Portrait Scene

A family member got me a groupon to use. I did and I really liked a couple of the pictures (the photographer was fine, no opinions one way or the other). Problem is the price. EACH picture is $ 29. It’s crazy. I can’t afford them, it is WAY overpriced! I could see getting the Beginnings package if I could pick different poses but you just get one picture in different sizes for $ 49. I got digital prints but the resolution is really low and they don’t look good when you print them. I am SO bummed. I got my husband to take family pics and fought with 2 kids under 3 to pose for pics and I have nothing to show for it :(
UPDATE: So it turns out my package was supposed to come with an 8X10, 2 5X7, 4 4×5 and 8 wallets (as well as the low resolution electronic images). The only thing that was included were the low resolution images. I contacted customer service about it and they said it was my fault for not ordering the package (although it did not show up as free/​included in the groupon). HORRIBLE customer service and SHADY company!!!

Terribly awful customer service representative and the person claiming to be the supervisor, Kimber, was even worse.
Their e-​view CD was intentionally ultra low resolution that it came across as something only a sleazy company would do.

Despite the fact that we were :30 minutes early and the party before us canceled the photographer still seemed rushed and stopped our shoot exactly at :30 minutes. The shots were good! The service afterward has been horrendous. The website is horrid and the Groupon deal turns out to be a veritable scam. The free cd they promise comes equipped only with unprintable thumbnails so it’s essentially useless. The prints are small and overpriced and you better be darn sure you’ve got everything right when you order because they don’t allow you to change anything or go back once you’ve placed the order. Would not ever use again.

Do not waste your time or money. Our experience was terrible with them canceling appointments and their customer service being difficult to reach for the handling of all the rescheduling details. But when you do get a hold of one, they aren’t very knowledgeable of what to do or they just don’t want to help. Even their studio managers Kimber and Jennifer could care less if any issues are resolved and they show no pride in their work with customers as if they have no one that they answer to above them. They sent our pictures to the wrong address and wanted us to pay to have them reprinted as well. One thing they are very good at is accepting your payment for services they don’t legitimately fulfill. I cannot imagine with the reviews I’ve read and the bad experience we’ve had that they remain in business over the years.

i purchased my 30-​minute session through Groupon. They photographer showed up seven minutes late and ended four minutes early. The photographer was rude to us. Worse yet, after we reviewed the photo, it was clear the photographer had no command of his equipment. Images were washed out and near unusable.
Customer service offered a reshoot, a refund, or a few images that I could attempt to Photoshop myself.
Quite frankly, your money would be better spent taking a few selfies on your iPhone and reprinting them. Don’t waste your money on these frauds.

I ordered the deal on Groupon, scheduled an appointment, which was fairly difficult because they didn’t have many open. Once I was there it was not clear where to really go or who I was supposed to meet with. Finally started pictures and they seemed to go well.
Once I finally was able to look at the pictures my daughter and I took, I was a little taken back. Not professional quality I was expecting at all. Some poses were terrible and the photographer should have seen certain facial expressions. It was almost like she was rushing to get finished to just be done. Some pictures I wasn’t even ready to get a picture taken.
The prices are kind of ridiculous. I only ended up ordering 3 poses, because that is all that came out decent. So the money I paid even for the Groupon wasn’t really worth all the hassle. I could have taken better pictures myself. I wouldn’t order from this place again and all their reviews lay it out pretty clear.

I took my two children to Van Hoosen Farms in Rochester, MI in mid October. Our photographer, Tiffany, did a great job and was extremely patient with my 14 year old who obviously did not want any part of this photo shoot! I used my Groupon towards purchasing the Hi-​Res images so I could get the copyright release and make Christmas cards. We had a great session, lots of poses of the kids together and each separate, and many images to choose from! Very happy with the whole experience and I look forward to it again next fall!
*Make sure you book early!!! I scheduled my October appointment back in May! Locations book quickly.

