This is a total waste of time and resources. The studio experience is not worth what its gonna drain out of your pocket. It is a legal way of scamming people. There was no prior negotiations before getting bill at the end os studio session. I was made to believe it would not cost more that 200 quid but I ended up paying over a 1000 quid. It really affected my finances. read more

I have on going personal issues I have bought a voucher But I'm struggling to get in to the studio As to trying to reschedule my appointment But easier option will be to have my voucher money I spent £200 as a single mum I'm struggling Not getting the correct customer support I wish to have, or speak to a manager can help resolve these issues read more

I don't know where to start with this scam of a studio. I booked a modelling session with them as it was a request from my agent that I provide new pictures. The first thing is that they are very vocal about their fees for cancelling and rescheduling that you would think they are serious. However it all started when they called me less than a day before and changed both the location and the time. They called me on Sunday to change everything about the shoot the following day. This is wild when they are here replying to people complaining about fees saying that this is just the way their reservation system works. In that case how can you modify clients reservations at such a short notice whenever it suits YOU without your reservation system stopping you from doing so? Then comes the most comical thing about this. In a normal world when you work with a normal studio, you get sent a gallery link so you can choose which pictures you want to buy and then they get edited and you receive them. Very simple. However at the circus that is Vanity Studios, once the shoot is done, a woman who wasn't at the studio during the whole shoot tells me we would have a viewing session the following day to see the pictures. That is the first time I am hearing of this way of working. It certainly does not happen at serious studios. The scheduling of this viewing session is completely time wasting. But anyway I wait for the session to happen and this is when I am told that this 1 hour viewing session, on ZOOM, is the only time that I have to commit to buying a package. It means that I have to look at the pictures through Zoom from someone sharing their screen (someone whose job is only to make you buy as many pictures as possible and receives a commission). So you already know that whatever this consultant says is purely commission motivated. I told the consultant that this is not normal to operate like this. And I want to make it very clear to other people reading this review that you should indeed be able to see your pictures independently to carefully choose which you want. Not be stuck on a zoom call with a sales assistant. I voiced my concerns to Chevaugn who is the consultant and she basically said "this is our business model so if you don't like it call the office". This is the wildest thing I've ever had to face with a photo studio. I therefore closed the Zoom call and called the office. When I called the office I was met with a man who also has no idea how a photoshoot is supposed to go. He found it completely normal to entrap people in a Zoom call simply to sell packages on pictures you can BARELY see from someone sharing their screen. He told me the studio manager would call me today to resolve this. They are just professionals at wasting peoples VALUABLE time. I booked this shoot far in advance, they changed location and time at the last minute. I really needed these pictures for my agent but it seems they are an amateur studio only catering to people wanting goofy pictures and who do not have the requirements that actors and models have. In that case they should refrain from offering services that are below standards like so. That is a shame because the photographer I worked with was really great and possibly the only person there who knows how to be a professional. I will never recommend them to anyone, I had already told my friend who needed corporate headshots about that studio. But seeing how these people work I am glad she did not book anything. read more

All is basic, makeup does not stand out and not so professional photographer. All photos came out was just like the normal photos that you could take yourself at home. Worst of all, the technology of polishing the photos were so poor, definitely not worth the price. Never ever again. AVOID read more

WARNING!   SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!     VANITY, THE SCAM STUDIO! IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND BOUGHT THE VOUCHER RECENTLY, RING THEM AND ASK FOR A REFUND AS THEY ARE OBLIGED TO REFUND IN 15 DAYS FROM THE POINT OF SALE. It's a daylight robbery, a complete scam run by a few stupid fraudsters and imposters who aim to rob your hard-earned money by luring you into their trap.  Molly is one from the management team, and when I called her and asked for my refund, she told me that one of the managers would call me to sort out the issue. But, ironically, she asked Andrew, a makeup artist up there who does not know customer service, to deal with my refund request. He called me by addressing himself as one of the managers, and he had already approved my refund request. And here I'm after three weeks, received no call from them and no refund. The scam runs through their veins, and I have recorded every bit of it, including the phone recordings and the texts Molly did from a personal mobile number. I'm about to make an official complaint about them and probably give my story to the media. This is not acceptable. read more

