Bella Pictures Wedding Photography

I never inquired with these people, yet they’re calling and emailing me. I don’t even live in San Francisco! Not even close. Clearly, I WON’T be booking with you. So leave the the **** alone! Get your business the right way — by being diligent and showing outstanding work. Not by harassing people until they despise you enough to write a bad review. So unbelievably annoying!

I wish I could give negative stars. Horrible company, if you are going to deal with this company please be sure to avoid Chandra Beloff as much as possible. Stay away from that rude lady! She doesn’t call back and has one heck of an attitude when she finally gets back to you! Unreliable and horrible customer service.

This is long overdue!
Heidi Huber was assigned to photograph my wedding in 2012 via Bella Pictures. My wife and I met with her and she seemed cool. We explained what we wanted and she seemed to be on the same page as we were. We also explained we had a big wedding party and needed coordination at the time of the wedding (14 groomsmen/​bridesmaids total), Heidi said no problem.
Day of the wedding. Heidi decides that she will completely not give a flying fuck about her work!
1. She acted miserable and disinterested the whole day.
2. She took a bunch of photos against the light. I am pretty sure thats Photography 101 that everyone knows not to do.
3. She did not at all try to organize our group. We asked her multiple times to direct our group and tell us where to stand and how to pose. (we discussed this when we met her). Additionally, members of our bridal party approached her and asked her to direct and improve her attitude.
4. We had a list of must take photos and guess what my wife doesn’t have a single photo with her mom.
5. She was rude to some of our family members that were also trying to take some pictures of the wedding.
Heide ruined our special moment. She ruined it so bad that we decided to rent a tux again and re-​shoot the pictures with another photographer. We now have great wedding photos.
Thanks for nothing!

I would give our photographers a 5-​star rating but the service Bella provided was less than expected. Btw, Bella filed for bankruptcy! We never received our wedding album and CD for the engagement shoot. Worst of all, the website that we used for viewing our photos was gone too! I am not surprised if they went bankrupt because for photos and videos I paid $ 5000 but the service I got from Bella was not that great. They sent us 20 8×10s of what they call «My Story» supposedly the best photos of my wedding. HOnestly after I looked at all my photos, there were photos that were much better but instead they sent me ones that aren’t worth keeping. For those who got great service, you guys were the lucky ones. I felt cheated on. REgardless, I had a great wedding. Hoping I can keep my memory for 50 more years and still remember the great moments I had.

Would never ever recommend them… I got married last year in sept all I ever received was my proofs and thank god, they have a new owner and the old field bankruptcy. I was told I will not be receiving my 4 albums I paid for and my chances of getting any money back are none. More upset that the new company is not offering even a discount to make the albums. Disappointed, sad, upset.

If you want to own pictures you may never use… Use these people! They took a few good pictures but missed out on important things like my husband and his mom. Family photos with his and my family. So many must haves were left out and you dont meet your photographer until the day of.
Our album I submitted on 12÷31÷12 and haven’t received any feedback from them. Their reps they have assigned to us have changed at least 3 times. You get what you pay for dont be cheap a wedding is ONE DAY and you can’t redo it… spend a little more or find someone you can look at their work and meet them.
SABEL STUDIOS is another one of their companies same thing !! STAY AWAY!

First of all, I was dubious of using an online photography company for my wedding pictures, but I needn’t worry, they worked out just great.
I worked through everything with with my sales rep, and insisted that I choose who I wanted to photograph my wedding by looking through several portfolio’s from the style I had specified. I didn’t want to be assigned someone at the end, so they worked with me on that. I chose Helynn Ospina, a new photographer. We thought we were all set, until 3 weeks before my wedding Helynn cancelled on us, giving no reasons, and no apology. Bella handled the situation really well, and we ended up getting a far better photographer, with years more experience, Michael Rueter.
Michael was fun, worked the crowd well, and we great pictures. I was happy with Bella in the end, as it all turned out well, even if one photographer cancelled right at the last minute! The album is beautiful, and the whole package we bought was really good value. It was stressful for a while when we didn’t have anyone assigned, but Bella quickly fixed the issue. All’s well that ends well.

