I should've followed my first instinct and gone somewhere else instead of being lazy and settling for this location. The only reason I'm giving one star is because the manager was kind enough to let me still make my appointment even though I was running late and they weren't busy. Now, as for the African American woman assisting with the photos (I didn't catch her name, unfortunately), the experience with her was absolutely terrible. When she asked if I had any coupons, I mentioned that I was sure I could find one on the website. She immediately told me it would take 24 hours to activate. While I was literally pulling it up, she then changed her story and said it was a different website she was referring to. It felt dismissive and unnecessarily rude. On top of that, she clearly lacks basic photography/customer service skills. She was just snapping pictures without giving any direction at all no adjustments, no help fixing poses, no guidance with my kids, nothing. I had to keep stopping the session myself to fix my children because she couldn't be bothered to say anything and just kept taking bad shots. What made it worse is that when it came time to choose photos, I truly feel like she intentionally selected the worst possible ones when I know there were much better options taken during the session. Overall, this was a frustrating, unprofessional, and disappointing experience. The rude attitude alone was enough to make sure I will never return. I absolutely would not recommend this location to anyone. read more

READ THE FINE PRINTS! We got charged $15 per person additionally to the pictures we purchase. They get shipped out to your home $10 shipping We weren't told abt the shipping fee until after we took all the pictures. read more

The studio is located on the 2nd floor. The Service: Victoria was helping me making an appointment and she is also the photographer for our session. She is very friendly. We arrived super early and she was kind enough to start our session earlier as well. Very accommodating! The Price: Check out Groupon for awesome deal! After purchased, I called the location I wanted and made an appointment. Don't forget to mention you have Groupon voucher. You can show your voucher from the Groupon app, they will take down the voucher number and apply to the service. The Parking: Plenty of parking spots in the plaza. read more

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Came to this location several times hoping for a better experience. Let me start by saying Victoria is always rushing and very impatient. Came in and wasn't happy about my baby pictures so we only purchased one . I asked what happened to all the pictures she took and she said she deleted them from the memory card . Once I got home my mother said she was willing to buy a few for memories but Victoria never confirmed my email for life touch photos . Usually we would receive a email w/photos after purchase & during the holidays my mom would go back and purchase photos and give them out to my family. I called Victoria back and informed her I never received a confirmation of purchase and she told me to take it up with customer service that she did not have to give me proof of purchase or confirm my email!! Avoid this location if you have a small baby they're impatient and rude and not helpful! read more

My sister and I decided to hop on the JC Penny portraits trend, and surprise our parents with memories to last a lifetime, haha! It was fun! Making a reservation online was easy. Leading up to it, we received email and calls confirming our shoot date. We arrived 10 minutes early and our session started right on time. All staff were friendly and welcoming. Andrew was our photographer and had a dry humor, which we both appreciated because it mirrors our style. He totally understood the assignment. We said that we saw the trend on social media so we wanted a fun, goofy shoot and he was like say no more. We had the best time! Andrew is awesome, give him a raise, lol! We bought the membership along with photos, so we'll be back for sure. Our family and friends loved our photos, and some asked for info, so hopefully this trend keeps going! read more

I scheduled an appt online and when I called w follow up questions, they had no record of my appointment. I re booked over the phone and received a confirmation email. When the day arrived I show up and the place is a zoo with tons of people waiting. The girl checking in then tells me they had no record for my appt (which I had done online and over the phone at this point) but she could take my info to fit me in. At this point Im beyond irritated since I have a 1yr old and a 2 layer cake with me for her birthday pictures. So I left called up a studio Ive used before, got a same day appt and drove all the way to LaMirada. By the time I drove an hr away, took photos w an outfit and background change, and picked out prints JcPenny called I guess it was my turn 2 hrs later. What a joke and waste of time...never going back! read more