Vanity Studios - Session Photography Near Me - London, XGL

AVOID!! This place is an absolute joke and a scam! I was given a voucher that said I'd have a mini facial (cleanse, tone and moisturise), nails done, hair and make-up. I had my hair and make-up done which lasted about 20 mins for both. And nothing else. Then me and my friend had the photoshoot done, which was fine. But then we were sent to an office with some woman who hit us with a HARD SELL. She was so abrupt and rude. We said we didn't particularly like any of the photos so didn't want to pay for any. The voucher also stated that we could choose a "complimentary" print from the day, but when we chose which one we wanted, she told us that that one wasn't included??? Then she basically bullied us into giving up the £100 deposit (that was paid when the voucher had been booked) to pay for 2 photos that we didn't even want or like. The vouchers are obviously a way of getting you into the studios just so they can bully you into paying extortionate amounts of money for crappy photos. I will say that the hair and make-up girls, and the photographer were all lovely. It's just the woman at the end who pushes you into a sale that isn't nice. We felt so uncomfortable and under pressure! It was a horrible experience! Avoid this place like the plague!! read more

If you are considering buying a voucher, I would not recommend! The so-called 'voucher' business from my experience is a way to get you to spend more money whether you like it or not. They sell the idea of 'an experience' but my experience was unpleasant. In fairness, the two women who did my makeup and hair were nice but everything else was stressful and seemed pushy and intimidating. Make sure you're 100% familiar with their terms and conditions because I think it's not customer-oriented and a ploy to get you to spend more money than you are willing to. I met two girls there who got their voucher too and said it felt like a trick/scam of sorts to get more money out of you... I respect all the positive reviews if those were really their experiences but if you're considering buying a voucher I would not recommend. In all honesty, if I knew this is how it would go, I would have let the £40 I paid for the voucher go and not schedule to go to the studio at all. The woman who was selecting the photographs for us and showing us the packages, seemed irritated immediately we told her we didn't want to get a lot of pictures- it's almost as if she didn't understand why we didn't want to get more pictures outside of the complimentary ones. In the long run, they claim we were both more than 20 mins late (I admit I was late but definitely not over 20 minutes as they claimed) and forced us to pay for extra pictures with the money we put down as a deposit because of that. I personally wouldn't recommend but if you still want to go, all the best, I hope you have a better experience than we did. read more

I went to Vanity Studios after purchasing a voucher on Carnaby Street - which promised a day of pampering, a photoshoot and a photo to keep and take home. Which was a good thing as I needed pictures for work. The pampering was fun - even though not much of a pampering as the hair was done in 10min, and the makeup was overall "okay", but I had a lot of fun during the photoshoot. The photographer was really fun and enthusiastic, he took a lot of time - I had a lot of fun, I felt at ease and enjoyed that part of the day. However all the good vibes I got until then were shattered when came the viewing session. The photos were "okay" - I am a bit on the larger side, and the pictures were not flattering at all - because of the lighting, angles and frames he used. A friend of mine (wedding photographer) took a few pictures of me a few weeks back, in hers I felt pretty and confident. With these I felt obese and actually shattered my ego. The worst in all that is that the viewing session - where I was supposed to pick one picture to take home, turned into a sales session. The women insisted and pressured me into buying the whole lot and an extortionate amount - knowing that that did not include retouching, and became quite aggressive when I tried to explain to her that I did not want to spend more money. I left that session with a bitter taste - I was going to recommend it to some friends that also needed some pictures taking for work, but that definitely won't happen. Don't go to Vanity Studios, you can have better pictures taken in a less stressful and oppressing environment. read more

