We've never been to Picture People before so I was a little hesitant about trying somewhere new. I'm so glad I took the chance because we had such a great experience! We got there just in time for our appointment and they took us immediately. It was only my 7 year old daughter who got her pictures taken. The photographer, Sarah, was really nice and told us what her plan was for the shoot. I really liked this because I'm in no way a photographer, so I wouldn't have known what back drops and poses went well for a cute pic. My daughter is older so she moved fast with the photographer when she had her change poses or move around on the back drop. I'd say it took about 15 minutes for the entire shoot. I originally went in with a $9 package I got through email. Once i saw the pictures I couldn't just pick one so I eventually chose a package that included the $9 promotional package (for one pose and 6 sheets) plus an extra enhanced sheet of another pose, and a CD with all images. This also included a super cute picture frame with 3 photos of my choice. All for about $140. Prices were a bit on the higher end (around $150 for a small package) without a coupon or anything so I would recommend bringing a coupon or Groupon. Sign up for emails! That's how I got my $9 package deal. Overall it was a great experience and I definitely will be back! read more

Picture People - My framed photo I purchased. 4/25/15 - Session Photography Near Me - Lombard, Illinois

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This was my third time in this studio as my membership was expiring which was $10 off and one free sheet for one visit. I think the photos are pretty good and the photographer was patience with my 3 year old. But the front desk staff was not great and kind of pricey. I have been the Picture People in Oakbrook before came to this one. Oakbrook one was worse in my opinion which made me kind of stop taking pictures from there. When my daughter was two, we were playing in the playground right outside of the Picture people studio. I just wandered into there and the staff was very friendly and told me the ongoing promotion. So it was kind of impulsive purchasing but it turned out to be really nice. I guess it was a slow night for them. The second time was a weekend which was a big mistake. No one seemed having time for anyone. We kind of hurried through everything. This time I went during the week. Just as other reviewers pointed out, they are understaffed. I had to wait a while even I had an appointment. And it was a new staff helped me during the photo choosing and checking out which prolonged the process while my daughter was trying to climb on me or onto the furniture. Finally when the photos are ready for picking up. They printed one incorrect photo. Then I had to wait for 10 minutes to talk to someone who was trying to deal two groups of people viewing the photo and then me. Then I waited another 20 minutes for the reprint. Even with their coupons or promotions, I spent $100 and above every time. I did my Christmas pictures with JCpenny with a Groupon which came out $48 in total with same number of sheets as I did in here. So I will need to think twice before I get my kids in there again. read more

I scheduled first communion family picture session 2 months in advance. 2 days before they event I was cancelled because there were not enough photographers. read more

Mariah was professional and accommodated us at the last minute. Because of her, would recommend this location. Studio was clean and thoughtfully laid out. Family pictures turned out great! read more

This place is not really my style, but the Groupon lured me in. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I guess Picture People met my expectations somewhat well. All of their hype about being "unique" and not going for the easy, cheesy poses is a bunch of rubbish though, as the "money shots" are all they seem to do. I even heard our photographer use that term. This included prompting my almost-4-year-old into some pretty unnatural poses. Think, legs crossed with ankle on knee, hands folded on leg. Not a position you'd ever find a small child taking of their own volition. My baby was not in the mood for pictures today. In fact, she really didn't want to be out of my arms at all. If we had been at a "real" photographer (which I think of as someone running their own business on their own talent), she might have warmed up. But the Picture People gimmicks weren't doing it for her. I have to give the photographers who worked with us (yes, we tried two) credit though since they did try their best. And what should I really expect for a $16 Groupon? They did get some decent shots of my son. But let's be honest...he's ridiculously adorable, and a bit of a ham at this age, so it would be pretty pathetic to not get some good ones of him. I don't really get their whole pricing model...I gather that they do not charge sitting fees, but I don't know the implications of that. Could I take my kids to get pics done every day, and buy only occasionally when they're looking extra cute? Oh well, at least we tried it, and I know it's an option if we ever need quick pictures. They printed super fast! We walked down the mall a bit, took a short train ride, came back, and all was ready to go. I read one review that said the photo paper is poor quality, but I haven't noticed a problem yet. read more