We hired Bella Pictures for our August 2011 wedding because they were one of the more affordable photography companies. Well you obviously get what you pay for and we got garbage!
I don’t know why it is so much of a mystery of who the photographer is and what his work looks like until so late. Marty or Martin, showed up to my home on time which was great. Set up quickly and started his work. Through out the entire day I assumed he was doing a great job until I received my CD in the mail. The shots were horrible!
UNEDITED! I told him I wanted to emphasis on the immediate family and I only have one picture with my mom. And it isn’t a clear one either. The reception photos were extremely dark. Basically all of my photos looked as though my little cousin went around with a disposable camera taking pictures. NO LIE!
I would NEVER recommend this NON professional snap shot place to any couple!

I don’t usually write bad Unilocal reviews, but Bella Pictures earned this. This is my personal experience, and opinions of the situation. Not meant to disparage or «Slander» the company. (I don’t need their attorneys sending me threatening letters to remove my review). I am just saying, it’s okay to try to save money on photography services, but please balance your expectations with budget considerations.
When a couple contracts me to coordinate their wedding day, it is my responsibility to take care of their every wish and need. Our photographer last night was among the laziest, and apathetic «wedding photographers» I have worked with in 18 years.
We had a wonderful couple yesterday, and the wedding was terrific! My Bride and Groom did deserve a much better photographer! When asked to take photos of the Bride and Groom during table visits, he told me «Bella Pictures has a policy against taking table shots.» In an effort to not get in an argument, I told him I would appreciate it if he would do it anyway, he then says «I don’t work for you.» I knew there was nothing more I could do or say with this guy.
The MOB approached me just a few minutes later to complain about the photographer as well, stating that she had asked him to take photos of a very touching family moment (as he just stood by idly) he replied «Why?»
Many times throughout the day and night, he just sat in a chair in front of the guests as my staff watched him in astonishment, but being that he «Doesn’t work for me» and clearly didn’t respect that I and my team are there to carry out the wishes of our Bride, Groom, and their families, there was nothing we could do to get this guy on the ball.
Feel free to contact my office if you have questions about this, or your event in general. I am not a photographer, but as a Wedding Planner, I know and work with many great photographers and event professionals in a variety of price ranges. YOU DESERVE BETTER! Don’t settle for unprofessional event services just because you are on a tight budget.
Jason Diavatis
707−745−3812

Bella Pictures is everywhere when you are researching photographers or on wedding websites. **BE WARNED!
My wedding is in August and I booked with them in September 2010. Since then, it has been one hot mess after another. The customer service is TERRIBLE! I have had to complain on multiple occasions to get answers to my questions. There is a «team» that is assigned to you to address your every need. The only issue? That «team» sends out generic templated emails that does not always pertain to your specific situation.
I was recently assigned a photographer that was less than stellar. Prior to the assignment, I was asked to rate photos that most resembled what I had envisioned for my wedding. The person they selected in no way reflected that! I called and requested a reassignment and was acknowledged by one of the team members.
Two weeks after, not one, but two generic emails were sent out to me to confirm that the photographer I had requested a reassignment for is locked for both my engagement and wedding session. Seriously?
Needless to say, I am not happy but the contract I signed with them is solid. I’m stuck.
My advice to everyone considering Bella Pictures… find a photographer you like and deal with them directly.
I am, however, optimistic that my new photographer will ease some of the pain that I have felt…