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM! "V.I.P INVITE VOUCHER" We were approached by a young girl and boy who claimed he worked for a radio station and showed us his Instagram account with 25K+ followers. They were very convincing and gave us two tickets for the price of one as we were very apprehensive about doing it. So now they are Constantly calling me trying to get me booked in, you have to pay £50 per person for the booking and after finding out we won't receive the £100 deposit back if we choose not to buy extra photos because the photographer's and workers get angry for not spending extra money they keep it making a total of £220 for a "£60 girly day" as advertised.. I would rather be at a £30 loss then £220. So we've decided to not book it. Ive contacted them and they have ignored every email and Instagram message, they phoned me today and I said I didn't want to take part and he called me a "c*nt*" and hung up the phone. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! read more

Working with Vanity Studio was awesome!!! Great Experience! Amazing photos. You only pay for the pictures you buy. Our photographer Bernardo was an absolute professional. Extremely nice and easy to work with. Excellent studio and the staff are the best. Definitely recommending Vanity Studios to friends and family. Thank you! Emily & Jacob read more

I had a wonderful experience. The studio is easy to find in a great central london location near oxford circus. The staff are very friendly and professional. My make-up and hair looked perfect and they really listened to what I wanted and made suggestions which were spot-on. The studio itself is light and airy with a very fun and relaxing atmosphere so don't worry if it's your first time getting photos done - you'll be in safe hands. My photographer was also great and guided me through the whole process and helped me pick outfits. There are some changing rooms and a hanging rail so it's easy to change outfits during the shoot. It was fairly busy on the day I went but it didn't feel crowded at all and there was plenty of room for everyone. I certainly didn't feel rushed and the whole thing is co-ordinated and managed so well that I felt very well looked after. After the shoot is done you go into a viewing room to go through all the pics. I really enjoyed this process! There were a lot of photos to look at and I got so much help from the sales lady in the room to select the best based on what I was looking for. She was very patient with me as I'm quite picky and I asked to look at some photos many times, going back and forth, before making my decision. You can easily compare different pics on the screen. I didn't feel pressure to buy more than I needed. Yes there are lots of photos after such a long shoot and of course you might be a bit overwhelmed on what to get, but that's just the nature of the situation! If you go into a shop you expect the people in the store might chat to you about products and tell you about things you might want to buy - well if you go to a photo studio you should expect them to want you to buy photos. I'd recommend having an approximate budget in mind but also be a bit flexible so you can buy want you want on the day. Check out the studio website beforehand so you have a sense of the prices and terms & conditions if you have purchased a voucher/offer. In the end you are the customer and you have total control in what choices you make, they are totally upfront about the costs and the options available. Overall I would highly recommend the studio as a great place to get professional photos done. The photos you receive are high resolution and magazine quality. I am definitely going to go back next time I need photos done - it really was a fun and enjoyable way to spend the day and the team at vanity studios are the reason it was such a positive experience. read more

I bought a voucher for two to have a Vanity Studios experience on an impulse for a friend's birthday present. I was in a rush, so paid more attention to the glasses of wine and hair and make-up and free photo than the buying photos at the end aspect of it. There were some terms and conditions I wasn't aware of until a few days before like a potential forfeit of the deposit if we were late, brought fewer than 4 outfits or left before the end (although these are all on the website, and could potentially be a credit for images). With that in mind, and our VERY limited funds to buy photos, we were both a little nervous about the trip. But it was such a fun experience. Attentive, friendly staff, fun chats during the hair and make-up. Photographer guided and encouraged us, and was gracious enough to accommodate the larking around I insisted on (I was channeling Caitin Moran in the NY Times - http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/caitlin-moran-woman-of-a-thousand-faces/). The final part was reviewing the photos and maybe buying some (the part I was most apprehensive about). The prices (also on the website) were pretty much prohibitive for us, and particularly given our expectations about just having fun, rather than buying photos - and there was no way we could afford more than a few of them. It wasn't, I think, what the company might hope for (understandably), but again, the woman reviewing them with us ceded graciously, and suggested a deal that worked for us. I should say also that you will probably WANT to buy lots of them, because I found our photos were really good and I also wanted photographic memories of the afternoon which we had really enjoyed. So it's up to you to think about your financial limits and be assertive about them. The photos come without retouching, and are super detailed, so I imagine if you have more money than we do, you might be offered that option. And if what you want is a heap of cool photos and can afford that, you should really like this. But all in all, a really great afternoon, and we will treasure the photos we do have. read more