Was treated horribly here. I am sure a majority of the photo subjects are kids, all kids--from babies on up to teens...in fact, 90% of the photos on their walls are this subject matter. So people working here should know how to work with them and the paying adults that accompany them. Making an appointment here is a waste of time, whether online or in person. When I got on their website the night prior, they had an open schedule-- ALL DAY! I am talking 10:10, 10:20, 10:30 and every increment of 10 until 9 pm closing time. So, I figured that, hey they are not very busy...afterall it's a Tuesday morning in June....not a very popular time like Christmas or Easter. (Plus it's at the Yorktown mall...which, c'mon lets face it...there's nothing going on there.) I show up at 10 am and the person working there barely looks up from her computer screen to say hello. There are 2 groups there already, so she says to me that the first appointment is an hour from now. Ugh...ok, my bad. I didn't book my appointment online, so I understand that it defaults to a first come first serve line up. Not that this woman behind the counter communicated any of this to me, because when I shared with her what I saw on the Picture People website with a completely open schedule all day, she replied with nothing but shrugged shoulders like 'it's not my problem lady.' I arrive back at the store 3 minutes late from my 11am appt and both workers are busy with other customers. So I wait patiently, thinking someone might address me at some point, but nothing happens. 10 minutes later I interrupt one salesperson who is showing clients their pictures and ask how much longer will it be before I am seen? Her response.... "You don't have an appointment." Umm. Yeah i do! remember? you told me to wait an hour? and then chuckled when i said i would wait. What was the point of taking my name & number?! She had the gall to say "Oh the first available appointment NOW is at 12." Um what was the point of booking my appointment, you taking my name AND my phone number? Also, if they schedule appointments every 10 minutes, why is the next available appointment 1 whole hour away? There were no other customers in the store. Turns out, this smug, arrogant mall worker with the attitude was actually the manager of the store. Seriously?! She was put in charge of actually managing the store? To deal with people? who communicate? I am sorry but this location will continue to lose business so long as they hire people like her who are bitter that they work in a mall with kids all day. read more

Picture people doesn't tailor their business around the needs of their clients, which are mostly children. I've been there 3 times for photos and the first time I was lucky I went on an extremely slow day and my baby was given the proper attention and we didn't have to wait a lot. The 2nd and 3rd times there were lots of waiting times and babies don't do well with waiting times. Their main problem is that photographers do everything! They have to: check people in, answer calls and make appointments, take photos, and sit with the person to see what photos they would like to order (which can take a while), and I'm sure they have other responsibilities. The photographers should be allowed to do what they're there to do- take photos! Especially when they're taking photos of children, they need to give their undivided attention instead of juggling clients and phone calls. When I went in, I planned my babies feeding schedule around my appointment so that he would be fed and changed right before our appointment and be a happy baby for pictures. Well, we arrived at 1 for our 1 o'clock appointment and were told they were running behind and had to wait. My baby was happy, alert and ready for pictures....but we waited for close to an hour after our appointment! By that time he had fallen asleep and we had to wake him up for pics and he was just not happy about that. He cried throughout most of the session and the pictures were not what I wanted them to be. Why do you make appointments if you can't keep them!? You know babies take more time, if you have an appointment with a baby maybe don't make an appointment right after! Also, they really need to update their backgrounds! Some of their backgrounds are just soooo old! You can make better ones yourself with ideas from Pinterest that are simple and more modern than an old dusty looking Christmas tree with brown and dark colored props! All of these things are just a reflection of the picture people business model and not the employees that work there. They are all trying to do many things at once and because of that are not providing the best customer service they can to their clients. Maybe picture people should stop trying to save money and hire employees to answer phones and order pictures so that photographers can do what they're there to do-take pictures! read more

I feel like you certainly get what you pay for here. I had a Groupon that for $16, entitled us to a session along with more prints than we could ever use, the catch being that all the prints had to be the same pose. I wanted a family portrait taken with our dog. I'm a crazy dog lady, and I'm cool with it. They only do portraits with pets in the half an hour before they open or the last hour that they're open. We chose the 8 p.m. slot. They asked about the kind of dog (a nine-pound yorkie), then asked me to bring him muzzled. Um, no. Most cats and infants are bigger than my dog, I'm not bringing him in a muzzle. Do they even make muzzles that small? Maybe a rubber band would suffice. The actual photos turned out really great. The photographer had to work pretty hard to get our dog looking at the camera at the same time, but it all worked out. Biggest gripe? It. took. forever. We were there for almost two hours, spending perhaps 10 minutes actually in front of the camera. Why make an appointment if it's still going to take forever and a day? We waited to see the photographer, then waited to see our proofs, then continued to wait to get our photos. All while carrying the aforementioned nine-pound yorkie. Tip: Don't pay full price, ever. They have coupons, Groupons and all sorts of deals. read more

