The studio is very efficient and everyone there was really nice. The photographer was great and my daughter was done with her sitting in less than 10 minutes for the basic yearbook photo only. The reason for my rating is the pricing of the photos. For years we have been able to get a few physical school photos for about $25 - $40 and we have enjoyed giving them out to family. Now, with the senior portrait, the same quantity of photos is going to be $156 with shipping?!? Really?!? I understand that this business has a lot of costs to cover but this feels like price gouging. I'm sad that they seem to be taking advantage of parents' emotions with a child graduating and capitalizing on the opportunity to charge an exorbitant fee for something they know we will likely cave in and buy. We are trapped by the school's choice for yearbook photographers and their ignominious pricing scheme is very disappointing. read more

Senior Portraits, significant and memorable. The initial studio visit was organized, professional, with easy to follow poses and postures. The photographer was calm, detailed, easy-going, and friendly. Time flew by, which means it was fun to watch, memorable for the Senior and his friend, who was in many of the shots, and they just looked happy! South Coast offered jackets and ties to borrow for the pictures and knew what looked good. Well worth the wait...the final prints, graduation announcement cards, and a framed photo were EXCEPTIONAL. Thank you South Coast. You did incredible work. read more

I had my senior yearbook photo taken here today. Andrew was my photographer. He was super nice and patient with me. He showed me my photos afterwards to make sure there was one I liked. There were several I liked. The quality of the photo was awesome as was the service from beginning to end. Thank you so much for making this easy and stress free. read more

South Coast Photographic - SouthCoast Photographic. - Photographers Near Me - Lake Forest, California

south coast is the worst place to do pictures. if you're going for your school year pictures, just get your school picture done. Do not pay extra to have any pictures done by them... i wouldn't even give them one star!!! I'm only putting one star because I had too..to make a review.. The high schools should pick a different place for senior pictures.. so disappointing!!!! read more

I knew that senior photos would be pricey, but this is just ripping people off. So many hidden fees, and the photography is cheesy. Look at the fine print on your voucher. $90 credit, but you have to buy four photos at outrageous prices, and only one pose includes the retouch that you are required to have. The salesperson failed to mention that part. Find an independent photographer or use your iPhone! I hope our school finds another place. I feel like this is probably like weddings- businesses charge ridiculous prices because they can. read more

There's a reason they have a low rating. The pricing is subject to change, and you have to repeatedly call and email to get support. The photographers for graduation photos are professional and took great pictures. It's really a shame that everything else was terrible. read more

Did my son's Senior Photo session with Johnny at the Lake Forest location. He was fantastic and so accommodating and kind! He posed and directed my son perfectly. He knew what he was doing! The front staff were all very nice too. They explained all the options and the steps to take to get the photos. All in all it was a great experience! read more

this was the worst experience of my entire damn life. My wack ahh school picked this place to take my senior portraits. I was so happy to take my final year book photo because i felt ugly in every single one of my previous photos. This year, they changed the photographer and it made me a little nervous. If u thought u were ugly in ur past photos, come here because they'll boost ur ego about ur 7th grade emo phase. I have never in my 17 years of living been violated this bad. I look like the "my granny ate my house" book cover. They made me look to the side which gave me the worst cross eyed look i'd ever experience. If you want ur entire senior class to look like they're fresh out of the saw franchise come here!! Not only that, I paid for this crap. 35 dollars just to get my photo taken and put in the year book. I would have rather shi in my pants and walked into a photo booth with shi smeared all over my face. Yes, it was really this bad. read more

I came here for my senior photos, and the service was fantastic! I took my photos with a male photographer. At first, he told me if I wanted, I could go into the fitting room and check to make sure I liked how I looked before the photos. Once I began the process, he would show me, with a mirror, how I looked before taking the photos. Regarding the yearbook selection, I could not change my yearbook selection photo, so I emailed them, and they changed it for me. They responded quickly and were sweet! Great customer service. I would recommend going between 5-6 because it was less busy. read more

I genuinely don't understand why my school chose this place. The pictures are ugly and the prices are insane

Incredible service! Lucas was so kind so friendly so patient! Amazing customer service! Everyone is very friendly.

