay sculptures, painting our parents' portraits on tortillas, casting plaster molds of our children's faces, and so on. While these methods often produce fine works of an abstract artistic nature, the results rarely capture our true beauty or essence. But with today's Groupon for a photo shoot by Elle Pictures - valued at $150, yours for just $30 - you can afford to hire a real photographer to snap a few pics of you or your loved ones. Just check out the amazing studio quality of Elle's photographs on their website.

Elle proprietress Shannon Michelle studied Portraiture and Editorial photography at the New England School of Photography. She's produced head-shots that have helped people to get on the teevee (some of her clients have appeared on ABC's I Survived A Japanese Game Show and The Tyra Banks Show) and has had fancy fashion photos featured in Boston's Image Magazine, Haute Magazine and other publications. She created Elle Pictures for new and expecting moms (and the occasional OctoMom, lucky for us), but will consider the gamut of special occasions as part of today's deal.

Elle will make you look fabulous. They'll photograph your pregnant stomach - or the pacifier-chomping little fruits of your pregnant stomach - at your home, favorite park, neighborhood cafe, or wherever else you want the shoot to take place. Have Elle photograph your baby-to-be, significant other-to-be, or the fam. And if you're an actor or actress, ask Elle to do your head shot. In addition to the 80% discount on photographs, Elle also offers a fabulous two-for-one special on identical prints: Buy an 8x10" portrait and receive another of the same size for free; a 5x7" to get a second 5x7", etc. This deal is even better than the quote you got from that two-fingered court illustrator who was going render your nuptials in hamburger grill charcoal.

Here's what people are saying about Elle Pictures:

• "Shannon's work stands out immediately, even in a casting of 10,000." -Grant Wilfey, Casting Agent (quote taken from Elle Picture's website)

You're not an adult until you've let a professional photographer capture you or your loved ones. Sadly, most photogs out-price our ability to enter adulthood, leaving us to remain adolescents for the rest of our lives. With today's Groupon, you'll have both maturity and a mantle-ful of memories in no time.

Though you might become pregnant multiple times, your stomach will look different each time. Your children will only be "that age" once, whatever "that age" is. And you'll get engaged "for the first time" to your special someone just one time; even if you break up and get back together over and over again, the shock value gradually wears off with each re-engagement. This is why it is essential to capture as many moments as possible with a pro like Elle Pictures, so that when you are old, you have the finest reminiscence aides to gaze at while you cradle your plastic surrogate babies. So get your Groupon.