I recently bought the Groupon here and was pretty disappointed with the overall experience we had last week. I thought it would be much like Target studios, but it paled in comparison. The photographers didn't seem to have any real skill or even really try to capture my young kids' attention; nothing like a ball or toy or any real great attitude trying to coax a smile. Prices were outrageous as they always are at these places. The staff told me their schtick is that you get your photos the same day (something I don't really care about; I wouldn't have minded coming back). Getting your photos the same day comes at a price, that is, the photo paper was totally flimsy compared to Target's....it feels like at-home photo-printing paper. Not happy about that. Like others mentioned, they were s-l-o-w. My kids were losing their s*** and there was no haste in the process. I asked if we could just come back in a bit for the photos, the reply was "it'll only be 5 minutes" which turned into 10, then we were asked to come back later. Overall, more hassle than it was worth. I'll go back to Target for the milestone portraits. read more

We took a huge crowd with us (6 adults, 2 kids) to get a photo taken for my mom's birthday. Overall we did get a handful of great shots. I wish some of the photos didn't look so posed, but overall all 6 adults were happy with the results. Huge bonus to this place is you get your pictures that day, instead of having to pay more or wait 7-10 days. If you join their email list (via the website) you get all sorts of coupons. read more

Looks like they closed. All of their things inside are still there but outside sign removed and big black curtains hang in window. Looks like abrupt closing read more

I visited Picture People on a slow Wednesday afternoon. I did not have an appointment I just called to see if they had any space. They took us as soon as we got there. Lauren was amazing. She was patient with my 3 year old. She was even rolling around on the ground with him. I was getting annoyed with some of my son's antics and she was having a blast. I think she had more fun than he did. Because of her enthusiasm we got some pretty nice shots. I will be honest the only reason I came back here was because I bought the membership and wanted to use the last couple of visits. I have had some bad experiences in the past with wait times and poor customer service. (Which I have emailed corporate about with no response) I would use Picture People in the future with Lauren being my photographer. She provided exceptional customer service. Picture People should have her train the new photographers as they come into the company to shoe them what customer service means. Advice....Go when it is slow(If that is an option) Use Lauren!!! read more