Don't be fooled by the positive reviews on Google. I assume the vast majority of them have been bought with the promise of a free picture. A trick used on myself. However this offer appears to have been a lie in my case so I feel no hesitation in now telling the truth about Vanity Studios. Firstly the experience was not what I was originally sold. Loads of elements were completely absent. The invitation promised a choice of a facial or manicure, fizz on arrival and a photograph per person. The reality was no facial was offered and the manicure consisted of one poorly applied coat of nail varnish. The "wine" they offered was Sainsbury's basics at best. The end photos were of sufficient quality but like some of the other reviews have noted, not in any way flattering of my figure. By far the worst part of the day however was the end viewing. You are taken into a small back room, the door shut and you are horribly pressured into buying extremely over priced photos. The sales woman was insulting and even asked us if we were students as our budget was so small. We walked away spending £400 on (digital only) photographs not really sure what had just happened. The free photos didn't materialise either. This offer of a complimentary photo in exchange for a good review is the final nail in the coffin. It's been well over a month now and about 2 weeks since Zara has bothered to even give any more excuses for the delay and is now simply ignoring me completely. If you want professional photos taken then please use a professional photography company, not this money trap. read more

My friend and I had a great experience with Vanity Studios. We bought the voucher on the spur of the moment, but were both very apprehensive about going, having never done anything like it before. However, we needn't have worried. On the day everyone was great. The makeup artist was lovely and very supportive, taking care to reassure me about concerns I had. The photographer clearly new what he was doing and he made the photo shoot very easy, effortless and very enjoyable. Overall, the result was some amazing photos of us both. When I show them to family and friends, the response usually begins with "wow". The images aren't cheap, but you do get full copyright. I have recommended Vanity Studios to others. read more

This is a so-called a professional photo shot session, well, the only part I like is the hair stylist. The make-up stylist give me a very draft make up, I think she is just want to save her time, the photographer is very icy and made my leg look very short in every photo (even though Im wearing heels). The most important is the price, ONE PHOTO IS 70 POUNDS, can you believe that !!!!?? It is absolutely a scam, so please please do not go there, unless u r rich and have too much money to squander....Sorry I am being so radical, but I sincerely do NOT recommend this photo shoot studio. I would like to give them a zero star if I can...... read more

I have just recovered from a disappointing experience at Vanity Studios. UNPROFESSIONAL make up and poor set. My four year old sister could have done my nails better that the stylist "who has worked with many models", the makeup products were cheap and started wearing off after a few hours.. Definitely not worth the money. The photographer could not suggest any poses which weren't overused and obsolete.. And when we said we wanted something "more original" he looked quite offended and did not provide much professional direction. The wine we ordered never arrived. At the viewing session we were presented with a ridiculous sum of 1,800 pounds for those few pictures on a CD and the quite insistent lady started to suggest other, even more ridiculous offers to convince us to buy the mediocre photos. This is not the first photoshoot I do, but I have never encountered such a ripoff. UNIMPRESSED AND UNDERWHELMED. read more

I have to admit I was slightly dreading going to the photoshoot because I was worried I had been a bit idiotic and fallen for a scam (I got a voucher on the street). I'm happy to say that as soon as I arrived at Vanity Studios my worries were eased. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. The hair and makeup artists were of great quality and a nice chat, too. The photographer was fantastic -- he directed me with what poses to do based on the lighting and setting (which I was very thankful for because I wouldn't have really known what to do!). He was really kind and had a great sense of humor that eased me. Most importantly, the photos came out really well. There were options in both black and white as well as colour. The photographer clearly had a great eye and so I was very pleased with the results If I could I would give Vanity Studios 4.5 stars. I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because the price of each image is a bit extortionate (£70 per image if purchasing 1-3 images, £60 if 4-5, etc). When these images add up it seems that the voucher isn't as good of a deal as it was first made out to be, especially considering that this cost does not include any retouching. That being said, I still ended up spending over £200 on the images because they WERE that good and to me, it was worth it! I definitely would recommend Vanity Studios to anyone looking for a little pampering, a bit of an ego rub, and some fabulous photos. read more