I purchased the Groupon for a 30 minute photo shoot and overall I was happy with the pictures. I have two young children and the photographer did a good job working with children. Unfortunately, I was confused by the ordering process and didn’t realize that my groupon only included one printable file and I received the wrong picture. I emailed several times with customer service and was always impressed with how quickly they responded. In the end, Donna was a huge help and was able to send me the correct file. I really appreciated them sending me the correct one since it was my mistake. Overall, it was a good deal for $ 19 too.

I used a Groupon coupon to do a portrait photoshoot. It wasn’t worth even the mere $ 20 I paid for it. The photographer was unkempt, in a hurry, and although we were allotted 30-​minutes, he only photographed us for 10 (TEN!) minutes. Nonetheless I was anxious to see my photos on their site when they were ready. They were horribly over-​exposed (lots of white light in the photo), and only about ¹⁄₈^th of the photos he took made it to the site. When I called to ask them where the other photos were, they told me they were not good enough to be posted (wow!). When I got the photos in my e-​mail, the quality was so bad that it was blurry when I tried to view it on my phone! I couldn’t even post it on Facebook or print them at my home printer. When I asked them to send a higher quality or higher resolution photo file, they refused, and said that the low resolution was on purpose so that we wouldn’t print them at home. They said that if I wanted to purchase one photo at a higher resolution, it would be $ 49 for ONE photo! That’s WAY too much considering the quality of the photo in the first place. All in all, VERY disappointed with the whole experience!

I came across a deal on Groupon for Portrait Scene and I figured, what the heck, I’ll try it out. I’m SO glad I did!
Our session last year was amazing — we had a few bumps with the photographer during this years session, but I e-​mailed Jennifer about it and she was willing to go above and beyond to take care of it.
I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Jennifer since last year during our first family photo session and she is amazing. Honestly, she’s the reason why I’ll continue to use Portrait Scene. She’s fast in responding to my e-​mails and she’s willing to take care of whatever problem I may have. She truly is an asset to that company and has definitely made me a customer for life.
Thanks for everything Jennifer — I’m sure we’ll be talking soon! :)
Jackie

Like others, I purchased the GroupOn. The photographer was highly unprofessional. We had two small children with us (ages 18 months and 4 years). All photographers I’ve worked with in the past know that you go when the kids are ready, and you go as quickly as possible.
Well, for the first 10 minutes of our shoot, the photographer was constantly on the phone or texting with another appointment, and complaining non-​stop to us about this other appointment. After 10 minutes, the kids were done, and the photographer was just taking the first shots. We ended up with a couple decent shots, but it wasn’t really worth the effort.
For ordering the pictures, we were given a postcard with directions (complete with several typos and outdated website navigation). It says «you can expect your portraits (they meant proofs) to be online within 12 days». That’s right, you have to keep checking the site to see when they’re posted; they don’t notify you. And if you wait too long… well, they’re only available for 30 days, and after that you have to pay to see your proofs. So don’t forget to keep checking the website.
Figuring out how to order on the site (which has MUSIC!) is a nightmare. You have to add one photo to your cart, THEN you can see the packages and make selections from very tiny thumbnails. Not user friendly at all. We ended up with a «good enough» shot, but will not purchase from this place again.

I scheduled my shoot 3 months ago. Family travelled from across the state. I was hoping for a creative urban shoot in Royal Oak. A lot of effort and planning went into today’s event. We had a 90 minute window where we could meet and get this done. The weather is gorgeous and the morning sun would have made excellent lighting. Lo and behold, 45 minutes before our appointment, I get the dreaded call that we need to reschedule because the photographer supposedly is in the hospital. Family was waiting at the location and my one son was 15 minutes away after a 2 hour drive. UNACCEPTABLE. Apologies aren’t good enough. It will be at least 6 months before we can all meet again then it will be March in Michigan. A few minutes later, I got another call that we could be accommodated at another location, but the time slot didn’t work for us. Besides, that would mean traveling 15 miles to the inner city of Detroit of which I am not a fan. I cannot convey my disappointment and anger strongly enough. A business that claims to be nationwide without back up photographers is a joke. I am so upset I came close to tears. Shameful.

never hire this company !!! you will regret it !!! they steal your money !!! and no refunds !!! the picture quality is amatuer at best also !! it’s camera-​phone quality !!! garbage !!!