Ok... so I should preface this by saying that my first experience was wonderful. My next 2 were AWFUL!!!! Just on the last 2 trips I would have given this place negative stars if I could however, there is one person there, Samatha, who is great which is why I gave it 2 stars. 1st experience: Went off without a hitch. Last minute appointment via phone, hardly a wait, pictures taken with several shots and the results were great. We got the CD ($150.00) and Samantha was our photographer who also retouched a few of the pics for me. 2nd experience: Called and called and called and NO ONE would answer the phone. When they did, they kept me on hold for 18 mins before I hung up! I actually held because I had hung up before and just wanted to see how long they would keep me on hold. I timed it 18 mins! Ridiculous. So I managed to get an appointment via their online site. The reason why I was trying to call was to make sure that I got Samantha since she was our prior photog and she was so great with my son. This is where things start to go downhill. The girl that answered the phone (I can't remember her name, but she was a heavier set African American female) told me that Samantha was not working that day so I could not get her. I couldn't reschedule since it was the holiday season and it would be hard to rearrange my schedule so I just said that I would keep my appointment. I arrived that day and again, was told that Samantha was not working so she could not be my photog. As we were sitting our son down, I saw Samantha walking out for lunch! I asked them why they would tell me she was not working when I saw her and they simply said, "Well, Sam is booked now so she cannot get you in." If she was booked, that is what they should have said, not completely lied to their customer just to get another booking. We did the shoot and the the girl was not at all good with my son. When we were going over the pics, she was showing me pics of him crying and upset and there were only about 3 pics where he was remotely "happy" looking. Pictures were muddled with the dark backgrounds that the photog chose with my son's dark clothing. When I pointed out the pics of my son crying and that these should not have been added into the final shots that they show us, Jessica (the girl showing the pics) simply said, "Well, it looks like he is smiling." REALLY??? C'mon... if you can't tell the difference between a crying baby and a smiling baby, you should not be working in this industry sweetheart. I ended up scheduling a re-shoot after discussing the matter with Samantha directly and informing her of how upset we were especially after we had such a great experience the first time around. She squeezed us in and worked around her schedule and also came in a bit earlier so that we had a little bit more time. 3rd experience: Sam was extra attentive for the shoot after the fiasco that had just occurred with our prior shoot. The pics when showed to us came out wonderful! So we were happy with the pictures. When we sat down to view them with another girl, I had asked for her to retouch a few pics for the following reasons: - christmas pics... presents that we used as props were ripped and clearly falling apart. Needed some of those to just be retouched so that they looked all one color. - other items (such as a prop drum) was partially in the background just past the background being cut off. Needed the background to be all one color instead of obviously showing the store and props and what not. So they sent me off and told me it would be done in about 10 mins. 40 mins later... pics were still not done. We ended up waiting about 70 mins prior to the "retouching" being completed. So I wanted to make sure that I was happy with the results and asked them to put the CD in so that I could see. They were not at all accomodating. First they said that they could not load a CD (the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard when I see a CD drive on their computers), then when they finally loaded it, NONE OF THE RETOUCHING WAS DONE! I just wasted 70 mins of my life that I will never get back in photo hell. I mentioned the retouch error to Carrie/Christie (not sure of her name - Heavier set Caucasian female with blond shorter hair) and she never apologized and blamed someone else. She was clearly annoyed with me and didn't want to deal with me anymore and just got someone else. When she did come back, she was short and completely rude to us. Leaving out about 10 more things that I could go on about... I finally just talked to Sam directly who retouched the photos herself and put on 4 more pics for me on the CD free of charge (which the Christy/Carrie girl told me that they absolutely could not do as the CD could not physically hold more than 18 pics). She also discounted a few items for me for the nightmare of an experience that we have had with them. WHY, WHY, LIE to your customers?! read more

The store is DIRTY! My son was filthy by the end of his shoot. I understand that kids drag dirt in with them and there is a high volume of traffic, but this store looks like it is not cleaned often. Each backdrop that the photographer used was covered in filth. The photographers are also very inexperienced and are not ready to take the pictures. They should understand that small children are not going to sit and smile while they wait for the photographer to set up the camera. The photographer should be taking pictures constantly. My husband and I do not understand why after 30 mintues they generally have about 20 pictures to show us. The woman selling pictures was awful too. It would have been easier if we could have ordered and paid for the pictures from a kiosk. She yawned the entire time and was not helpful. She was not even familiar with their products. This is definitely a place where you get what you pay for. Their services are not worth more than the price of the big bundle. read more

Eh. For $16 (Groupon) I got 20 minutes with an OK photographer for some generally uninspired shots. The prints were plentiful though which alone would have cost more than $16. The crock is that they try to see you the high res digital CD for $75! $75 for 30 something sub par pictures? No thanks! read more

We'll start with the positive: the photographers do a great job and the pictures come out looking very nice. And then there's the rest: This place is seriously understaffed. At most you'll find one person working the counter, and that's the photographer that's also trying to get a scheduled shoot done and handle walk-ins. Make sure your kids can handle distractions when photographed, because with nobody else running the store, you'll have kids and parents wandering all around you. The phone never stops ringing, and the calls will take priority over you...unless you're actually the one trying to call. Then you'll never get an answer. Seriously, there are better places out there that can handle the workload. Shop around. read more

We visited the location that is a level below the Carson Pirie Scott. If you live outside of Lombard, there is no fucking way you would find this place. I found it by calling the place up. The wait to take the picture wasn't a problem. The photographers were busy and only took 20 minutes. It was the 'calling to allow you to select the picture' that took a lifetime. We waited 2.5 hours. They were clearly backed up. We were told to come back in 25 minutes, so we walked around the mall and came back in 30 minutes. The pictures were not ready. The other problem was there was no organization. So employees can't differentiate if you had already taken a picture or if your pictures were ready. You were just waiting in a line behind people seated who were taking their time to select pictures with a staff member. All I wanted to ask was if it was ready. And it wouldn't have been so bad if they had just given us some recognition to let us know what was going on with out pictures. The pictures taken looked like something someone took 5 minutes to do, our baby's hair was cropped off. They had told is before if we didn't like the pictures, we can come back. Like really? Is it worth all of the pain again. We wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place if old orchard had told us in advance that they are closing their location. Gist: do not purchase a picture people groupon. Go to the JCP at golf mill mall. read more

