I've been using Portrait Innovations for holiday/special occasion/family photos for years now. I've never had an issue with the pictures I've received, the customer service I've received, or anything else. They do try to get you to buy as many pics as they can - I mean, that's their job. But I've never had anyone who was overly pushy and that didn't understand the word "no." Prices are reasonable - my last visit I paid $95 for a CD of all photos taken during the session, a special effect 8x10 photo, 3 sheets each of 3 different poses (9 sheets total), and 20 holiday cards. Also, they email you a link to access the photos and you can share on FB, email, etc. The wait times are always good, even near the holidays. My appt was at 11:30 and we began taking pictures by 11:40 or so. I truly love their work, I like the convenience of being able to get the pictures the same day, I love their professionalism, and I will continue to use Portrait Innovations for my family photos. read more

Portrait Innovations - Christmas 2014 pose - they take wonderful photos - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Bel Air, Maryland

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I scheduled my family for a photoshoot at Portrait Innovations in Bel Air, MD on a Sunday in March. I called several times in advance to make sure I understood the $300 package and process. However, despite my efforts, the process was a nightmare from start to finish. I arrived at 3:45pm for the 4pm appointment. Most of the members of my group arrived by 4pm as well. Dani (Danette) was our assigned photographer. When I advised her that some members of my group would be late (something we take responsibility for), she said that she would not take any photos until the entire group had arrived. I explained that, for the sake of time, some of the smaller group shots could be taken since all members of those parties were present. She refused. When placing everyone for the large group photo, Dani complained that everyone in our group was a similar height (as if this is uncommon or otherwise intentional). She did not have enough stools or techniques to place us so everyone's face could be shown. This is evident in the large group shot because not everyone's face is visible. She assured us that we could all be seen by her camera but in the final photos someone's face is absolutely obstructed. Adding to this unprofessionalism is the fact that Dani herself almost fell off of a chair when trying to take this photo. She was sweating, out of breath, and overall seemed out of her league. I am not sure why I was told Portrait Innovations could accommodate a group of our size if your staff lacks training and your facility lacks the necessary resources. Because Dani refused to start our session on time, we did not end until almost 7pm. Several members of my family could not stay for a 3 hour photoshoot so we were unable to get all of the groupings we wanted. At no point during ANY photo did she have anyone to tilt their head, move closer, etc. The entire process was sloppy and this is evident in the disappointing photos that resulted. As for the printed photos, the lighting on most of them is very dark and I was not given the choice of the colored background. Dani made this decision without consulting me and refused to change it when I expressed my disappointment. In addition, the photos were not lightened as I requested and, after two weeks of waiting, the photos still had not been edited or photoshopped as promised. This nightmare of an ordeal lasted 3 weeks. I regret doing business with this company and would not recommend any Portrait Innovations services to anyone I know. read more

Very unsatisfied. We made an appointment for 2:10 pm. We show up 10 minutes before our scheduled appointment and they tell us they are 6 appointments behind. No call no notification. And by looking at the sign in sheet, they have taken several walk in appointments and disregarding scheduled appointments. We kindly asked on the wait time per session, and all they said was they have no idea. We made an appointment because we have other obligations. I will never be returning and no we did not get our pictures taken because we had to leave before they could even get to us. Very dissapointed because these were our Christmas pictures for our christmas cards. read more

My finished product far out weighed my experience. While the picture I selected was a small snapshot of perfection, my photographer was exhausted from her overbooked understaffed day on the Easter weekend. She had a very difficult time keeping the attention on my two 2 year olds, and left on a couple of occasions for whatever reason. We managed to get about 28 shots after an hour or more and before I called quits. Then to top off my experience with this location, I thought I had lost something belonging to one of the children, only to return to pick up my canvas photo to find an employee wearing my lost item. When I asked her about it she ASKED me if I wanted it back. I probably will not return to the Bel Air location. My money and time was not well spent. read more

