We decided to take our Christmas photos here & it did not disappoint. The photographers were so great! We came with our own ideas of poses and they added their own as well. They were super friendly and fun and totally worked with what we wanted. They heard us and saw our vision and made it come to life. It's a little pricier than it used to be, you're going to spend about 300$ or more, but it's still wayyyyy cheaper than a private photographer. The photos honestly came out great! The style we were going for was cheesy/fun. They don't have a lot of backdrop options so don't expect too much! It's great for a fun, quick, and lower budget photo shoot. read more

See all

We come for my kids' birthday photos every year. I love the easy scheduling process online. Michelle is our absolute favorite photographer. And Alexandra was super helpful! It is a bit expensive, but we always come with a coupon which are available on their website. read more

Oh man, this was a pretty bad experience from beginning to end. Absolutely do not recommend them. The photographer had clearly very little experience and very little people skills. She made us feel rushed and unheard from beginning to end. I wanted above all else pictures of my baby and older son first especially as babies tire out quickly. She immediately started taking the least important group photos with kids and adults first after I specifically said the opposite. The one back ground I really wanted was literally filthy dirty and could not be used. The 2 back grounds that were used instead literally ruined all the pictures. The back grounds washed us out and looked so ugly and cheap. There was very little posing instruction and literally 2 snaps for each pose regardless if people were smiling or not or clothing and hair were in place or not. Studio itself was hot, dark, cramped, small, ugly and cluttered and did not inspire smiles that's for sure. It felt like we were in someone's hot ugly clutter closet. It was so weird. End result photos were mostly a fail with a few ok ones but nothing great whatsoever. Then when wanting to purchase we found out you don't/can't get anything in store on site or same day. Not even a flash drive with photos or anything. And if you want to order prints or canvas or anything you have to pay for shipping and it takes about 2 weeks to get them. If you wanted to expedite shipping it was $40 but would still take a while. The prices were not great but they tried to pretend like it was such a great deal and options were far too limited. The whole experience was so sad, depressing, disappointing and frankly ugly. I won't go back which is so unfortunate because I love photos. I wish Picture People was still around. I'll attach 1 photo for reference of their work. They literally barely tried to get the baby to smile and didn't care if he was even looking at the camera the whole shoot. Such a weird experience and frankly I'm upset I wasted so much time, energy and still spent $130 just to get the mediocre/bad photos sent to me on Shutterfly. I don't know who is managing this studio but they should be embarrassed. Sorry to sound so harsh but it was beyond a let down and I even went in with low expectations. * update: after reviewing our pictures again, I am upset to realize that the photographer didn't take any pictures of me/mom with my 2 sons... and I was the person who booked the session. Additionally, no pictures was taken of the 4 of us as a family mom, dad and 2 boys... a bunch of other less important combinations of people were taken but not the most obvious and important pictures that should be at the top of the list. read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

Good headshots for professional use. Not a glamour studio. Just nice, professional photography with no pretense

Super duper impressed!! Boyfriend and I have always wanted to do the awkward 80's Christmas Photos and decided to throw our 2 dogs into the mix. It felt CHAOTIC bc our dogs didn't know wtf was going on, yet somehow Madison managed to capture the most stunning, hilarious, adorable, photos of both of us and our dogs. Madison was GREAT at getting and keeping their attention. We didn't have a clue what poses to do and Madison orchestrated the whole thing wonderfully. Didn't break the bank either. Overall, VERY impressed and cannot wait to update this review with our pics. Thank you Madison!! read more

See all

Michelle, our photographer and manager of the studio, was AWESOME as usual. We have had her take pictures for our family for 7 years now. She has worked at JCP studios for over 34 years. She is professional and nice. She knows how to have my now 8 year old daughter pose, smile, and laugh. She is also fast. After she sets up the backgrounds we selected (pulling curtains), she snaps photos with various props (or no props at all) in about 11 minutes. Takes about 10 minutes for the photos to be ready for viewing. We selected which three prints we want digitally. (They arrive in about 2 hours from Shutterfly, but JCP says 24 hrs just to be safe). We selected which picture we want in hard copy and which size, and you pay for shipping (about $10) after covid instead of pickup at the store, and it took 1 day for the email notification that my picture shipped. Great experience, great deal, and great pictures. (Depends on your photographer I've had not so good ones at JCP before). Would recommend very much! read more