If I could give LESS than One Star, I would. I paid for a digital image for my Newport Harbor High School student in AUGUST 2024. Here I am in December after 3 phone calls, talking to their "customer service" person TWICE over the past few months, I'm STILL WAITING for the picture. THE WORST SERVICE EVER. I will be emailing and calling my kid's school and the Newport Mesa School Board members to make sure they NO LONGER use there people for school pictures so NO OTHER PARENT experiences this lack of service. read more

Amazing service!! Lucas at the front was so professional, helpful and patient. Another customer came in and was being rude about a misunderstanding and Lucas handled it like a pro. Never raised his voice, spoke clearly and was still very kind to the woman. So respectful. We waited a total of 1 minute before the photographer, Andrew called us back. Once again, a very professional, fun and likeable person. He was so good with posing directions and personable, the smiles for the photos will definitely show more realistic since he kept the vibe upbeat. Great experience. I'm looking forward to coming back next year for my other daughter. read more

Expensive for NOTHING. Had to pay an unreasonable extra amount to get a digital/printed copy of my senior pictures so I chose not to. So sad! read more

No stars. The worst. Why do schools use this company? They're crooked. I have two receipts for my son's photo session (which we were forced to have by the school (LHHS) in order to get his senior photo into the yearbook). I wanted to be sure to get the retouched version of his picture for the yearbook so I placed an order for the retouch. I paid close to $200 for the session and the retouched image never made it into the yearbook. When I reached out to rectify, they tried to cover their tracks by saying that I had to go on their website to order it. What??? That's a bunch of BS, because that's not what they said at the session last year. These folks are super shady. I mean look at these reviews... read more

I didn't know what to expect having never been to one of their facilities before. It was busy but not crowded. I waited less than a minute to be waited on. They processed my order quickly, I think it helped to have my paperwork ready and my package already selected. The wait to see the Photographer was about 10 minutes. He was professional and directed my son in about a dozen different poses. It was a relaxed, air conditioned, environment and it took less than an hour from start to finish. I wish every company ran this smoothly. I am so impressed by the friendly, patient and professional folks working in their Lake Forest facility. Great job, will recommend these guys to others. read more

RIPOFF ALERT! In order for your kid to be in the school's yearbook, they charge $96. Shouldn't being in the yearbook be free? If not everyone is in the yearbook, why would you even want one??? This $96 does not include any photos for you to keep! Their information flyer is confusing and worded in a way to mislead you. To be able to get any copies for yourself, you'll end up spending at least $120 more. A total of over $200 for school pictures? RIDICULOUS!!! During the COVID-19 era when many families are struggling just to make rent and buy food, to take advantage and charge this much for school pictures is a crime! Yeah I know, school pictures aren't a necessity, but it's hard for a parent to deny that from their senior kid. I hope this company has a change of heart and becomes less greedy. Otherwise I hope all schools will stop using them! If you have any option at all, stay away from greedy companies like this. read more

I went there for my senior photos and they did an amazing job and had amazing customer service!! highly recommend

What an unbelievable experience! Their system of protecting each other was well organized. We were greeted and checked our temperature. The cashier (Kaira - w a beautiful smile and purple streak hair ) was thorough and explained everything we needed clearly. But the BEST part of our experience was the photographer AMY!!!! Amy's happy Alabama energy was in the room, she was very understanding of my daughter's needs, she took her time to make sure she captured the right angle with patience and kindness. We knew she was an experience photographer and really took the time know her subjects. Thank you AMY!!! Blessings to all! read more

This place is the absolute worst and a real rip-off. I paid for the touch up package and they returned my three girl's photos unretouched. When I questioned it, they (actually it was PHIL) said that they only covered "acne" in retouch packages. He emailed me saying that. Are you kidding me? So you cannot take care of a hair out of place or a shiny face? This is complete insanity. Why buy the touch up package at all? Why wouldn't they say "only for acne" when they sell it to me? A strong NO to this place. You can do better. I am going to call my school and tell them they should use another company for school photos! read more

