Portrait Innovations

This place is a joke! I made an appointment with them because I saw their facebook promo 19.99 which would include a 16X20 and all kinds of different sheet. My main thing is to get the 16X20 sheet. When I made the appointment, I confirmed the details of this promo with Charlie over the phone.
I excitedly brought my son in on the day of his appointment. Casey (not sure if spelled right) was our photographer and also the manager. We tried about 4 different back drops. She took a lot of pictures.
After the shoot, we sat to choose my favorite poses. I mentioned to her, I want to take advantage of their facebook promo which is the 19.99.
She then told me I have to get a collection in order to get that. So I got very confused. She then quoted me $ 250. I came in expecting to spend under $ 30 the most.
So from 250, we narrowed down my favorite poses. Quoted me 189, narrowed down, went down to 89.99. In the end, I paid $ 60 something for 3 sheets of 5X7 of different poses, when all I planned was to get the package for 1 pose.
I mentioned her the promo I saw on facebook multiple times, but she just kept upselling me and it got me so confused!
She was pleasant at first, but while we kept narrowing down my choices, her attitude started to narrowed down as well, if you know what I mean…
Although she still sounded nice, I can feel her negative attitude, she started rushing me. I felt the pressure there, and it is true what Brie O. said, it’s like that pressure of buying a car. I felt like I can’t say no anymore, after all that she went through. Lol.
So I got home and really not satisifed with what I got. I called them, Charlie answered the phone and I asked him again to verify what’s included in the package. He said the same thing he told me when I made the appointment. I told him I was just there and I was told that I have to get the collection in order to be eligible on that. He said, no, I can have it as an add on, or I can purchase it by itself. I live about 20 miles from them and all they can offer is if I’m not happy, I can drive back there and they can give me a full refund. But that’s not what I was asking. All I want is for them to honor the promotion I originally asked for, since I already paid $ 60 anyway, why not give me the rest of the sheets for that one pose that’s supposed to be included in the package?! I don’t understand and until now I’m trying to analyze what happened. They told me they cannot honor the promo anymore because they already processed it without it. Ugh. We both know that they can override that! Cmon now. Poor customer service! And on their website, it says, satisfucktion guaranteed. Well no, they aggressively tries to upsell and rip you off, and you’ll feel pressured to buy!
Yes, partly it’s my fault because I let them do that to me. Some of you might think I should just return it and get my money back, I don’t want to do that because I like the shots, my son looks lovely on those pics. Even though he’s only one, I don’t want his effort to smile go wasted. Lol. All I want is the bigger sheet! For $ 60 and 3 sheets of 5×7? Ridiculous! I will never come here again.
Rant over.

My family went here for our Christmas pictures. We had a coupon for $ 20 52 photos. We let out photographer know that. He had good poses for us. Did many shots. But when we sat down to choose pictures, we let him know we only want the $ 20 deal. He ignored us whenever one of us said that. He told us okay, here’s this many poses for this much. We said no we just want the $ 20 deal. He kept giving us a dirty look. Plus, even if we wanted more we wouldn’t get any because there were gaps between us. I wish he would put us closer together. We have slouch after slouch which he should’ve told us to sit up. It was all off. The picture we chose we weren’t completely satisfied. My brother was distant from us. I wish the photographer would’ve told him to take 2 steps in. I would give 0 stars if possible.

Typically I only post a review when something is really good or really poor.
This is our second time, first time, about a year ago, wasn’t too bad. A bit pricey, but that’s not the biggest deal to me if the work is done.
We made an appointment and arrived a bit early, 10 minutes or so. We were forced to wait over an hour past our set appointment time. My time is money and wasted time is more than wasted money. It’s frustration. You simply cannot keep young toddlers waiting like that. It’s not going to make for the cheeriest shoot.
They really need to work on their timing and appointment setting. We won’t be going back again.

Wow what a bad place my appointment was for 6pm and I even showed up early just to make sure I didn’t miss it and I wasn’t even acknowledged these people are bad at setting up appointments 6:42 pm came around and they didn’t even look our way all my kids dressed up and ready for Christmas photos and we didn’t even take them it’s a real bummer because I been here before and I bragged so much to my mother of how good this place was and instead I was apologizing to my mother for making her wait 1 hour and 40 minutes so at the end not even get pictures taken I don’t recommend this place to anyone

Last year in early December my family and I went here to get our pictures done for my mom for Christmas. My sister made the appointment three weeks earlier so plenty of time. So my whole family is there, 11 people and some from out of town, for our appointment at like 2−230pm. We were there until like 6pm no joke. The pictures came out ok (not worth the price) but if you’re going to give appointments you should keep them. Photo Mania was better. The girls at the desk wouldn’t even give us a reason why our appointment time wasn’t kept… We will NEVER go back.

i found a coupon for this place in the paper for a $ 12.99 special that included 43 photos.
what a scam. once you present this coupon they try to avoid you using it all all. they tried telling me that it couldn’t be used by itself which isn’t true. after telling them no, no, no, no they FINALLY agreed to let ME choose my OWN pictures that I originally came in for. their upselling game is extremely aggressive. i gave them 2 stars for the actual customer service and picture time. way too aggressive for me.
i wont be returning. i still ended up spending $ 70. i will go to JCPenny from now on. its way less nerve wrecking.
pictures came out decent.

