I recently worked with Melissa to update my professional headshots. She coached me on various poses and helped select the best shots at the end of the session. I received the final images within a few days and am very happy with the results. read more

My son had his senior portrait photos done by Vakker. My husband and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. They really captured the essence of his personality. He wasn't nervous at all and the smiles are so genuine. Their packages are very reasonable compared to some studios and we are just trying to decide which ones to choose as we have lots of favorites. The grandparents were also so pleased since the photos weren't so "out there" in strange colors and poses. However, our son really liked several of the photos taken with the hood up on his sweatshirt and processed in an edgier finish. So, the photographer and studio struck the perfect balance between new and traditional. I would recommend them highly. The staff is professional and caring. read more

Danielle is amazing! She knows just how to capture the moment with so much creativity and expression through the lens. She is very professional yet fun to work with. It was such a pleasure. Thanks Danielle. read more

Highly professional and skilled - Vakker Portraits gives great photos. From passport pictures to my employee portraits, they always have been the best place to get a good quality picture. Thank you Vakker! read more

I found out about them from their mailer and took my son in for his senior pictures. I liked that they had a complete list of schools and their photo deadlines and requirements, so I wouldn't have to figure those out myself. Before getting out the camera, the photographer sat with us while we went through 2 books of senior photos and told her which photos and poses appealed to us. Being a guy, my son only took 3 outfits, but we saw a very cool lighting effect that made him think of Men in Black, so they scheduled an additional free sitting where he took in his black suit and sunglasses. The results of both sittings were awesome! My son has always hated being photographed, but the photographer got him to relax, he actually had fun, and it showed in the photos. My son loved the results and so did we! I'm currently sitting here wondering HOW to choose - too many good ones. ***I've noticed that for some companies Yelp hides all the 5-star reviews. Seems to be happening here. I'm guessing there's some sort of fee you have to pay to let the high ratings show - ?*** read more

Vakker Portraits - Session Photography Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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I got my senior pictures done at Vakker this past summer and really liked the pictures as well as the experience. I thought the photographers were complimentary and were able to get a good smile out of me. I am constantly being notified about various deals Vakker is putting on for seniors and their families which is great because sometimes portraits can be extremely expensive but Vakker is reasonable. They even sent my yearbook photo straight to my school for me! I have recommended many of my friends to Vakker and am confident you will like your pictures and experience. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Plus, the makeup artist is fabulous. I think Vakker is a great place to go for your pictures, especially senior portraits. read more

Kind of a snooty reception from those at the front desk. Their photographer, Eric, is nice but too giggly. Nervous giggling actually. He isn't as creative as you'd expect for the prices they charge!! Go elsewhere. read more

Vakker and their photographers take fantastic pictures! My family were able to feel comfortable during the shoot which made our family pics natural and not poised. I have definitely recommended my friends and colleagues to have their pictures done at Vakker. read more

We had Vakker suggested to us by an acquaintence. The acquaintence was up front that they would get a discount if we went through Vakker, but mentioned that Vakker does makeup as part of the photography session. My daughter liked the idea of "professional makeup" so we chose Vakker rather than the studio that we have always had good results from. The half price sitting was over $80. The package pricelist was not provided up front. That was provided at a sales session, which they encouraged the senior to be present for. Here are the issues: The pictures weren't horrible. If I put them on a 1-10 scale, what was shown to us were in the 5-8 scale, all okay, some pretty good but not excellent. Had it been a normal school picture, I would have been delighted with the 8's. For a senior picture, I was hoping for better. For the price that Vakker asks, I felt that there should have been several shots that were 10. To be fair, Vakker offered us a retake for the same price and claimed that their "other photographer" was better. But now I know the package prices, and I've shopped around, I've decided to consider the $86 a learning experience and save a couple hundred by going with an established studio that I've had excellent photography from (as in consistent 10's) in the past. There was one other matter and it does make me angry. The studio posted untouched pictures of my daughter on facebook. Apparently we signed it as okay to post, but the choices of pictures were highly insensitive in the untouched state. The item that needed to be touched was one that she would NEVER been seen uncorrected by her friends. The photographer told my daughter it was better to be photographed naturally, and the touch ups would be less expensive. She trusted him, and that trust was breached by the posting. Vakker has now removed the pictures from facebook and apologized, but that insensitivity will not be forgotten. Be careful when you sign this document if you choose to go through Vakker. You may not like the result. In reading the glowing review that shows up first, I saw a statement about Vakker not allowing a purchase of pictures that aren't loved. That was not my experience. Perhaps I had a different sales person. None of us, my husband, my daughter or myself, were at all excited about the pictures and we were encouraged to buy those that we were describing as "not too bad." Sorry, can't agree, but again, we may have dealt with different people. A little addition on 11/13, When I wrote the above on Saturday, 10/30/2010, there was another review that mentioned that Vakker wouldn't allow Rebecca and her family to purchase pictures that they didn't absolutely love. That earlier glowing review disappeared after my review and two NEW glowing reviews appeared the next Wednesday, neither blaming Rebecca, but both giving Vakker a glowing review that said about the same thing. Interesting timing. I wonder why the first one was taken down? And I wonder what changes in this review page will occur as a result of the edits that I've made? One more piece of information that many parents want to know about senior pictures is price, up front. I notice it's not posted on the Vakker site. The booklet that I received with the proofs has prices so thought I'd share that for those that might want to know what the sticker shock will be later. Then you can shop prices before you commit as other studios do post prices on line. Vakker's Bronze package, their least expensive is $625 (which they state is a savings of $350 from the actual value of $975.) In this package, you get 8 5X7's or 8X10's. You get 40 classic wallets, the preview book and 1 image (I assume on CD.) You can use 3 poses. It does not include touch ups. I don't believe that make up session and sitting fee are included, so that's probably extra. If you want to create your own package, I can tell you that one 5X7 is $59, and that $59 doesn't include touch ups. That's just for printing the image. One of the people that I've told the above story to said that they bought senior pictures from Vakker this year. Her daughter was photographed by Eric too, and my co-worker was quite happy with the quality. Happy enough to pay the price. But she stated that she paid a lot more for pictures than she thought reasonable. She bought what she absolutely felt she needed because the packages were outside her budget. Think she paid between $4-500. She has no extras for the future for that price and no rights to images. I rather like the newer model of photography where the photographer hands over all the images for about $400. There's one well respected photographer in the area that does this, and I've looked at his work. It's really good! Probably where we're heading. I'll write a review for that company when we get picture returns. Hope you find this useful. And one last thing. I will only make one entry. I may edit, but I only vote once read more

I have been using Vakker since my kids were babies. Their staff is professional, customer service oriented and a pleasure to work with. I have been so happy with them and have referred many of my friends. They offer a variety of products of which I have many and each time I look at the pictures I am reminded of how they captured a moment in time that I will cherish always. We have had family portraits done at our home and every picture is a gift of art. Thank you Vakker for creating beautiful pictures that capture my families past, present and future, I will forever be grateful. read more

My daughter had her Senior pictures taken here. They did a fabulous job and the pictures were beautiful. The only area where they could improve is to get the online pictures to you more quickly, so that the kids can post them on Facebook. Vakker had them posted on their own website, yet still refused to release them to us for posting. I contacted them regarding this and their explanation was nonsensical. I looked at their Facebook page and other seniors had the same complaints. If they would address this issue I would give them 5 stars! read more

Complete rip-off. They don't tell you that you can't buy high-resolution digital images, so I ended up spending 400.00 to get 3 actual 5X7 prints and 3 lousy low res images for internet posting. read more