We had a good time taking family portraits here! It was our first time. They offer military discounts! The photographer was so friendly, experienced, and was very good working with my child! She took the best photos. We love the different photo packages, props and backdrops! We will return again next year! read more

Let's talk about Michelle..an amazing photographer, super talented, professional, helpful and all the good things you can say. We came in yesterday to have few pictures of our 1 year old birthday boy. The photos are beautiful, we are more than happy. Highly recommended!! read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

The picture you see with this post is all you should need to wisely avoid this business. Enough said? Terrible service. Terrible software. Terrible results. Hours of time and precious moments totally wasted. read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

I was disappointed by the service we received here. They need to update their booking/scheduling procedures to facilitate quicker intake. We waited over an hour for our Christmas photo session even though we booked an appointment a month in advance. Why have appointments if you're having your customers wait anyway? They even took another group in for their session who arrived later than us. When we asked, they said they accidentally put the other group's paper on top of ours. This is unprofessional at best and incompetent at worst. Meanwhile, in the hour we waited, our 4 and 2 year old children became cranky and antsy so when it finally came time for photos they were completely distracted and uncooperative. Our photographer didn't seem too comfortable or experienced with children and we received very little direction or enthusiasm. The value of the package and per-person session fee just don't seem worth the inconvenience and stress. We'll be going somewhere else next year. read more

This is a solid portrait studio. We came in with a Groupon and let them know that right away. We showed up a few minutes prior to our 10am appointment and were able to get started on time. The photographer we had was very patient with the 3 year old in our party and was very friendly with him. He loves trains so she found a train for him to play with so he would warm up to her and the whole idea of photographs. The photographs turned out well. She did about 15 poses so we had a lot of choices for our package. Our digital photos were available within about an hour hour online which was fantastic. The studio seemed a tad dated but was fully functional. We had only a few choices in back drops but did manage to find one that worked with what we had on. The photographer was a good salesman and really tried to push sales. I felt a bit inundated though. You just don't have to stay firm with what you wanted so spend. read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

I highly recommend this studio. The photographers are very professional. We had the pleasure of having Harper as our photographer for our maternity photoshoot today. He was very thorough, creative, patient, and nice. JC Penney Studio & their clients are very lucky to have him. I will come back here for a newborn session. read more

I have to say that overall my husband and I were impressed with what we got. We didn't have high expectations and didn't need anything crazy and it was just our son being photographed though so it was pretty easy. I made our appointment online and quickly learned that was a big mistake and now I know to call in and talk to someone. The issue is that we needed birthday pictures and Christmas pictures. During the Christmas time they only allow 15 minute time slots to get your pictures and no outfit changes. This is not enough time to get one type of photo with a one year old, let alone 2 types. I did not know this was the case until 2 days before our pictures when I got the appointment reminder call. I had to call in and explain that I would then need 2 time slots because there two types of pictures weren't an option. They were kind about rescheduling but it had to be during the week when they had more time. It was limited options but we changed our schedules around and got the picture time slots we needed. The day of we got there a bit early and we were helped right away. We worked with the photographer to pick the best background for the birthday pictures and we used their Christmas background for those pictures. Our son was nervous at first, as would be expected. He had a hard time during the birthday pictures but we got a few good ones. He was very warmed up for Christmas pictures and was all over the place exploring and loving the attention. I'm not sure who our photographer was but she did an awesome job trying to make sure our son was comfortable with her and would take good pictures and we got some really got options. After the pictures were taken came the actual hard part which was picking out the prints we wanted. I picked out 10 prints and then we also got a digital of all of the pictures. We spent $112 on all of it and honestly, we feel like it was worth the money we spent. We are happy with our pictures and made a great Birthmas card to send out to family and friends to celebrate our son's birthday and Christmas. I'm sure there will be years that we want family photos and we will go elsewhere but for just getting a simple picture of my kids for their birthday or christmas, this will do! read more

This location is amazing. After having an issue at another office, I was sent to this location where RASHA & ANDREA helped me. RASHA WAS AMAZING!! The pictures she captured truly came out wonderful. Andrea was very helpful and great at mutli-tasking. As she was helping RASHA with us and doiNg her shoots as well. Over all I can say I'm a very satisfied customer! And will be returning to this location if I need more pictures taken. I am very pleased with the customer service here and happy to recommend friends and family here. read more