This update is for the Studio Blue /​Bella Pictures photo enhancement and print services. My previous review was for their photography services.
We weren’t planning on using Studio Blue’s print and enhancement services before, but hey, they gave us $ 650 credit to use online. We picked out 20 photos for enhancements and 1 photo for print. Note: their website is annoying and not very user-​friendly at all.
The print came in the mail less than a week after the order was placed. Fast turnaround, but average print quality and paper, and a tad bit too dark. Unless you purchase enhancements before you select a photo for print, they’ll print the photo EXACTLY as it is. They don’t bother to calibrate the colors properly.
The website says «Important note: It will take up to seven business days for your enhancement order to be completed.» Even with the holidays in there, the fact that our order took over a month to complete is absurd. Order history listed the enhancements as processing and the last modified date was a day after the order was placed. No updates at all. I had to contact customer service, the images eventually showed up online, but wouldn’t allow me to download them. I had to contact customer service again. They didn’t understand why the website wasn’t giving me a download option, so they agreed to mail a CD. A week later, I got a confirmation saying the CD had just been mailed. Studio Blue prides itself as being a photo company that customers can easily interact with online… uhh, they sure have a lot of kinks to work out in the system.
The enhancements? Uhh, simply awful. We purchased the Flawless Glow package (typically $ 30 per photo) — the example on their website looked pretty good. Our enhanced photos were not great at all. Looked like someone cranked up the brightness by 50% and went crazy with the blur tool in Photoshop. There are absolutely no sharp edges in the photos. Faces are barely recognizable anymore. I looked like an alien in one photo. They had blurred all definition of my chin and cheeks. Basically, my face had been turned into a blob with eyes, a mouth, and a hint of a nose floating in a blurry mess. One photo had blue sky and green grass; their enhancements made the colors look so horrendously artificial it makes you wonder if you’re on drugs.
So, to summarize… Bella Pictures and it’s sister company, Studio Blue — okay customer service, unprofessional and somewhat incompetent photographer, disappointing wedding photos, average print services, and awful enhancements. Don’t waste your money here.

Ugh, It really hurts me to have to do this, but unfortunately, I would not recommend Bella for wedding day photography. I had much hesitation about booking with Bella in the first place, and against my better judgement, we went ahead and booked because I had heard good things about their company. From the day we booked with them, we had nothing but problems and were close to breaking the contract with them multiple times.
During the year + period we had them booked for, we were emailed about 10 times by individuals saying they were our new rep. Each person gave a different story, and would continuously make references to aspects that were not included in our package (which we got just the basic shoot and burn package). Reps were asking about our album (which we were not getting), and making different promises that were never followed through on. When it came time for our engagement shoot, we had only an email with the time but had no information on who we were meeting, nor had we ever even been notified by him to give feedback on what we wanted. We were told that our engagement photographer would be the same that would shoot our wedding, only to find out from him that he was moving in the future and wouldn’t be available for our wedding. We were told by one rep that we would get to meet our photographer in person, only to find from the next rep that this isn’t within bella’s policy. It honestly felt like the whole process was all about getting the money, and that these new reps weren’t even taking the time to review the file before contacting us. The turnover rate is ridiculous, and I question what they do to train their staff since there is so much inconsistency between who you speak to.
In the end, we were matched with a phenomenal photographer, who we were really happy with. However, I think we got really lucky and were probably given her since we made multiple threats to pull our contract. Bella has a pool of great photographers, and some who are not so great. You roll the dice, especially since the person we initially meet with who assured she would be matching us with the photographer after she got a sense of our style, was long gone by the time the match was made.
Yes, our pictures turned out great, but the way the business is run is not worth the headache or the roll of the dice chance you are taking on your wedding photography. Pay the extra money, and book someone directly. At least you will know what you will be getting.

This was the WORST company to work with! I know the prices are tempting — that’s what got us — but there are great photographers out there who will work in the same price range. SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE.
When you meet with them initially at their offices, they are incredibly professional and great — answer all your questions, very competent, friendly, the whole lot. The problem starts when you sign up and are passed on to their representatives. The people who work there are the most INCOMPETENT people I have ever worked with.
First, I kept getting the same generic emails FROM THE SAME PERSON over and over again (e.g., she «introduced» me to my photographer 5 times in one week).
Then, another representative screwed something up with my order, so that rep threw in some free bonuses as a sorry (I didn’t ask for them, but I thought it was a really nice gesture.) Little did I know that his nice gesture meant that for several months after my wedding, I would keep getting contacted by representatives demanding payment on my «balance» which was these «free» extras. Each time, I forward the email from the rep clearly stating i am added these extras to your package for free. Then they call back and apologize for the mix-​up… a month later, the story repeats… SERIOUSLY??? Tech support in India would be a huge improvement.
These are only a couple examples. Every step of the way, I wish I had just worked with a photographer and videographer rather than this forsaken company.