Do not touch this company! Son 'persuaded' to do a photo shoot and hand over £60 in local town centre. Fine print not explained to him and they accepted my other son ( only just an adult) to sign document. Surely a reputable firm would have questioned this. Even before discovering that at least another £100 would have to be handed over before any sign of a camera lens, my husband and I said no. Surprise, surprise a refund of the £60 was refused and when I emailed them, they couldn't even be bothered to reply. Other companies with more integrity around, who wouldn't exploit younger people and no doubt cheaper too. read more

I had an all day pampering photo shoot at Vanity Studios. The staff was very friendly. I loved my hair and makeup. The photo shoot was very fun and professional. Very good photographer and amazing pictures were taken. I would say they were a little pricy though. I had a great experience ! read more

Took my daughter to Vanity Studios as a treat. We had a voucher for a pampering day. Had hair, makeup and nails done, followed by a photo shoot and a session to view the images. My daughter really enjoyed the whole experience. The staff were friendly and the photographer put as both at ease and made the photo shoot fun . There were lots of very good photos to choose from, although the packages offered were very expensive and I was put under a lot of pressure to buy. An overall good experience, but as other reviewers have mentioned you will be put under pressure to buy images, even if like us you had a voucher entitling you to a free image. read more

It was totally waste of time and disappointment - bad hair, bad make up, no wonder that the pictures were one of the worst I have ever seen myself in. Nail polish never dried out, so I wonder about the quality of all products they used. It is like a scam - they make you waste your time for this photo-shoot, and then press you into buying photos hoping since you've already wasted so much time you would buy some photos. You are allowed to take only one photo with you for free, the rest are at around £50 each! Be careful - it is a trap!!! read more

Had a great photoshoot at vanity studios. The photographer and make up artist were great and I was very happy with the photo session. I ended up buying more than I had expected, which was way over my budget, but the photos were stunning. I've used vanity studios before and have recommended this to friends and family too. After seeing my photos they are keen to get booked in. read more

I bought the voucher on carnaby st and thought it would be cool to take my bf for a session, it was our first time doing a photoshoot to both of us. The staff was very friendly, and looked after my bf ( who doesn't speak a word of English) while I was getting nails, make up and hair done. Our photographer was great tried to make me as comfortable as possible but as I'm a little shy I wasn't making the most of it, my boyfriend in the other hand was actually telling the photographer how he wanted the pictures and everything ( with signs and lose words) that's how cool the photographer was. By the end we didn't have enough pictures I don't think. But we did like a few of the ones we had, and financed the pictures for 5 months it came to a pretty decent price per month! So yeah it was a great experience! I would Defoe do it again! read more

Myself and a friend went for our first photo shoot and I am hooked! Vanity Studios put us at ease and we had the most fabulous girly's day. Hair and make up ladies were awesome. We were provided with drinks and snacks and the photographer was brilliant. We loved it so much - we are going again at the end of the year! :) The only negative would be the price of the pics. read more