My wife scheduled an appointment a week in advance for portraits for our son's birthday, with a call out specifically being for a birthday. When we arrived we again reiterated we were there for birthday photo's. Everything was going good throughout the shoot and we then waited for our pictures. The woman who took our pictures mentioned that someone else there was suppose to crop our photo's but because they uploaded the pictures into the computer already they had wiped the memory card already so we couldn't select other photos we probably would've liked instead. We also mentioned that when we booked our reservation that it was for a birthday and not seasonal/holiday themes, to which she seemed to shake her head as someone else might've missed that detail. But she also mentioned that JC Penny was trying to push/promote holiday pictures. --that's good for the company but not what we wanted, but forget what the customer wants I guess.. So our picks were made for us, but still thought that we'd at least get our photos nicely cropped digital photos since it would take about 3-4 hours to get back. Well they weren't and we received black image that's just blank, one filtered sepia image that we never asked for, and 28 other un-cropped pictures. When I called to ask about it, the person explained that because they messed up on the initial download to their computer they were giving us twice the amount of pictures (but half of them were raw duplicates) --that was suppose to make up for the fact that we couldn't choose our pictures. We did not get to select our pictures, get a birthday theme like we requested, or cropped images that are centered, but we did get duplicated of raw pictures of the ones that we would've gotten anyway if there wasn't a mess up. --why would getting duplicates matter if we're receiving digital? I can easily go print some out myself if I wanted duplicate. How does doubling raw photos make up for the fact that we didn't get to pick the pictures we wanted nor the theme we desired? Not to mention I don't have photoshop or any other software that would allow me to effectively use the raw photos to touch them up myself --I'm paying for the service, not wanting to do more service myself. Now I'm out $150 on pictures with the quality of a beginning level photographer. So if after reading all this if this is something that checks all your boxes, this is definitely the place for you. If not go elsewhere, literally anywhere else. read more

My husband, newborn son, and I had a wonderful time at JC Pennys Portrait Studios for our Christmas family photos. We requested Marcela to be our photographer because of her bubbly personality and professionalism. She was terrific and went above and beyond to make us comfortable. She also listened to our requests and had some really great suggestions as well. We also met Khia who assisted Marcela with positioning our newborn for the shoot. Our session went by fast and smoothly even with a wardrobe change with a newborn. Chris patiently helped us with explaining the photo packages and editing the Christmas card. He was very kind. Marcela, Khia and Chris showed great teamwork and efficiency. We felt listened to and appreciated as customers. Marcela really knows how to take beautiful photos. We loved all of them. The price of the packages are also a plus compared to other photographers. Tips: Weekends during the holidays are super busy. Even with an appointment understand that there may be a wait. We went on a weekday morning (Wednesday). It practically felt like a private session. I highly recommend booking during Monday-Thursday as I heard Fridays can be pretty busy, too. read more

I've had photos done at JCP Portraits in San Diego eight times in eight years, but only twice at Torrance location--once in Aug 2015 and again in May 2022. This review is only for the May 2022. Some of the pictures did not come out that great because shadows were on the face of one of the kids. The photographer was nice and patient though. And there was no hard sell at the end to buy more pictures or upsell packages. read more

We had a horrible experience here. We pretty much had to pose ourselves and come up with our own poses the whole time. The girl would show us a picture of the pose on her phone to me and my boyfriend and we had to figure out the pose while the girl photographer just stood there holding her phone out at us giving us absolutely zero guidance or direction. Not once did she pose us or know a pose of the top of her head. She was not professional and didn't seem to know what she was doing. When we got our maternity shoot photos the photos were cut off at the belly, defeating the purpose of the maternity photo shoot which was really frustrating. These are supposed to be full body photos but are cut off at the most important part. Before going in we were excited and ready to spend the $220 on the mini bundle that comes with 16 digital photos. After her edits we were only provided with 14 photos which half were with the belly cut out and when we asked where the rest of the pictures were she told us they came out blurry. The girl was looking at the pictures after taking them so we're not sure why she didn't retake them if they were blurry. We ended up settling for 3 pics, one which was cut at the belly. You guys are losing out on money, people would probably spend more money and buy the bundles if better pictures were taken. You guys really shouldn't have new people doing shoots on their own. We walked out of there so disappointed and forced to settle for 3 pictures because that's the only deal the lady offered us. I do not recommend going to JCPenny for a good shoot. If you do I would ask for someone that is experienced and maybe ask to see what the pictures look like during the shoot to make sure they're capturing the point of the shoot. Cutting off my belly at a maternity shoot was very disappointing. Even the inspo pics shown that were full body came out cut at the belly. Very disappointed about this shoot that was supposed to capture a very important memory and chapter in our life. read more