UNRELIABLE company, apathetic staff, mediocre products. We only had one experience with this PI and will never be back. Upon arrival, photographer Ben touted his skills, ensuring that we knew what a great photographer "everyone" said he was. THAT was my first red flag. He was ok. In the photos, my husband's blue striped shirt constantly showed up as round swirls, stumping Ben and everyone else. We chose a pose with husband's shirt covered by son sitting in front of him. 2nd red flag. 3rd red flag was when the computer jammed upon choosing our poses. They had to restart the computer and start our long order process all over again. After ordering photos (twice) they told us to grab a bite while they printed chosen photos. That took about an additional hour, and ended with them printing the WRONG photo many times over. So we waited for ANOTHER hour for them to print the CORRECT photo. (Computer crashed again apparently). How many red flags are we up to yet? Finally they told us that since we lived an hour away, they'd be happy to mail the mug and ornaments to our house. Except. THEY NEVER DID. I called once a week for TWO MONTHS and was constantly told they just put them in the mail that day. We finally showed up unannounced and picked them up ourselves two months later, which makes me wonder if they were just sitting there the whole time. Because. Voila. They were there, in the studio. The ornaments weren't ceramic, as touted. They were cheap plastic. Disappointing. Can not recommend this place unless you are looking for a very time consuming adventure with mediocre products, at best. read more

I scheduled an appointment two weeks in advanced (Policy doesn't allow you to schedule sooner) for six adults and a five month old baby to have Christmas pictures taken. Our appointment was scheduled for Sunday, December 22, 2019 at 3:00 pm. We arrived and checked in at 2:50 pm and were told to have a seat and they would be ready shortly. After 45 minutes, I had to go searching and finally found an employee to check on something I heard other customers talking about. I asked them if they could give me an idea how much longer it would be, and I was told it would be at least 2-2 1/2 hours before they "might be ready to take us back". I was told at minimum it would be 2-2 1/2 hours to get back "maybe", another 1-2 hours to take pictures, view pictures and process and checkout. (that would be a total of 5 hours and 15 minutes total. In our group we're an 81 and 82 year old and a 5 month old baby. I asked him if we could go get a bite to eat and he said you leave don't come back unless we call and make another appointment. Their explanation for being so late was that corporate schedules 3-4 groups every 5 minutes. This is unacceptable! If I could have posted this with no stars that's what I would have done. I DO NOT recommend Portrait Innovations! We did cancel and decided we weren't staying for 5 hours read more

Awesome job. Marlayna did a fantastic job. I loved the pictures I got. She was so nice and friendly too. Great job. Will definitely be back. read more

I've been using portrait innovations for 4 years. Their photographers are friendly. Sometimes they need a little guidance. I do not always like their set ups, decor or hand written signs (I find them to be a little tacky). They are always open for suggestions and very patient with families. Their pricing is a little high but all of their photos are customizable which is wonderful. read more

I took my 9 month old for Valentine's Day pictures today. They were very flexible with my appointment time since my daughters nap was not at her usual time and they had availability. The women that worked there were very nice and took their time working with us. When it came time to purchase pictures, they were informative, telling us about each of the packages but were not pushy. I'd I'd not feel obligated to purchase more than I wanted. They were reasonably priced and a much better deal than the school pictures that I had recently purchased elsewhere. The best part is that within 20 minutes, we had our photos. We will definitely be back. read more

If I could give them ZERO stars I would, after the customer service I've received at this establishment. My experience with this location has ALWAYS been lovely , inviting , comforting . But as of yesterday ? HORRENDOUS . After setting an appointment I was pressured to come in an hour early only to sit and wait an additional hour after my original scheduled time . Next after my photoshoot occurred I was told to return in 30mins but after grabbing a bite to eat with my family (which only took 20mins) . I return to an empty dark building with the door locked !!! (Did I mention the manager quit on the spot that day?) above all else AVOID THIS LOCATION AT ALL COSTS....trust me you'll thank me later . read more

So we thought we would try this place out. We called and made an appointment a week before the day of the pictures. They called my phone just about every day up until the day of the appointment. So annoying, we rush there to be on time with a toddler only to walk in the door to "we're 20 mins behind". After 45 we left and never will return. There are way to many operations like this where they will be considerate of your time. read more

I just got my 1 year olds pictures done here. Stephanie was amazing! Her pictures were fabulous and she was wonderful with my daughter. Even when my daughter had a fit while we were choosing the photos she was very professional and understanding. I mean working with one year olds isnt exactly easy since they just want to run around. Will definitely be back! read more

I have used Portrait Innovations for senior pictures for both of my children and this last time for my son's girlfriend. They took excellent pictures, don't rush you through the process, and there was no pressure in what to buy. If you tell them where you need to be price wise they get you there. read more

Super friendly, takes time and patience with the littles! Didn't feel rushed!! Loved it!! Great experience!!