We decided on a family photo and got to PI right on time. Fortunately, we didn’t wait long. I noticed a photo shoot going on and thought, :How professional that guy is!” Yet, we get the other guy– the one that I thought just sold the photos. I am a little particular because I am a professional photographer myself, but I know these employees don’t have the extensive background I do, so I wasn’t going to interfere much, just wanted quick family pics with me in them. However, when they direct your children in a pose that is outdated (shadow-​like, gazing up at the moon, or whatever) I have a problem with that. Not once did this so-​called photographer fix hair, clothing, or give direction on hand position, so I was jumping in and doing all that when my kids were the subjects. At one point, he had trouble with the flash, and the other photographer came in and said, «There’s nothing wrong with this.» I wonder, did they pluck him off the street and give him a few short classes in photography? I have twin 10-​year olds that are pretty savvy, but every time this guy went to take their photo, he’d have them say, «Monkey-​toes» or worse, «Boogers.» That may work with toddlers, but at their age, they just thought he was weird. He explained that with the «deal» a black, a white, and a color background would be used. I protested, explaining that I only wanted the beach scene, but he insisted, so I relented. I thought to myself, why can’t I just have what I asked for? Of course, it’s all an upsell. I walked around and looked at the photos on the wall. Most were okay… pretty straight forward, but when I saw the humongous photo of about 30 dancers, I wondered who in their right mind would have the front row or girls on their knees, because they all looked like amputees. A real photographer KNOWS not to position people like that. We went in for the 9.99 special, and walked out with $ 160. worth of pictures, so I guess they did their job. I would like to add that the ladies who were cashier and printer were very nice.

What a joke. My family has been going here for 8 years. Every birthday, every new baby, every Christmas. I arrive early or on time every time and have to wait at least 30 minutes every time. The one time I am 7 minutes late checking in they call me to reschedule. I still would have to wait. It doesn’t make any sense. I am late 7 minutes but would still have to wait but yet they say they won’t see us. Why should I have to reschedule when they would still make me wait??? They book appointments every 15 minutes but say they will take 60 shots of you and allow for an outfit change. How is that possible? The only reason we kept coming here was for the specials. Which they always try to up sell you amyway. It is like the pressure of buying a car. The clientele gets more shady every year as well. They just lost a loyal customer.

We went in for our 6 week old baby. Made an appointment the day before and was helped about 15 min after said appointment. The staff was friendly, patient, and courteous. Seems like a busy day, but we weren’t rushed. Knowing it was our first baby, they took their time with her and us even with our baby being extremely fussy. Loved how the pictures turned out and we had alot to choose from. We went only for their special, but ended up getting a package deal. The only reason why I give it a 4 star was because the place was pretty pricey and you don’t get rights to the CD.

I had my daughters’ holiday portraits done here for the second year in a row this afternoon. The coupons they send out are a great value, but the customer service makes the value of the coupon not worth it, especially when other companies try to be competitive. Last year they seriously overbooked, and had the same problem this year. We arrived several minutes early for our 3:30 pm appointment, but did not get taken back for pictures until 4:10 pm. This was actually an improvement from the nearly 90 minute wait last year. By the time we were taken for pictures my 16 month old was over it, and minimally cooperative. The girl who actually did our pictures (Chelsy, I believe) was patient, and did a good job with what she had to work with, even though the little one never did smile, or pose well. After a few minutes another employee came in to try and help get my 16 month old to smile. After they took several pictures of my girls together they wanted to take individual shots of the girls. Knowing the little one was reaching her limit I said I only wanted the girls photographed together. The second employee that came in to assist said they «like to have a variety» meaning they were going to take individuals against what I requested so hopefully I buy some of the ridiculously priced sheets. I asked for only together again, and was told «I understand, but we like to have a variety,» then proceeded to waste time taking individual shots. After that was finished the little one was done, and would not sit for any more with her sister, so the last of her cooperation was wasted on something despite my request. I do reiterate that the girl actually taking our pictures did a good job, and was friendly and professional.
I understand they want as many shots as possible in hopes to up sell additional sheets since each one costs $ 20, but when my kid is clearly reaching her limit, and a good picture has yet to be taken, my wishes as a paying customer should have been respected. The over booking, poor customer service, and attitude of the second employee have ensured that I will take my business to their competitors in the future.