Got there at 12:50 for my 1:00 appointment , didn't get seen till 2! Didn't make it out of there till almost 3:40 . Next time I'll Pick another location this place is unorganized . What's the point of making an appointment ? I get it's the holidays but there were over 6 people working and you guys still couldn't stay on schedule ? One star and only because the photographer we had was great . Despite the mess we encountered, she still took her time and got awesome photos despite obviously being overwhelmed . read more

I've took Christmas photos every year here always an amazing experience, this year all the women there are unprofessional ! As I voiced my opinion that the photos are not at part she shut me down saying well it's Christmas time If you wanted better you should book in October like what ?????? Especially my photographer that evening she made my son do so many different poses to only get 3 of him moving him around mind you , you can tell she is not a kid person by the way she attempted to grab him !! All the ladies are not photographers jc penny you def disappointed by the people you hired this year. read more

Booked a newborn session today because there was a largely discounted promotion going on. The photographers were kind,patient , and open to any photo suggestions I had. Our family/newborn photos came out great and for a great price. Package prices regardless of the discount we received today are very reasonable. I'm really impressed with the quality, I did not expect the photos from here to come out that great. The department is located upstairs in the back by the men's big and tall clothing section, it's easy to miss! I think many do not even know it exists. The place appears old and dated but never judge a book by its cover! I think if more people knew about it this place, it would be very busy. You really can't beat the value. Places like these are being phased out and it's so sad, I hope this studio thrives and does well. Highly suggest that they advertise throughout the mall with sample photos to bring awareness that the studio exists! read more

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An update on my previous review.... The district manager contacted me and gave me her sincere apology. She also gave me a full refund and duplicate copies of my order. She even called me back to say she handled the situation. And then called me a week later to check if I received my pictures and the check. But as I read the reviews.... It's like the same complaint over the same ppl. They need to be fired. Sandra and Jose. read more

A big thank you to Khia and Victoria from JCPenny Portraits. My family and I decided to do awkward family photos this year for our Christmas card and these girls helped us nail each pose! We came in with a couple of ideas, but Khia and Victoria were total pros at getting my reluctant teenagers into character. The session is only 15 minutes, which was great for the short attention span of taking a family photo. These girls definitely made this experience great! read more

My partner and I came to this location for a spur of moment photo shoot I decided on a week earlier. Victoria was so sweet for accommodating us even though we were a little late, thus had to wait much longer. We really appreciated that as our pictures turned out beautiful! Highly recommend this location! read more

Rigo was our photographer today. He was Amazing!!! He was very patient with my one year old who kept walking away from the camera.He used several techniques to get her attention during the photo shoot. Thank you, Rigo! read more

Wonderful staff and the photographer knew how to handle children AND toddlers. Great experience! read more

JCP Portraits - Session Photography Near Me - Torrance, California

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Maricela does a wonderful job. She is talented with the camera and always does a fantastic job. Book her when you want to take great pictures. read more

We had an amazing experience with Alex, He was very professional and patient with our toddler.He interactive with all of my family bouncing ideas around.The final results of the picture were GREAT. read more

They do not honor appointments. They made us wait 2 and a half hours for our "appointment". Go support a small business instead. A place that values customers and their time. read more

This has been our go to place for holiday pictures. There was only one time they were delayed but everything turned out great. We just went in on Monday for newborn photos and Marcela was wonderful with our baby. The pictures turned out amazing. read more

Thank you so much, Marcela and Jason! We had a family photoshoot session with our two pets, but they weren't sitting still and kept moving around. It must have been challenging to capture a good photo, but Marcela and Jason were very professional. They managed to take fantastic photos of our family. This was our third time getting a photo taken at JC Portraits for a Christmas holiday, and we had the best experience at the Torrance location! We will definitely come back again. read more