See all

I have never in my life been so disappointed with family phones for the past ten years I've been going to jc penny's to have my family photos well let me just say I feel like I just waisted my money not even one good photo was taken read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

My husband and I recently visited this studio for photos with our newborn daughter. - making an appt. was very easy - Our photographer Monica was awesome. She was very polite, professional, accommodating and knew what she was doing. - Monica knew exactly how to work with newborns - we were there for about 2 hours and were very pleased with the end result - Monica went through our pictures with us, while we were there - the pricing for the entire session was very good - we recd. an online link and digitals to download right away - the studio was very clean Will definitely suggest this studio to anyone looking to get professional photos taken. read more

We went in for family photos with our newborn and Monica was really helpful and she got some amazing photos of our family and our baby. The service was excellent. We spent over two hours with Monica and I really don't think it was enough time, she was working alone and had to keep answering the phone and dealing with walk ins while she was working with us. This was frustrating, but otherwise she took awesome photos and was really nice from a customer service stand point. We will for sure go back here for more photos and I will ask for Monica for our next trip. Thanks Monica. read more

I was skeptical about getting my professional pics done here and cancelled a few days to my appointment. I found a photographer who charged me over $350 and took horrible horrible pics. I made another appointment with JC Penney and paid $99 for great pics. The pics where delivered to my Shutterfly account in 3 hours. JC Penney is the place to take your pics, don't pay those photographers charging lots of money, claiming to be the best... , they will waste your time and money!!!I gave a 4 star because I believe a photo shoot session as a private moment between the client and the photographer. The studio had no privacy. There are customers walking on the other side and some actually stop and stare at you posing. JCP should fix this. Privacy is key. I don't want random strangers all up in my business like that. read more

I came and got portraits done with my sister and son. We had a groupon for 3 digital photos and 1 print. The lady who did our pictures was very nice and patient with my 3 year old. She took about 20 pictures to ensure we got some great pictures. My only issue was they spent more time trying to upsell us then looking at the pictures. Overall it was a nice experience and I will be back to this location. read more

Michelle was absolutely amazing. I have a newborn and a 3.5 year old and she was super patient caring and very helpful with what to do since they can't touch our stuff with covid. I would def recommend pictures with Michelle pictures are great and she was very nice!!!! read more

I would never go to a JC Penny studio again - the markup is insane and even if you decline the photos all they simply do is run the photos through the shredder - for a box of paper that cost less than 50 bucks you would think they would come down on the prices vice 300-500 dollar packages. Insane! read more

Loved this location. First of all MONICA C. Is THE BEST! No joke! She was patient, attentive, worked well with our 3 boys AND took so many cute pictures for us to choose from it made the experience amazing. This was our first time doing family photos at a studio so i was prepared for a hit or miss. I've always seen groupons and coupons for the JCP studio but haven't tried it til now. I was really impressed with the service and attention she provided while taking the photos. Moving on to the purchasing experience, MARTHA made it simple. She edited, created collages, presets and enhanced majority of our posses. She then allowed me to custom all the collages I want from font, coloring and sizing. She was patient and understanding. She definitely didn't push the sale but because I was so happy with the experience we definitely spent a lot more than what the groupon covered. This experience will have us coming back every year. Maybe not to purchase such a huge package, but definitely for Christmas car photos. read more

Honestly my experience was horrible. The lady taking our photos had no idea how to shoot newborns and all the photos came out terribly awkward. I felt very rushed, she went so quickly we hardly had any photos to choose from. I think she took two photos of all three of us and both were not good shots... after it all we were reviewing the photos and I was too shy to say I didn't like them there and she even convinced me to buy $200+ worth of prints even after saying I only wanted digitals. After a few weeks I still hadn't bother to pick up the pictures (because what am I supposed to do with these terrible prints....) I called the customer service and asked about refunding the prints because I really wasn't happy with them. This is the only reason I gave two stars instead of one: the customer service lady agreed the photos were terrible and the lady clearly did not know how to shoot newborns so she gave me a full refund. However I can never get back the opportunity to get those perfect newborn photos and to this day I regret not going with a better photographer. read more

See all

I am beyond pleased with this place. My older son can be difficult, but the woman taking our photos was so gracious, calm and patient. She never once made me feel that we were taking too much time or being "strange." She was so sweet and understanding. My second time here, and the price is great (way better than picture people) but the employee made the real difference for me. read more