I have never hated a business more than Bella Pictures. The photography looks great and they seem to have a great idea of what a business «should» do to keep their clients happy. Too bad the issue is not the photography, its their representatives! My salesperson was Adam and he was great! I told him that I wanted to schedule a engagement session but I was never able to actually schedule a session!
A couple of weeks after that I get an email from someone named Ashley saying that she’s sure that I am aware that she is going to be taking over my account… UMM NO! I thought I was only dealing with Adam. That being said I filled her in on what I was looking for and that I still needed to schedule an engagement session. Figures she doesn’t follow up on the engagement session either. At that point I had already paid 820 towards my package!
A couple more weeks go by and still nothing! I ask for a supervisor and I get the run around. At this point my fiancé is pissed off and finally gets through to a supervisor named Denae, he leaves a message on Wednesday and on Friday afternoon he calls her again. She FINALLY answers and when he asks about the previous voicemail she says, «To be honest I haven’t checked my voicemail yet.» WTF you have had 2 days to check your voicemail!!! GET WITH IT PEOPLE!
Another couple of weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, she didn’t offer an engagement session and when I asked her for her supervisor’s name she declines to respond to me. After about a month of digging and complaining I have FINALLY gotten a response from a VP of the company. What does the VP try to offer me to keep my business? A VIP package with Denae!!! Hello, didn’t I just tell you I didn’t like the way she does business?
I DO NOT RECOMMEND BELLA TO ANYONE! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND YOUR SANITY AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
The type of service I received should be expected from a grad student who has been in this business less than 6 months. I’d like to assume they’ve paid for all of the awards they have apparently «won,

my husband and I both feel we got lucky to have come across Bella — and that we chose this company as our wedding photographer. Everything went so perfect! All the hard work paid off. so thank you with helping, it all turn out so great! From start to finish, the service was superb! Everything Bella Pictures said they could do and would do was exactly what we received, plus more! If you’re looking for stress free photography service. you will get stress-​free :) Regardless of the many changes to the individual (s) assigned to help us during the entire process, Bella Pictures was very helpful, especially since when we were planning a wedding (to take place in CA) from all the way across the states (in MI & NY) .
The photographer, Ron Griggs, is an awesome photographer! Very nice and just so easy to work with and talk to. We were very pleased to have been matched up with you.
We appreciated how Ron was flexible and willing to go with the flow. He listened to our wants and need but also had really helpful suggestions making everything fit together even better than we could have wanted. Ron never seemed to take a break making make sure he captured every little and big moment throughout the night. It was crazy how most of the time we didn’t even realize he was taking pictures, but he gave us a sneak peak of a few shots — really cool! Even though we only had one photographer, the photos taken by Ron seem as though we had more than one. We are pleased with the end result; however we wish we had gotten a few more of the ‘traditional’ type of immediate family photos we had written down on our list of wanted photos for him to capture.
All the Bella staff members we ‘met’ along the way are definitely professional and responsive. I would absolutely recommend this company to anyone looking for a photographer.
Thanks a million to help make our special night even more special.
Take care,
Danielle and Casey
(Traveled from MI to Walnut Creek, CA for our 9÷26÷09 wedding)