Never rely on jcpenney for important photo opportunities. They have successfully RUINED Christmas photos for several families! Just left their location at Del Amo Mall in Torrance CA. Line is out the door of families demanding answers on why digits photos have not been sent and prints not shipped. The staff is completely inept and cannot answer customer inquiries. The so-called manager is rude, unprofessional and lacks basic customer service skills, let alone empathy for the customers they have let down for the holidays. Not cool.... Do better jcp!!!!! read more

Jose was great ! Helpful w poses And background selection . Prefer a certain background color And Jose made it happen Thanks read more

Had a session today (holiday photos) and it was wonderful. Chris the photographer worked with us and we all had fun. All of the photos he took turned out great. Their network was down so the photo delivery will be late, but they explained everything and apologized, which goes a long way. Please note that a few days ago we booked a session with the Fox Hills location and they were not good at time management and lied about where we were in the queue, and after nearly an hour passed our booked time we walked away. The Del Amo folks were 100x better and I would go back to the Del Amo location next year. read more

I had an appointment to be seen here at it took over 60 minutes from my schedule appointment time to be seen

It's been 48 hours since our photo session and I haven't received my digital portraits. I paid $130 for 15 digital photos! More than half are your typical cheesy JCPenney pics. I won't be back! read more

Jose the so called manager. Was the worst. Not only did he have a attitude the whole time but he wasn't trying to help us. On top of this he was just snapping photos instead of making sure the kids were looking. All the photos were bad! All of them! Some had some kids looking the others not and every time I tried to ask a question he would dismiss it. I hate to say this but someone needs to fire this person. I was over hearing other people at the studio that were not happy with him as well saying he was rolling his eyes at them. If this gets to you Jose, it's mostly family that will come in for their pictures taken, and this job ain't for you son. read more

I came here with my 2 week old newborn for a photography session. It was about $99 for the digital images which we received about 12 images. This is the cheapest option that I found when looking around for a newborn photoshoot. Our photographer was Alexa and she was professional and friendly. They try to upsell you a lot of different packages and we ended up getting one canvas for a really good price. My baby was awake for the whole photography session and everything went smoothly. I was also able to nurse in the photo studio which helped the baby to keep calm. The staff were really friendly. All in all, I was happy with my experience here and I would use them again. read more

I hope I am posting on the right JC penny. This is absolutely ridiculous you make an appt and then get to the studio for them to tell you that it is not an appt but a check in time. Then they have you wait almost 2 hours. Like absolutely crap. Honestly you need better management and you need to take some ownership that you don't run a business while getting frustrated. You need to do better. read more

Wait times are 45 mins behind appointment time.not staffed according to appointments.especially frustrating when u wait with kids

I came here to get some professional headshots done. Before your session, the photographer will show you different backdrops that would work best depending on your skin tone, color of your outfit, and overall look that you're going for. Then, during your session, they will pose you in a variety of ways so that you can have a lot of options. While the whole thing comes off as very professional, the one major thing that disappointed me was that in nearly every single shot, my eyes were not focused on the camera. They were always looking somewhere off to the side. In my mind, it's the photographer's job to catch that since obviously, you're looking at them. Consequently, I hardly had any shots that I even liked and basically ended up going with the lesser of 10 evils. For the price, which was $60 for one photo, I would highly recommend going somewhere else. read more

With the popularity of the studio and all of the great deals, it's hard to believe that the manager, Julia, can keep track of it all, but she does. Julia has taken some of the most beautiful pictures of me and she's done this with a positive and professional attitude. I love her work! She's patient and helpful (got lipstick on your teeth? She won't let you slip!). Thank you Julia for your impeccable work and all of the awesome shots. The quality of the photographs and the prices are difficult to beat. As long as Julia works at the Torrance portrait studio, that's where I'll be. Thumbs up JC Penney. I'm a loyal customer! read more