Customer service is a joke… someone gave me the wrong appointment time and instead of apologizing and figuring out who was answering phones at the time they made it seem like i was lying and just they were plain out rude. if you expect people to pay your prices for pictures that look like Walgreens printed them out I highly suggest treating customers better

Great staff, terrible prices.
Went in for Christmas photos. Photographer was wonderful, did a great job. However the pricing is so far from competitive that’s it’s practically criminal. You can’t get a CD of your pics unless you buy the 15 pose package which has 3 pages for each pose. Nobody on God’s green Earth needs 45 sheets of photos for Christmas. $ 300 out the door. If you opt for a la carte it’s $ 20 a print.
Highway robbery.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a worse experience in a business setting.
1. Showed up on time and were told we only had one group ahead of us.
2. 45 minutes later two large groups are seated before us, and we are again told only one group is ahead of us.
3. We are told that they were finishing up and we were next, and then a large group got put in front of us, and we were again told that we had one group in front of us.
4. We informed them that we are leaving, and I heard her say «phew!l»
I felt that I was the 21 year old in line at the hottest club, and if I flashed her a $ 50 she would get me in! Seriously!
Note to staff: don’t over book on the holidays! I know you want to make your quota by having large parties trump us small guys, but come on! Be a little gracious this time of year!

Made an appointment for today to take family pictures, we come here every year and each photographer in the past I remember were good. This time we had Cameron and he was awesome, lots of personality and talented with his shots.

I went there to get my babies two month old pictures taken I was six minutes late told me was gonna take off so my photo time plus she rushed me so much I didn’t get the photos poses I wanted I was very rushed and I am very disappointed I go to pay for the pictures, which pictures turned out great photographer took great pictures when they tell me my bill was gonna be $ 150 they kept on adding things and they swindled me and basically I ended up paying paying $ 367 out the door very disappointed would never recommend anybody to go to A place that rips you off and tells you one thing and you go pay cause you love your baby & you love the pictures so it’s hard to say no!!! All she did was swindled me and rip me off very disappointed!!!

I went in today and wanted to get my spring pictures done. They did an awesome job with my four kids. I loved my photographer she was so pleasant to work with. I spent more than what I wanted but at the end I was glad I went there.

Went in very excited to have our first professional family photos taken. The studio took wonderful pictures. They were patient with my 6 month old and even got a lot of smiles. But when it came time to pick out a photo package things changed. I was told over the phone that the average package was $ 100 and that came with a photo CD. In reality the $ 100 package is really $ 129 and comes with an encrypted CD so we are unable to print our own photos. This should have been disclosed over the phone. Very disappointed. I feel like we got swindled.

Since the birth of our first child, we have used Portrait Innovations as our go to picture company. Admittedly over the years things have changed, in the past the CD came with hi-​res pictures and they provided much more for what you pay. However, it is hard to beat the ability to go get pictures taken and have the pictures in hand less than an hour following your session. Every photographer we have had has been friendly. Bringing me to this last session. We just move from South Carolina, where we knew the staff of the Portrait Innovations we went to very well. Everyone was always friendly and we always had a great experience. This time when we went in they were slammed because it was the end of a promotion and they are always slammed at that point. The photographer and mostly everyone at the store were very friendly. However, I will say that one of the workers, who appeared to be the manager was not friendly by any means and seemed snippy every time she was asked a question. This should not take away from the great friendly service we had from the rest of the staff. We are again very happy with the pictures and will go back again next year for our children’s yearly pictures.

My experience with Portrait Innovation was great! The prices are stiff but the photographer took her time with the shoot and was patient with my baby boy. We will come back for a family holiday photo this year and I will make sure to use their coupon (I didn’t the last time and paid $ 180 ~ yikes!). This place is much better than JCPenney on Grand Canyon.

RUDE RUDE RUDE! Don’t waste your time going to this place. From the time I attempted to make an appointment the employees were completely RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL and provided the worst customer service EVER! You are in a customer service industry… try taking a class on how to properly provide excellent service to your customers without arguing with them! After all, without customers you won’t be getting a paycheck! I was not a first time customer, have had portraits done at this location as well as in another state. If I had been a first time customer I think I would have been turned off at the get go! I’m not even sure if these folks are even high school graduated. I’ve happily taken my business elsewhere!