My friend and I were approached on Carnaby Street by a lovely woman. After winning us over by telling us about the pampering etc etc we decided to take the plunge and book the session since we were there on holiday for only one more day. This was a promotional voucher which was great because now we paid 30 pounds each. After booking it for the next day, we read some reviews online and were honestly terrified and hesistant to even go to the studios. Most reviews were SO negative that we were actually scared for the viewing process because of the 'pushy' attitude of the sales people on top of their free picture etc. We went into the studios, our mind set on NOT purchasing any pictures and just getting our free picture as we don't have much money. We had the loveliest stylists for hair and make up (Mel and Amanda; you both rock!) and the most enthousiastic photographer I have ever met (Bernardo; you made doing this so amazing for the both of us!). We were half an hour earlier but this was no problem at all and they started right away on our make up, nails and hair: amazing service! The stylists were so much fun and really listened to what we liked with our hair and make up and had some amazing ideas that they ran by us first to see if it was what we wanted. NO complaints! Then the photoshoot. A-ma-zing. As a person who honestly hates being photographed because I can't feel the beauty of myself in a picture I was amazed and shocked by the enthousiasm of our photographer, he is so passionate about his job and makes you so excited. And alongside of that: he has great skills! During the photoshoot he often showed us pictures and I looked at my friend and she knew what I meant: even though we went in with the intention of NOT purchasing any photos but our free one.... we were falling in love with Bernardo's photography skills and how he was able to portray us. Then, the dreaded viewing process. We had seen SO many negative reviews on this - being called out by the sales people etc. - that we felt quite bad going into it. We went inside to view the pictures with the loveliest woman (I'm sorry, can't remember her name but I believe it started with a B - Benji perhaps?) that let us look at a slideshow of the pictures and then we could select the ones we liked, thoroughly look at them and once again select. Even though our intentions when we walked in were to not purchase any, the photos were honestly too pretty to pass up and we both knew it. We ended up both liking 3 pictures of ourselves, so 6 total of which 2 would be free. Unfortunately, pictures are 70 pounds but we got a discount since the woman doing our viewing session ran late, so it would mean we both would have to pay 100 pounds which is not bad for the quality you get, but honestly we aren't rich enough to afford it. After making this clear, the woman fully understood and managed to make a special deal for us and we got all 6 pics (including 2 free ones) for 150 pounds. I massively want to credit this amazing woman for thinking with us about a price that WOULD suit our budget a bit more - but obviously would still mean profit for them. They are a business after all and at the end of the day, they have to make money in order to keep excisting! YES, it is still expensive, but it was 100% worth it. I don't see myself ever having a shoot like this again, in London whilst on holiday so I felt like I might as well seize the moment. :-) Honestly, don't feel discouraged to go even if you have read negative reviews. Obviously I don't know how they'll be when you decide to not purchase any, but I can assure you that me and my friend had the best time ever and never felt so confident. Thanks to their amazing team! read more

I was lured into this scam by the sales team who persuaded me with offers of free photos with 2 album for the family. I was tricked into this and since I trusted the salesman ,I booked appointment by cancelling my working day to coincide with my kids school holiday. I was welcomed like a royal and since my appointment was at 11 ,the reception had no clue about my appointment so I had to wait 1 hour to get my turn. during my waiting time I was never given any advise about the price and so on . anyone can you imagine how tough it is to get 2 kids who are 3 and 5 . after photoshoot I was taken to view my photo . after selecting images I was overwhelmed by the fact I would be able to take photos as promised by the salesman. I was astonished when I was shown a pricelist of the photo. I nearly loose my temper because I never thought and imagined the price mark which was extortionate. I couldn't hold my breath because I came all the way from Essex spending more than 60 pounds on travel and 2 younger kids I was really upset and sorry for my kids as they showed so much endurance but their unbearable experience was buried in a sand and I couldn't help myself because if I was explained by the salesman and the receptionist on my day I would have decided as it was already 1 hour delay in my original appointment and the hard part of photoshoot which ended in despair. I just lost my precious time and wasted my kids holiday which I am regretting since leaving vanity studio. I have never experienced such a deception in my whole life leading me to distrust street marketing strategy wholesome fraud and scam. in a nutshell its a very bad experience for myself and regret having vanity studio to take my family precious moment away. please stay away from this business . read more

!!!SCAM!!! I bought a voucher for a photo shoot for a friend's birthday and it was the worst thing I ever did! Voucher stated that one photo was "for free" in the package, but it was not provided in the end and she had to pay £50 per picture. They charged her a booking fee of £150 which they assured her she would get back and she still hasn't gotten back after 2 whole weeks after the shoot! Stay away!! SCAM!!! read more

Arrived at Vanity Studios after commuting from Liverpool specially for a photo session, to be told we'd been double booked with another party. We were left waiting for 15 minutes whilst nothing was done, in the mean time the other party arrived and were immediately offered refreshments and fussed over. We were told we could be 'squeezed in' that day, but as I had booked this as a mother's day present, with the intention of buying the photos as a 21st and 50th birthday present for me and my mum, I didn't want the experience to be rushed and for them to do a quick job. After the staff had said there was no other time to fit us in, we left. There was no offer to refund our train tickets since the whole purpose of the wasted trip was this photo shoot. Truly disappointing and poor customer care. Wouldn't recommend to friends with a similar idea of getting photographs done. read more