I brought my 2 month old son to Picture People for pictures. I was a little bit nervous because he is so young- but the whole experience was awesome! We had Ewelina as our photographer. She was great! She posed my baby in adorable positions that I never would have thought of- and the the pictures turned out really nice. When he got a little bit grumpy, she was patient and helpful in calming him down and making him smile. After the shoot, I ran to a couple stores in the mall and when I came back, the pictures were ready and I got to see them right away. They had one of his pictures blown up and framed already and I absolutely bought it because I was in love. Highly recommend. read more

Why pay $400+ at a "professional studio" to work with stuck-up "artists" that charge 10x what they do at The Picture People. Not to mention having to wait 2-3 weeks for prints when these guys let you view, print and frame all in under an hour. I took my 1 year old son here and they did a great job. I'll never give a "professional studio" my money again. read more

Alec was great! He was so accommodating and did wonderful job!

Last December my husband and I took our granddaughter to Picture People Lombard and were treated very well especially considering we didn't know we needed an appointment. Our photographer, whose name escapes me, was very efficient. I went back last week because I had misplaced my coupon for a free 8x10 and was told, "no problem" they would be happy to honor it anyway! Wow what a great place.! read more

It's very rare that you find such a great staff and great prices. This is our 3rd time with them and I always am fully satisfied when we leave. Make sure to ask for Lauren my daughter just loves her and she is great with kids and also takes great pictures and really captures my daughters personality and sense of hummor. I definitely recommend this location if you are looking for a fun atmosphere and reasonable prices. Cant wait to go back in September. The store was clean they were a bit busy but Lauren was able to sneak us in. My only concern was the wait for the review of pictures my 4yr old was loosing her patience and became quite upset. But over all I was very satisfied with my experience. read more

This was my first time here and I was highly satisfied with the customer service and how well the photographer worked with my son during the session. She was friendly, personable and patient. She asked me what I wanted and I did not feel rushed at all. I had a groupon and at check out time they were not pushy at all about purchasing more. I had plenty of nice poses to choose from and the prints came out nice. At first the prints had some lines on them but they quickly apologized and reprinted them. I would definitely go back with another groupon in the future. read more

Went to picture people in Lombard & worked with Aris. She was amazing!, very patient & works wonderfully with kids. She does a fabulous job with kids and with our family shot. I will go back again & request her. read more

I bought a groupon and scheduled my appointment to take pics of my daughter. There was no waiting. They took us in right away. Laurin was our photographer and she did an excellent job taking pics in multiple poses and different outfits. In fact, the pics turned out so good I submitted them for a photogenic competition and my daughter won $250.00. Way to go picture people!! And two thumbs up to Laurin for being good at what she does. I even joined yelp just so I can write this review :-) I scheduled another appointment for our family picture and looking forward to that. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts :-) read more

We LOVE this place! I have been taking my son there since he was born (now 2 years old), as well and family pictures with a large group. We have had every photographer there and couldn't be happier. Everyone is great! Even when my son is not having a good day and not really up for pictures (or attached to my leg) they always get great photos. Everyone takes their time to help him get warmed up to insure they get the best possible pictures. I have never felt like they rushed through a session. Even when the photographer feels like they got everything they have always asked if there was any other shots I wanted. Everyone there is very professional, patient, and punctual. Even during the crazy busy Christmas season every employee is making sure everyone is well taken care of and not waiting. While all the employees are great Samantha, the store manager, is wonderful. She is very present and involved with every customers experience. I recommend PIcture People in Yorktown Mall to everyone! read more