This was the absolute WORST and most unprofessional experience - DO NOT GO! I am not a big complainer or reviewer... but I just could not believe the rude customer service we experienced. I made an appointment for a holiday shoot at 10:20 for my family, and I have a toddler. We got all dressed up on a Sunday morning and got there before our appointment. We arrived at 10:10. No one greeted us and there was no one at the front. We sat there until 10:30 and I went to say something, only to be told I needed to "check in." So I did. I went back up to the woman around 10:45 to ask if they were running behind, only to be dismissed with a rude comment and eye roll. She said it would be about 10 minutes or so. I said, we had an appointment, have been patiently waiting, and I had a toddler who doesnt understand patience. 45 minutes later.... I went back again to ask what the status was. She preceded to tell me she was busy and gave me a bunch of excuses, was so blatantly rude, did not once apologize and walked away. Another mom with her kids said they had been waiting for an hour with an appointment. I was so shocked at the disorganization, lack of customer service, and absolute dismissal of a customer. We walked out! I would never recommend this place, and I would have fired this woman for her incompetence. I can understand someone having a bad day, or an off day, but when you have a ton of families, kids, and people wanting to take their holiday photos, change jobs if you cannot be respectful and nice. She ruined what was supposed to be a nice family morning.. and now I have to scramble to find someone else to take photos. read more

I honestly can't say anything good about my one and only experience at the Bel Air MD Portrait Innovations Studio. We scheduled our appointment for 10am and were not seen until 11am. There were two photographers taking pictures in two different rooms and because they don't have the same backgrounds they would have to switch rooms and hold others up. Then when they were done, they sat with the people after to select pictures, which is time consuming and if they were properly staffed the photographer should have been able to go back in the room and take the next customer and let someone else help the customer choose photos. When we finally got to go in the room for pictures, I told the photographer we were on a time crunch so we just wanted one pic (drape pic for senior portrait) just with different backgrounds. And of course they still took a million pics with weird angles and kept trying to do other pics in her regular clothes, which we declined. I told her my daughter wanted to replicate my senior picture and the photographer asked if the picture was horizontal or vertical. I told her vertical. But when we finally got to look at the pictures, she still took a bunch that were horizontal, which I don't understand when you are taking a portrait of someone. There is so much space on the sides of her. I wanted a picture of her not the background! Anyhow, the worst part of the whole experience is when they try to sell you 8 million different things and rush you to pick out pictures. I was completely lost when she told me about all the stuff included in the package they sell and since I told her I didn't want the package for $419 with all these things that she quickly selected and I didn't like, she just kept asking me to eliminate pics but not to worry that all of the pics would be on the CD and talking about the different specials they had and I was LOST!!! I kept repeating that I just wanted a CD (and what I didn't tell her, because I didn't want to be rude; I wasn't happy with some of the pics and I wanted to edit them before I printed them) but she never acknowledged that I said that. So at that point, I just wanted to leave and I told my daughter to select a picture for the year book and two other poses to get wallets of. So the photographer selected the yearbook pic for the package deal ($19.99) and said the picture she would need for the yearbook would be on the CD. Then my daughter picked wallets of one image and I picked 5X7 of another and they told me the total would be $75 something. At that point I didn't care and wanted to leave since it was now after 12pm and my daughter was going to be late for work. When I got home, I called and Hannah answered and I asked if I could just buy a CD and she said I could come in and they would load the pics on the CD for me. So i said, why didn't they just do that in the first place then? And then she put me on hold and someone else got on the phone but I can't remember her name, Lakecia maybe, I can't remember...and she was incredibly rude and didn't want to listen to my concerns. She just kept saying that the photographer explained everything and they don't just sell CDs I would have had to purchase the package and treated me like I was an idiot for not understanding the process. I then asked for the number to corporate and she said, well its not going to do you any good because its just going to come back to us. Now I am stuck with a bunch of pics that were printed that I am not happy with and can't edit. I hated this entire experience from start to finish and now I have to get more pics done from somewhere else. Oh and I just wanted to add some feedback in case Portrait Innovations ever reads this, most newer laptops often times do not have CD readers, so it would be good to upgrade to thumb drives. read more