The pictures turned out crappy. The photographer was late so she just shot her required poses as quickly as possible. We’re not professional photographers but we surely can do a better job. Also, she tried to get us to sign the release like we were required to until I inquired about my rights to privacy. The poses were awkward and I couldn’t smile because of her complaining about my not wanting to sign the release. It’s hard to find them on Unilocal unless you change the location to michigan.
We got our pictures back a couple of weeks ago. I was really disappointed with the 8×10 printout because they cropped our feet off when there was plenty of space on top. It looked really unprofessional since the smaller printouts were fine. When we emailed them inquiring about the cd and the picture, they only responded to the cd and disregarded the picture question. I posted on their facebook page and they responded. Well, we got a new print out of the picture but it’s all washed out. You can’t win with them.

I have to agree that the Groupon option is NOT worth it. Save you money as you would be better off having a friend take your pictures or doing it on your camera phone. You show up to the location having no idea what your photographer looks like and so you are simply looking like a crazy person walking up to people asking «Are you the photographer?» Which is crazy because the locations are all places with nice scenes so everyone has cameras! I told the photographer from the beginning that I was not interested in wasting time trying to capture traditional pictures with poses (we have a 2 year old and 10 month old twins). What did she do? Continue to try to put us in posed positions. She had no imagination what so ever and by the second snap, I knew I would not like the pictures. We indicated that we had small children so I HOPED we would get someone good with children but I think this photographer is best with plants. She asked us to stand on the side walk (in a high traffic area) so it took forever just to get the mediocre shots she took. I absolutely hate the pictures and they could have been good if she had an ounce of imagination or if she let me know I was sweating in the photo. I guess I got what I paid for (maybe I overpaid a little). I will be returning to our old photographer, 5x as much but worth every penny!

Got a response from customer service saying that management is looking into my complaints, but I haven’t heard about any changes, FYI.
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Summary:
From a cost-​benefit perspective, why would you buy the $ 19 Groupon hoping to get really good, professional family photos when you don’t even know who your photographer is?
Admittedly I bought the Groupon on a whim without taking a look at the Unilocal reviews.
Hire an amateur photographer friend — Even if you have to take 1000 photos at least you’ll have a more personable and fun experience.
I was able to get one good photo printed with the Groupon deal and it turned out alright… though see the nitty gritty comments below if you want specifics.
— — – My Experience — — —
This company has an interesting business model. Photo shoots are supposed to be intimate and personable. This company contracts out to photographers in the area (given that they have services across the nation). I could tell our photographer wasn’t really invested in my group, he was counting the minutes in our 30-​minute photo shoot, and was there to get paaaaid!!! (I checked, the photographers had a break after my group)
On the day of the photo shoot there were 3 photographers waiting for clients on the beach. Luckily we found them because they were also guessing who their clients were without a dedicated client/​client phone number for each individual photographer.
Our photographer was ok, not someone I would go back to, but he did take some pretty awesome pictures. However, what’s the point of taking awesome pictures when you can only print one with the Groupon and then must pay $$$ for the rest of the pictures?
Don’t count on the lo-​res CD being usable, it’s not even worth sending the pictures; the blurriness hurts my eyes. 57 pictures fit into ONE email (you can request CD or email). That tells you how lo-​res the pictures are.
The quality of the printed photo was decent. The company uses Kodak Professional Endura paper. There is visible texture like the professional photographs, but let’s be clear… I got 1 — 8×10, 2 — 5x7s, 4 — 5×3 ³⁄₈^th (not a 4×5 as stated on their Groupon/​ordering site), and 8 wallet sizes.
Glad we brought our own camera!!!