I had to average the stars because some were shiny and others were dim. I, like many folks bought a groupon for a sitting a bunch of single pose prints. Sounds good. Making an appointment was easy and convenient however I called back a few days later with questions and no on picked up the phone. I thought that was weird. Anyway, we planned an Easter session with our baby girl and the photographer got started with us early which was nice. I assumed we'd have to wait because they seemed busy. The photographer gets five stars. He was great with my little one and got her to smile and get past her stranger danger. We used a couple different back drops which were nice but, the sheet that covers the floor was really scuffed and dirty. I'm not sure how you get around that with doing multiple shoots. But still, dirty. That brings me back to the entryway and front desk, it's really beat up. Actually, the whole place is in dire need of a remodel. The props were pretty dismal too. He used a black painted table at one point and you can see the chipped edges in the photos. The white table also had serious issues. I can't imagine it would cost a lot to buy some cool new props from like Hobby Lobby. I guess they aren't interested in investing in their business. So, the pics came out great, then you are presented with a sales person. Of course I wasn't born yesterday and knew the hard sell was coming, I mean I've only dropped 16 bucks so far so bring it. We listened while our darling girl in her Easter dress was starting to break down. You think sales girl would hurry it up a bit, nah. She rambled about some weird, pay 40 and get sort of good deals on the third visit and then tonal enhancements and some other stuff. I'm like, no thanks. Then she tried to sell packages and prints of course but we just wanted our free prints and the disk. Obviously, I can order prints online and flip anything to B&W and add special enhancements on my own. I think most of the world can do this. So, we picked the pic to print and I wanted a jacked up corner cropped out. Sales girl cropped a little bit. Ugh, it's still there, can you crop some more? Okay, she cropped a little more off but the bad bit was still there. I was almost like give me the mouse. Please slice off the right side of the picture. Okay, she got it!!!! Third time was a charm! Also, sales girl said nothing of how cute the pics were or anything I would consider nice. Dear Picture People, if you read this, the 40 club thing is stupid. Invest in making your store look nice and your employees even nicer. I'd pay more for better quality. read more

My girlfriend and I each took our newborn daughters (hers is 4 weeks older than mine) here for their "first: pics about 2 weeks ago. The store/studio itself is brand new, very clean, and kid friendly. The staff is very nice however they seem to be consistently short handed and our photographer was self-admittedly "not that experienced", but what she did lack in experience she made up for in patience which is necessary with a 8 week old and a 12 week old. The pictures can be a pit pricey (depending on what you consider pricey) but they offer a club membership for $35 and you get great discounts and free pictures with it. The best part is that you view and receive all of your pics in just an hour (just enough time for a bite to eat, nursing and a diaper change). Unfortunately due to my daughter's colicky disposition we were unable to get any decent pics so we will be going back next week however, my girlfriend was able to get some incredible pics of her daughter and even got a free 10 x 13 with the coupon from on line...which they always offer!! Overall, a good choice for your run of the mill quarterly and annual pics. They offer several options and work well with kids!! read more

Everytime I go to Picture People. I always have a good experience. This time it was evening more amazing. Over a week ago went to go get pictures done of my child who is 2yrs old. When his father and I arrived he was not a happy camper, so we asked if we can walk him around and see if that changes anything. Well we thought it would work, but not so really. However, this time around we got a different photographer and he was outstanding. When I tell you he made my child stop crying, he made him laugh, smile, bring out the little character he is. I was very impressed, because before that we were ready to go. Alec went beyond for us and he got some amazing shots, I will definitely recommend him, if your child is having a bad day, because he knows how to bring the happy spirit out of them. He was just amazing. read more

I have used Picture People - Downers Grove for the last two and half years. The photographer always introduced themselves by name, did a quick review of expectations, and coordinated the backgrounds and props. Out of convenience, I decided to use Picture People - Yorktown. The day before I received a confirmation call. At that time I was asked the purpose of the photo shoot, which was holiday. I arrived to a crowded waiting room, crying babies, and a dissatisfied customer. I should have walked out at that point. After check-in we were directed to wait even though I had an appointment scheduled for 11:50am. After a 15 minute wait, we were directed to Area 1, which is in the front of the store. The photographer did not introduce herself and did not do a review of the exceptions. I felt the session was very rushed and done without purpose. We were never offered any holiday props to enhance the photos with the exception of a chair. The chair did not make it into any of the photos so what was the point. It crossed my mind that maybe this location did not offer props and I had to bring my own. After, what seemed like a very rushed session we were asked to wait for the photos to be uploaded. In that time, I noticed other photographers using holiday props. I guess my photographer was too lazy to grab a few props from the back to complete our holiday photos. It is clear that the service is very inconsistent, it all depends on the photographer. After this entire process, I left with sub par photos (some photos were not even center) and an agitated child from the extensive waiting (we were there for over 2 hours). Needless to say I will not be returning to Picture People and I will make sure to share my experience with anyone that will listen. read more