My family and I have been going there for 4 years now for our holiday photos, the first 2 years were great, we bought the basic package with the coupon and got more photos online. Last year we got half of what we got before, we were ok with it, but this year we got nothing, we're so disappointed. I spoke to the manager and literally begged him to sell me the cd with our photos, and kept telling me I have to buy a package (the cheapest is $60) on top of the basic package we already purchased, he was so incredibly rude and unwilling to help me, just kept repeating the same over and over again. We were very happy going there but now we're sad we can't get the rest of pure photos from the session. Definitely don't recommend it anymore. read more

This place is hell on Earth. We waited an hour and a half after our appointment time to get pictures. When you have a baby, you plan the appt around meals and nap time. By the time it was our turn my son was so antsy and tired he wouldn't sit still, not totally their fault but he was ready to go. The older lady that works the front counter complained the whole time about being sick, cold, on pain meds, how awful the manager is, etc. Two employees were yelling at each other in the printer room for a long time which may be why they were so backed up. Children were screaming and running around with no one to keep order. There are 2 rooms and you have to wait in line for each room. The girl that took the pics was very sweet but wasn't quick enough to get a good shot and had no clue what she was selling when it came to pictures. I ended up paying $120 for 3 mediocre pictures. I had no idea what I was buying. I'll stick with Picture People, although also nuts, you at least have the option to buy the disc and you know what you're getting. This place needs new management STAT. read more

Very nice. Seemed professional. Informed photographer that we only wanted one pose. They insisted that we did a billion other poses (to try and sell more). I allowed it but laughed as they wasted my time when I made it crystal clear of my intentions. When it came time to order photos, you aren't able to substitute any photo sheets other then exactly what the package entails. The coupon we had offered a full size sheet photo that they can't even print in store. And if you want it send to your house, add another $3. But wait! It gets better!!! They said, " you don't have to get that photo." So I asked for two smaller ones instead. Nope! Paid the same price for a package with one less photo sheet because I didn't want to drive to the mall again to pick up one damn sheet. Nice place, friendly people, stupid rules that just piss off customers. Save your $$ and go to JC penny for the same quality but more photos for your money. And no nonsense rules. read more

Had a very very fun and pleasant experience with Christine. We were there to take Senior pics for our daughter. She was very knowledgeable and helpful and i felt like she was really into it and tried to shoot the best pictures possible. The pictures turned out great and we will def be back for some other occasions. Highly recommended read more

I just went and had a shoot for my little ones who are 3 and 1. My 1yr old didn't really want to smile and kept running away but the photographer Lucas did an excellent job and didn't get frustrated with her. He was absolutely awesome with my kids. I see a few people calling it pricey but so far everywhere I've ever been it's been $20 per pose for the sheets that you get and that's what it costs here as well. Plus depending on what you spend you get a bunch of bonus stuff too. We got 15 poses which comes to 45 portrait sheets, 8 special effect photos (and these are large photos), 2 soft cover portrait books, 1 hardcover portrait book, a calender and a high resolution CD of ALL photos taken from the shoot. After tax and everything it came to $333.86 which really is not bad if you consider everything included. Plus, you get your portrait sheets, special effect photos and CD same day. Most other places I've gone you have to wait a couple weeks and pick up your photos later. read more

I am extremely disappointed with how their business is run. I understand their tactics of taking hundreds of pictures so you can fall in love with them and buy more. However, I only needed one pose for my twin boys and was told they have to do 4 back drops and have a certain amount of pictures, which we did to appease them. After 2 backdrops, my 1 year old boys were not having it any longer. They wouldn't sit still and we couldn't keep them entertained any longer. She insisted we keep going after telling her a couple different times that we didn't think they were going to still any longer. We finally got fed up and asked her if we could just see the pictures that she did have. She said that she didn't have enough pictures to upload, that corporate has to have so many pictures in order to upload. After we said we were just going to leave, she asked us to wait while she talked to her manager wasting even more of our time just to come back and tell us that their were only 5 good pictures. I don't understand why we couldn't look at those 5 pictures and why it was such a huge deal. They were not accommodating to infants at all. It's a money making scheme and I was very disappointed. It may be a good place for children 5 and older, but how could they expect my babies to sit still for 100 pictures? We left with no pictures, and a 45 minute drive home. read more