We took our 2 month old and 3 year old to have pictures done. We timed out everything so naps and feeds would work for the pictures. We arrived early to our scheduled appointment. At that time we were told that there would be a delay. Someone "called in sick" and they were running a short crew. There ended up being about a 45 minute wait, which is not easy with a 2 month old and 3 year old. Upon getting the kids into the studio area, the photographer asked us "well, what do you have in mind". Didn't offer any suggestions of her own. She actually gave us the impression that options were quite limited. She began positioning the kids. It was clear with how she was positioning the 2 month old that she had little experience. She was trying to position with the baby propping her head up with their arms. I've never seen a 2 month old be able to do this at this stage. The photographer then did little to try and grab the attention of the kids. Rather, she relied on my spouse to dance around and grab attention. She would excessive amounts of time prior to taking a shot. By the time she did, the kids were already squirming out of position. After 2 or 3 poses, the photographer said, well I think we have some good shots. She showed the pictures to my wife on the camera, and there wasn't a single halfway decent picture. We had to request more pictures to be taken. Upon completion of the shoot, the photographer showed us the pictures, which were horrible. The framing was poor and rarely were the kids in any kind of photogenic look. We asked what our obligation was with regards to purchase since we had done the shoot. The photographer and little to no knowledge of the packages, or what we were required to pay. I don't know if this woman was overworked, didn't care for her job,....or....what? Clearly, she was not interested on this day. This is the second poor experience I've had at this facility and will not be returning. The other episode was related to the staff providing the services as well. This should be something that JCPenny looks into. Clearly, they don't seem to concerned based on the quality employee that they are currently employing. Bottom line. Don't waste your time here. read more

They started us off w/a girl who was friendly and like a typical photographer...then she had her co-worker take over....the co-worker was cold and not able to get the kids attention at all. I was having a terrible time w/the kids and she wasn't able to engage them at all. Eventually she had the other worker come back... I was relieved. For some reason they were having a lot of problems with their camera. Several of the photos they took did not show as saved so they kept trying and trying then finally got it working again. My little girl was doing ok, but my little boy Jaiden was a mess...we got a few good ones and then we had been offered to take some in a plastic bath of Jaiden...I asked if we still had time. The nice photographer said of course! they were the cutest photos ever...I was really happy. We waited again to see the photos. they said we had to do it the same day, couldn't come back to look at them it took about 30 minutes for them to have the photos available for us to view on their computer. they were mostly terrible and I was sad.... then I noticed....where were the bath ones??? I couldn't find them anywhere!! they weren't there I asked and waited another 10min they spoke to me about it again and said they will fix it... then waited another 10min for them to come out and say their camera is malfunctioning and they can't get those photos off the camera I was disappointed but asked if I can come back after they fix it they said they can't fix it so I have to choose from the ones they had uploaded I inquired again about what was wrong?? Did the bath photos get deleted or didn't take or something? The employee rudly said"No...they were saved in the camera memory, on the card I believe...but they were unable to retrieve them to upload them to their computer system. " The nice girl left before we inquired further...she encouraged the other girl to work with us.....they said they will need to take more photos of other customers the next morning with that camera and our bath photos will likely be recorded over :( I asked if there was anyone else in the store who could help w/the camera, she said no. I asked about a manager she said they can't call a manager on the weekend. I pleaded that I come back the following morning when they open even...she said if I don't choose from the pics that were already uploaded then she would have to delete all of my photos... that it was now or never I was so upset....especially after such a long day...The baby was still fussy, barely hanging in there...I really wanted those photos (if possible)...I just wanted a chance!! I didn't do all that work starting early in the morning to get everyone ready then all the stress and time it took at the studio, for nothing! I became upset and asked for her name. She hesitated and eventually gave a name (she was dark skinned, very skinny long black shiny hair). Then i asked for the nice girls name she said she can't give that out to me it was terrible :( I (almost) cried when I got into the car because I felt so overwhelmed we were late for meeting our friends that were coming to our house for a bbq! I got a call the next day saying they actually were able to fix the camera and I could still come back and choose pics so I did and the bath ones were so adorable :) I purchased some pics but never going to that girl or studio again :( it's ok! :) read more