I also had the groupon and had the photographer take pictures of me and my 1 yearold pup. Lauren was my photographer and she was very relatable and patient with my hyper puppy, offering treats and a squickey toy to get my pups short attention for a picture. After all the pictures were done and Lauren changed the background and the props, we sat out in the waiting room for 30 minutes, waiting as my pup is sitting with her muzzle on, impatiently since she's never worn one and was very unhappy with it. Once we were able to pick out the pictures we liked the sales lady samantha was pressuring me to buy other pictures and the cd and listening on the conversation me and my grandma were having she jumped in and said "you can't do that its copy right infringement" when I hadn't stated directly to her what I wanted to use the picture for, nor, was it her buisness to mention I'd need to spend $99 to get the CD to have rights to my images, which I only liked two of anyway. Not Lauren's fault though! I just have self confidence issues and insecurities that I noticed in the other photos, not to mention my figety dog. Needless to say I was annoyed at all the offers Samantha was jumping down my throat about and even heard her pressuring another guest to get frame work done by them instead of on their own, obviously would be 98% cheaper on their own. I would very highly recommend Lauren! And would request her greatly if I ever came back to this place. Just be prepared to say "no, no, no," so you don't get pressured into other deals. We also had to wait as their printer malfunctioned and put lines through our prints, which was what had us waiting with my pup for 30 minutes read more

I don't know why they take appointments. Even if you are early for your appointment they still take walk ins first and make you wait past your appointment time. Then after they are done with pictures they keep you wait for another 30 minutes with kids in tow while they get set up to show you the pictures. read more

This place is horrible.... We brought our son in for pictures. He's one of the most photogenic babies in the world...when he sees a camera he smiles. Our problems: 1. Were deep into Christmas season, yet this place only had three options for background colors - Black, white and a Black and White mix. They had one room with a red background that they said was unavailable. 2. Our son was happy coming into the store, but grumpy attached to me and my wife during the shoot. Then happy after the shoot. This is our third set of pictures not to mention all sorts of pictures at home...he's a friend of the camera. The only thing I can think of is he picked up on the photographers bad vibes. 3. The photographer did nothing to assist the situation. They had no toys or props to help distract him. The photographer essentially gave up. 4. On request to stop the shoot and feed him then reconvene (even offered to let someone else go ahead if there was a line) the photographer said he can't because they are fully booked. The shoot ended up lasting 30 more minutes (we didn't know how long the shoot was supposed to last). Had we stopped for 5-10 minutes to feed him, the remaining 20 minutes would have produced much better results than trying to continue to push our child. 5. While our son wasn't cooperating, he also wasn't crying...instead of continuing to shoot candids, the photographer only shot when our son was posed as he wanted him to be. 6. The end result is after 40 minutes of shooting, we had 13 pictures to choose from...and even many of those were repeats or crops...all with a white background. This was a complete waste of our time. We'll never be back. I would imagine the bread and butter of this studio are children...if you don't know how to manage photographing children, you need to find another job. We'll never be back. read more

Booked an appointment for my daughters first birthday photos. We had been here before for family portrait about 8 months prior. Get there and they don't have our appointment. Tell us they can fit us in if we come back in 30 mins. We do. We wait another 15. Photographer was professional and friendly. Got some great shots. Unfortunately by the time we get to see the photos the baby has missed lunch and nap time is rapidly approaching. I try to look through the pics and choose quickly but the baby is fussy and we are given a 10 minute pitch on the portrait club benefits and a 10 sheet photo package. We have to go but can we look at the pictures online so I can share with my husband and decide without a hungry, tired, toddler on my knee? Nope we can't that feature hasn't worked in months. So time spent - 2 hours and total pictures ZERO. Thanks for wasting my morning Picture People. read more

I've visited this locations several times before and have always received great service. I've noticed the key to not waiting long is to book the first appt of the day (especially a weekday) and bring snacks for the little ones. read more