I agree with some of the other reviews! This place is very underhanded and operates using less then desirable business practices! Don't go here! You'll get taken advantage of! I took my son in for his Senior Photos. We had an appointment and waited about an hour. I paid $97.20 for the session fee and was Instructed that I will receive a $90 credit that I can use towards purchasing photos. I went online to order the photos. In order to use the "credit" of $90.00 there is a purchase minimum of 4 items. The total is over $400.00! Plus shipping and taxes! If the company would have been upfront, honest and fully disclosed their strong arm business practices, I would have warned all of our friends and we never would have wasted our time! I'm unable to purchase the photos and lost $90.00 It's extremely disappointing that companies operate at such an extremely low level! read more

Beware! I just tried to order prints of my son's senior yearbook photo through South Coast Photographic who handled the Senior Yearbook Photos for El Toro High (and I assume other local high schools) and was amazed to see that to order one 8x10 print was going to cost $83.00!! The sitting was already paid for... the $83 is for the print alone. I thought I was reading it wrong so I called back but they verified the cost. Sorry... that's stealing...really sad. If you have a senior for 2022 I would highly suggest you have photos done elsewhere... and will be letting the schools know how these people are ripping off parents of students. read more

Great experience today getting senior portraits! Cynthia and Khoa were awesome! Would definitely recommend. I brought in pics from Pinterest and Khoa helped us to make the photos look like our inspired looks. Was so great! read more

Very professional front desk and photographers. Spacious office Only complaint is that the packages are very expensive. read more

I'm with other Yelpers....this place is ridiculously over priced. And ya know what? I'd actually be fine with the prices if the product was decent, but this place is seriously stuck in the 80's. Now don't get me wrong, I love the 80's, but I don't want current pictures I paid a fortune for to look cheesy and outdated. I want them to be classy and current. The two stars I gave were for the decent customwr service I received over the phone and not for the pictures taken (they were horrible), for the attitude of the woman checking me in (she was incredibly rude and clearly disenchanted with her job) or for the photographer who wasn't pleasant, creative or talented. read more

South Coast Photographic - The waiting room - Photographers Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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I had a senior photo ordered and reordered for my daughter since October and we are still waiting to get them. I'm hoping to get them before she graduate:(. Also, the pricing has gone skyrocket. read more

OH. MY. GOD. So they were late getting the proofs up on the website for us to be able to choose a pose for the yearbook. Now I know why. The proofs were substandard, like as in I've had better photos taken at the DMV substandard. I'm sure if they had my kid hold up criminal case numbers in front of their face the photo would have been better. I literally should have lit that $32.33 on fire because I would have gotten better value out of it. Irvine Unified School District, contract with another photographer these people are a scam. read more

If you are a school please don't use them. Amateur photographers w no time to direct or give guidance. Expensive, just poor quality all around. Too busy in their phones to take more than one shot, can't be bothered. Not impressed one but. Have to agree with the other 1 star reviewers on here for their on-site work at least. Bad. read more

00000 ZERO STARS, I just looked at my son's pictures last night,and OMG! I was very disappointed with this company, now I see why reviews are Zero stars! they chose the worst pose for the yearbook, and the quality and lighting makes his face look yellow and it's like they highlighted all the blemishes on his face, I have an Android s7 and I take better pictures than them, It makes me furious to be ripped off! read more

Here we are taking senior portraits for our child when we get the order form, days later, for the portraits taken. Shockingly OVERPRICED! Talk about gouging! One picture was quoted as $83.00??!! We paid $90.00 for the sitting fee when hundreds of kids were present at the same time! Beginning total for us started at $375.00 with up charges for just about anything you could think of. Sickening greed for what should be a memorable event. Unbelievable!! The PUBLIC schools should be ashamed of using such a company. I am sure many there could never afford such prices. Shameful! read more

We experienced the Best combination of service And personal connection at South Coast Photographic! We went in for our fourth senior portrait. It is a time of "bitter sweet"-ness. Your "baby" is now a senior. I was having a little bit of emotional moment- Until CHERYL GREETED US with her infectious Smile and bubbly personality! The Fun began at that moment! And the Joy of the last 16 years flooded through and CHERYL captured it ALL through her lens! She connected with us and brought out the laughter and ease needed for a photo shoot! So thank you CHERLY for the personal and professional touch! BRAVO! read more