Hi, Hands down amazing great customer service, since the day I booked my appointment with Michelle. Super nice, outgoing and helpful. I told her the BAD experience I had at plaza Bonita, and I wanted to make sure whoever was going to be our photographer is kid friendly and she def made sure. CHANNEL / CHANTEL , our amazing photographer had so many patience with our 3 girls, who are 1 years old! She was super funny, nice and even stayed OT because we couldn't decide what pictures to pick!!!! Thank you so much again and again!!!? THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES! I can't wait to continue going with you guys!!!!! I am so excited to pick up our pictures Friday ! Best customer service ! read more

We have came in a few times already this year. I wanted to say that Katie is amazing. She is full of energy and great with the little ones. I have a 2year old and 10month and she is extremely patient and full of energy. I bring in what props I have and she puts together different poses etc. When it comes to purchasing she does not try and upsale. Told her what I wanted and she is very understanding. read more

JC Penny Portrait Studio - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Diego, California

It wasn't too bad. Just awkward. Felt kind of rushed as well & as if we didn't really have a say so in anything.

My family of 3 came by to get family photos done. Our photographer was alexis, she was super cute and sincere and extremely patient when my 6 month old was not smiling for the pictures but she didn't give up til' we had a couple cute pictures! -1 star for their price. It is pretty pricey to get your photos taken professionally but thankfully they had a great 40% off total price! - Overall they're fun and super nice to work with. Would probably come back when my little ones older! read more

Michelle was incredible! Absolutely amazing! She was professional, personable, and extremely talented. Beautiful pictures. We made our appointment online, arrived on time, and she took us right away. We are extremely pleased with the entire process. Thank you, Michelle! read more

Very satisfied with my graduation photos! Booking an appointment was easy and the session was quick. Recommend for anyone looking to get professional photos done in a hurry. read more

The photographers here do a good job. They were a pretty delayed with our appointment time but it was the holidays so they get a pass. However- this could have been really bad as we have an infant and sometimes u only get a small window of happy time. Luckily our little guy was in a great mood. I wish they would have taken more photos. And do NOT buy anything in the store!!! U will get gobs of emails afterwards with massive savings. I'm pretty ticked off that I purchase stuff in store and still get emails almost daily advertising less than half of what I paid. I wish the sales person would have given me the heads up. I called to see about a price match and they wouldn't do it. It's for that reason and the fact of the limited number of pics that they are getting their star rating. read more

The photographer was inexperienced and did not take good photos. Maybe if she had taken more photos, there would've been more to choose from, but I was not satisfied. Most photos were blurry. read more

I have had really hot or miss experiences here. At times I've had great photos, other times I've had terrible pictures where almost none come out. Like others have said for a half hour appointment they really should have more photos to choose from. Sadly sometimes I can get better pool photos of my son from my smart phone. read more

Our two sons are Autistic and so we set an appointment for 4:45 and scheduled it in January to ensure we could minimize: the wait time.Showed up for our 445 appointment 20 minutes early and waited and waited and waited. This is because what looked like a Walk-in got squeezed in before us and she bumped our appointment time to accommodate them. Sure enough, 5:30 came and went and still not taken back despite already being 45 minutes past the appointment time. We prepaid for our appointment and we should be offered a full refund. Horrible experience having to wait with our kids. Photographer did not seem to care when we voiced our concerns and also served a walk-in after our session before letting us see our pictures instead of making the walk-in wait. No offer of a discount for the wait. The second walk-in was a 15 minute additional wait to see our photos. We have used JC Penney for our photos numerous times, but likely never again after this! read more

Great experience!!! First family photos with my 10 month old! My husband had never had a photo session either and our photographer was AMAZING!! she kept my sons attention and all out photos came out with a smile on his face!! Bought a groupon for holiday cards and do not regret it!!! What a great session we had!! Thank you Jc penny's read more

Awesome customer service by Angela. We had a rough morning and my 6 year old was uncooperative. As soon as Angela brought her in to the photo room she was able to change her mood. I was extremely impressed how her awesome energy even change my mood from an angry mom to a happy mom :). read more

Took my 5 month old girl today and Monica was great!!! Very patient and accommodating to my requests. Will be back!

I needed some professional photos taken. The photographer did a great job. The price with the online coupon provided by the website made this way more affordable than anywhere else I've seen. Good value and I received a whole bunch of digital photos that I can keep using. read more