John S. is very professional and knows what he's doing. My two teenagers is very satisfied with the photo shoot session. He is a creative photographer, and fun to work with. Will recommend this location to our friends and families. read more

I want to point out that this is the first time I ever write a yelp review. I took the time to read the reviews of others and was horrified to see how unhappy some customers are with the Lombard location. I am happy to say that I am not one of them. I have been to JC Penny's , Target, and even the old Kiddie Kandids from Babies R Us, and I have had good experiences at each. However my last few sessions at Picture People have been really great. Now there are some things to note going into any session. Kids are kids, and you have to schedule around when your child is at his happiest, make sure they are rested, and fed, and you kind of have to know when you walk in that from start to finish you are looking at over an hour's time spent in store (if you wait for your pictures - which is kind of the point of going to one of these locations) but if you keep that in mind, you should be fine. You also have to have an idea of the types of shots that you are looking to get. Any information you can provide the photographer in advance will greatly enhance your experience (i.e. you are looking for a good face shot, you need a full body shot, or you want to end up with choices for a trilogy). I worked with Samantha (store manager) and she took FANTASTIC shots of my son, I fell in love with the pictures. Yolanda, was the associate that had great patience with me in reviewing the pictures. It has to be tough working with that many children, and staying happy and positive, and although they are supposed to be pros at it, I am sure it is still trying on them. I loved Samantha's problem solving skills as I watched her deal with some things that came up while I was there, that is the sign of a good manager. I have seen this store turnover quite a bit of their employees, and I'm not sure why that happens, again, my experiences have been good, and at the end of the day, I take home some BEAUTIFUL shots of my child, and that after all is what I pay them for, so thank you picture people....I am glad I renewed my portrait membership for the second year in a row. read more

AWFUL EXPERIENCE!!! To be honest, this is my first Yelp review, normally, I do not write about my experience but I was so disappointed coming here I felt the need to write this. I cannot say enough how poor their customer service is at this location. I highly recommend going elsewhere for pictures! First, the price is outrageous and the place is DIRTY! Second, never in my life have I had a worse experience with customer service. The sad part is that I was treated poorly by the manager at this store. I am shocked that someone who lacks customer service skills can be put in a management position, again this does not say much about the place. When my child was taking photos, my mother had pointed out that there was a rip in the couch. I was told that because it was their prop, they would Photoshop this out. Great, or so I thought. When the pictures came back, the rip was visibly seen in the photo. When my mother had brought this to her attention, she called my mother a liar!! What?! She acted annoyed at this and was incredibly rude, who calls their customer a liar and why would my mother lie about this, I was standing right there and she told us she would take care of it! Ridiculous! My mother went on to tell her that she was not a liar and that in fact she was lying about what she had told us she would do. She told my mother that she was offended by this, excuse me?! You're offended, after you falsely called a paying customer a liar. Makes no sense to me. Again, not sure how she is in a management position. After reading the other reviews, it seems others have had problems with this manager and place as well. Second, she was incredibly pushy and when we were deciding on pictures she was becoming annoyed with us. This is my first child, first set of professional pictures and I wanted to make sure I received quality pictures worth paying for, so her attitude was in no way appreciated. I have to say if you want to get pictures taken, please go somewhere else for a better experience! No customer should be called a liar or feel pressured to make a purchase. Needless to say we will never be coming back here or recommending this place to anyone we know. I would not be surprised if this place continues to lose business. read more

Great experience with Samantha at the yorktown location. Needed a professional photo for linked in. Everything went smoothly and I was pleased with the photos. Pleasantly surprised would highly recommend! read more

I was given a gift card to try this out when our daughter was born I was so excited to be able to take pictures for the first time and I'm even more excited that I didn't have to pay for it because it was a gift. I cannot believe that these people are still in business they took out a blanket that was so filthy and he wanted me to strip my daughter down and do some cute shots OK I'm cool with that but I am not putting her on that blanket with that up and I don't even know what else is on it it just smelled. I don't think we will ever go back we got one cute picture and it was completely out of focus but as I had said it was a present so if you don't want to post on the wall you can cannot tell but it's out of focus so oh well. That and the fact that my daughter was born in November so everybody and their brother was waiting in line for picture people are you I have never seen it so much chaos in my life. Definitely going to try somewhere else next time. read more