It sounds to me like a JCPenney photography studio photographer would have done a much better job at less $$. Hell, I could have done a better job maybe? I have a DSLR Nikon 35mm Camera and some lenses. I'm just so sorry to hear of the rip-off that parents, who only want what's best for their children's senior year (as they have wanted for their entire lives). What does the SCHOOL have to say about this? Is it too late to cancel SCP's contract (I wonder if they could hmmm) and contract a "real" photographer? Sorry kids. I'm sure your parents are heartsick and angry and you guys have done nothing wrong :( Best wishes to each and every one of you as you embark on a summer holiday and then re-enter academia and go on to make a difference in our world. Sorry this is so long, it just touches a nerve. From someone who did not finish H.S. or get her G.E.D. But did do a few college courses that helped me into a good career throughout the years. ALL THE BEST. read more

Website must be broken for 2023 senior portraits. In order to get four 4x6 pictures costs $400 including $90 session. Please let me know and I will update this review. read more

Lame!!! It's a scam!!! So angry that I got duped into do this for the sake of my child graduating high school. You guys are horrible scam artists, feeding off our emotions because our child is graduating high school. Thanks assholes. We bought the biggest package on the day of her scheduled photo session NOT explaining to us how cheesy and lame it was. On top of that, two days later we get the email to choose our photos and what do you know, each photo was nearly $90 EACH!!! There had to be at least 80 pictures sent to us. WTF?! You guys are heartless and greedy. Such a shame that you guys are even in business. DO NOT EVER GO THERE! EVER! read more

Unbelievable high price, unbelievable low quality.......If not for senior's memory of high school, I don't think anyone will come in to take a photo here. This studio should have been flushed away by the market, as many many 0/1 star has been there since years ago. we should ask why our school district still use this studio ??????? read more

We went there for my daughter's school portrait today. The front young lady Linda was very professional and has very good customer service skills and a positive vibe. The photographer we got was Amy, she's really fun and clearly loves her job. She's very experienced with the camera and really know how to choreograph the photos and direct the subject in her poses, I looked at some of the shots preliminary and they're amazing. I thought it's going to be just a photoshoot but turns out a great experience. read more

What is unfair with writing online reviews is you are forced to give one (positive) star and not having option of giving negatives. I agree with all the other negative reviewers. This company takes advantage of their monopoly with Irvine Schools to rip off parents and provide subpar quality and service. read more

THE BEST RIP OFF ARTISTS EVER. I wish I could give these people ZERO stars. -- High School Year Book. They charge $91 for a "photo session" - but you get NO photos for that $91? Instead what they do is they give you a voucher for $85, but that only works if you spend close to $300. I jokingly asked; "What if I only want a 5x7" and she said it was going to be $83. And it keeps going up from there. It's the principle of it all. DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT GO TO THESE PEOPLE. Unless you are very happy to spend about $500 or more. I'm just amazed of how happy the girl on the phone was at telling me that I had to spend money. read more

Unfortunately, this company has a monopoly when it comes to senior yearbook and graduation photos. Parents and students have no choice but to use this bottom-rung studio. That's why this company could careless about their quality and customer service. They're outrageously overpriced considering the low quality and severely outdated photography style. Just use them for the senior yearbook photo only, since you're forced to use them by the school. DO NOT purchase senior portraits because you will regret it!! Go to an independent family photographer instead for the senior portraits. I needed to order my son's graduation photo and the single digital image on a CD cost me $26 plus $4 for shipping! My computer doesn't even have an optical drive anymore! Thankfully, I still have an old computer that has a CD drive, so at least I can download the photo. read more

This place is not only unprofessional but it takes horrible pictures as well. The backgrounds and the lighting they use are not complementary to a person's skin at all, making any person turn out horribly in the photo. The people taking the photos do not seem like professionals; last time I went the receptionist at the front desk took my photo.... Even the pictures they use for samples, which are suppose to be their better photos, are awkward and Photoshopped badly..no, nayy not badly, horribly. Their touch-ups are mediocre at best. Honestly, I feel as though an elementary class just learning how to use Photoshop could do a better job than this place. Basically what I was trying to say was: You would probably receive better quality photos if you just paid some high school student taking an intro to photography class to take your photos. Don't go here unless you like that unprofessional and ugly quality that only SCP can bring to photos read more