I used Bella for my wedding on August 29^th and LOVE LOVE LOVE my wedding pictures! I went with Bella because of their packages, pricing, and their beautiful albums. I liked that I could go online and rate pictures to determine the style I prefer, and I didn’t have a problem with not meeting our photographer in person, as corresponding by email and phone is more convenient for me.
Once we were assigned our photographer (Paul Perez), I was able to go to the Bella site to view his bio, some of his work, and even an interview of him. I felt completely confident in his ability. To help me prepare for our phone meeting, Paul sent me an email with a list of questions to think about. It helped me to plan out which photographs were most important for him to capture. Then we had a two-​hour phone meeting where he asked more detailed questions, took diligent notes, and helped me envision how the day would go and when we would be able to take certain shots. Paul has a great eye and took stunning photographs. He was very easy to work with, was never obtrusive, paid attention to what was important to us, and was open to our ideas. He even stayed past his contracted time because we were behind schedule.
We received notice that our pictures were online just two weeks after the wedding and are thrilled with them! My husband told me that looking at our wedding pictures was «like falling in love with me all over again.» I too felt like I was re-​living the day’s events. It was a painstaking process to sort out our favorites because there were so many fantastic shots. Our family and friends are equally impressed with our wedding pictures, telling us that they’re amazing! We’re so glad we chose Bella Pictures and can’t wait to start creating the album!

It’s a month before my wedding and they still haven’t contacted me with a photographer!
The coordinator emailed me two months ago informing me that they are «ready» to match me with a photographer but we just need to answer a few questions and grade a bunch of pictures to see what we like. What was the point of our consultation? Was our conversation just through out of the window? We’ve told them in the beginning what we like and don’t like in our photos.
When we finally did answer those questions, we never got a response back. Was it our job to follow up with them to inform them we’re done grading the pictures?
When I had an inquiry regarding the engagement session, i was told the earliest time they can book us is a week, yes a week before the wedding! And the prints won’t be ready then and even though we book an earlier session, they still woudn’t be ready for the reception. What the heck is the point of the engagement photos?
So we’ve decided to cancel our photography contract with Bella. And spoke to the consultant we first dealt with. The only thing I liked is that she does response very fast but she made it hard for us to cancel all this gibberish talk about not being able to find a photographer at this time, well you know what? We did and we’re talking to the photographer himself! And she had the nerve to say that they have tried to contact me about the matched photographer. BS! Who tried to contact me? I neither received that email or phone call. You think something important as that will be ignored? Ugh. The only other good thing is that we’ll get the whole refund in 21 days except for the $ 50 for booking them in the beginning.
Well my advise to all brides. DO NOT BOOK WITH BELLA!!! As what another photographer said, they are just a walmart photography. No offense to walmart, in fact I like walmart! But if you want really good quality products, would you go to walmart?

We just received our pictures (on-​line) after our wedding and are so happy! They turned out great!
So far Bella has done a great job. Our consultant is Heather Flores. She was awesome at our first consultation. She knew her stuff, and spent a long time getting to know what we liked. She showed us samples of the album we would have and we were IMPRESSED! Absolutely beautiful, and definitely unique.
We then had «homework» to do, which basically consisted of rating pictures on-​line and filling out some questionnaires. During the 6 months between booking and our wedding, Heather was in contact with us via phone and email making sure everything was going OK, and asking if we need any assistance with our wedding planning.
We were assigned Heidi Huber early in December, which we were thrilled about! Unfortunately we did not get to meet her in person. My husband and I swear they promised we would meet our photographer in person, but Heather said that was incorrect. So far that’s the only thing preventing them from getting all 4 stars. We were really nervous about not meeting Heidi prior to the wedding, but looking at her personal portfolio and having a few phone meetings helped.
The homework Bella had us do really helped pick out a perfect photographer for us. Heidi was a perfect match! The price of Bella is incredible for what you get. Having the digital Negatives included are a huge plus!
We received the pictures on-​line 3 weeks after the wedding, and are now awaiting our digital negatives and to begin designing our album. Will update after it’s complete.

OK. The Albums clinched it. WOW! I mean WOW. Really, really well done Album (leather cover, big thick pages — velevet pouche and a box.)
Plus we got 2 parent clones which are huge themselves.

Based on the professionalism and photography (on the website, and seen in person with our consultant), Bella seems to offer a great price (starting at $ 2050). We did have some qualms about the whole not knowing our photographer until 90 days before, but it seemed like there were options if we didn’t end up liking him or her. All that said, we are getting married on a budget, and we ended up finding another photographer we really like at a lower price point.
But definitely, if we had more $ to spend, we probably would’ve gone with Bella. Some of the pictures were amazing.