Review for Dallas, Tx. — Although the experience was fun, the result was only one good shot. One. I would have bought a lot more but my hair was messy or clothing needed to be straightened and I was not told. In fact, my one good shot was the last one in where I felt my hair and combed it down. The photogtapher was sweet but has no real understanding of portrait photography. Thank goodness this was a groupon.
TIPS: SEARCH THE WEB FOR TIPS ON HOW TO DRESS. BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU TO TELL YOU IF SOMETHING DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT.

I purchased their service through a Groupon and must say that this is absolutely the worst photo experience. After booking months in advance for an appointment, I never got a confirmation email. Only after I called the day before did I receive the confirmation on the day of the photo shoot. Apparently, I was supposed to get one, but it was never sent. On the day of the photo shoot, the photographer was late. He must’ve spent 10 minutes talking about what he plans to do, but all gibberish as it was not related to how we should pose or where we stand. We spent majority of the time walking around the park finding a place to take picture. The photographer has NEVER been to this designated location. So, anyways, after taking a bunch of awkward pictures, I receive no instructions on reviewing or retrieving these photos. I called, left a message (by the way, this place NEVER has live people picking up phone calls; you always have to leave a voice message for them to call you back). Someone called me back and gave me general instructions. I didn’t stay on the phone to access those pictures, and only realize afterwards that you need to enter a password to view pictures. So, I had to call the second time, leave a message, wait for the call back, and get more instructions. OMG, can’t you give me complete information the first time? But I guess by then, I got the pattern that this company has poor customer service, very minimal communication, and unprofessional photographers. I won’t be surprised that one day very soon this company goes out of business.

I would rate zero if i could. I bought a Groupon and planned on using it to get photos taken of me and my 2 year old daughter for Mothers Day. We live about 35 mi away from location so we arrived about 20 min early. We saw the photographers with another couple so we walked around a little and waited… and waited and waited. They disappeared. So 20 min after our scheduled time we called portrait scene and were told to call back if they weren’t there in 5 minutes. So we waited then it started pouring down rain and the 2 of us got soaked running to our car. I called again and was told the photographers cancelled due to rain? So if they would have shown up at 11 when they said they would, we would have been done before the rain even started. Oh and Thanks for the refund of my «19.99» or offering a new session a month from now? Any mother of a two year old knows how difficult it is to get a kid ready for photos, not to mention i got a hair cut got a new dress and was really excited to get a great photo with my daughter. Way to ruin my mothers day. I hope no one uses this company as disappointed doesn’t even cover how i feel.

I purchased a Groupon for Portrait Scene hoping to take pictures with my son for Father’s Day for his dad who is deployed in Qatar.
The experience was less than satisfactory. I live in Southern California. The photographer arrived late (and they told us to be on time so we don’t lose time.) He was fine and was able to capture a couple of smiling pictures of an uncooperative toddler. When the proofs were available, I upgraded the Groupon to buy a larger and more expensive package.
The pictures arrived in a bent package. Portrait Scene sent my $ 250 pictures in a cheap box that had bent during shipping by the USPS. When I called to complain, they said I could send it back and «cross out» my address so the USPS will ship it back to them for free (fraud) since it was «partly their fault» (even though the company was the one who sent it in a cheap package”. OR I can email them a picture of all the pictures that were damaged so they can reprint it. I have to send them an email of every page! Really? I will opt for the 2^nd choice.
Also be warned that the pictures are printed on cheap paper… like the ones I can purchase at Costco. They are not of the quality paper I would receive from a portrait studio nor of the quality I was hoping to receive. Some of the pictures were also overexposed so the background is too bright. They don’t correct that at all unless you pay another $ 100 for that service.
I was hoping to like them and use them again. But the quality and customer service are sub-​par.