To start with, I was sold the deal on Baker Street by an extremely pushy sales assistant, who insisted that I bought the deal. I was extremely hesitant to book my appointment, however the staff over the phone who book the appointments make you feel very at ease and rather excited from their warm and welcoming reception over the phone. When we arrived, we were greeted nicely by a lady at the door who offered us a drink. The snacks they say you will get on arrival consisted of half eaten bits of doughnut that someone had obviously put back, small chocolate bites that look like they had been there for hours. There were used glasses all around the table, no champagne like promised, and no-one appeared to be tidying up. We were called the day before to change our appointment time from 11am to 3pm as apparently there was a big family coming early and we were going to be waiting ages if we came at 11am, so we agreed to move our appointment. (Just to point out after reading another review, a lady was told the same thing about a large group coming in before her; strange!!!) Little did we know there is basically NO appointment system and we were still kept waiting 2 hours before even seen by the photographer. A large family was also taken in before us even though we had been there a while waiting and they came after us. The hair and makeup was the worst experience ever. The nails are done in about one minute, no exaggeration. There is no way that can be classed as having your nails 'done'. It was vigorous, messy, and an awful experience. Then onto the makeup, I could have done a better job with my eyes closed, and I'm no makeup artist. The makeup brushes they use are not cleaned between each client, they are horribly dirty, and the makeup is old and cheap. The lady who did my makeup did the opposite to everything I asked for. These makeup and hair artists are NOT PROFESSIONALS. Do not be fooled, they are not makeup, hair or nail artists. They are just random people they have hired that have no idea what they are doing. There was another family after us that were also not happy with the hair and makeup, and after sitting and talking to a girl who had just come out of the photo shoot, she said it was very rushed and she would never come back. After the 2 hour wait, I went up to one of the ladies and said I did not realise there would be so much waiting around, I asked for my deposit back and said I wanted to leave. She then got the office manager out to come and talk to us (who was sitting in an office the whole time during this ordeal- no meet and greet or anything). Quite frankly, she was patronising, rude and I could not believe how unprofessional she was. She said she cannot give the deposit back unless I stay 6 hours. You are never told that it will take this long, so I refused and said I wanted my deposit back immediately. She was extremely aggressive, accused myself and sister for being the rudest customers she has ever spoken to, and said it was company policy that she could not return the deposit until we had been there for 6 hours. After I said I was going to write an awful review she said she would return the deposit. This just goes to show how threatened they are as they know how awful their services are. The photographer was rude to us and said 'Girls I thought you had been waiting for 4 hours or something!' as if to say that we had not been sitting around long enough to make a complaint. I did get my deposit back in the end but Vanity Studios is a COMPLETE scam. Whatever you do, DO NOT GO TO VANITY STUDIOS. You will have the worst customer service and experience of your life. I am completely disgusted and still quite shocked if I'm honest. I guess I should have known, if anyone has to beg for clients off the street there must be something wrong. I am so happy I didn't even go ahead with the photo shoot as by reading most of the other reviews; you do not even get a free picture. I am absolutely perplexed at the nice reviews. If I could give Vanity Studios 0 stars I would. Please do not waste your time and make the same mistake as we did. I do wish Yelp would post the other 40 reviews that come under the tab 'not currently recommended' as most of them are very accurate in terms of the poor service Vanity Studios offers. All the negative reviews you have read are 100% true. read more

Highly would not recommend and services totally over sold where the overall goal post is just to sell photos at a very high price for no reason. So be warned with the hard sale speech towards the end of your session where there is no real true pamper experience at all read more

A warning to all - this company operates like timeshare. They just want your money and aggressively work on you to get it. I had a very bad experience and lost my money. Don't get ripped off. Avoid this. read more

I was pressured into buying a voucher from a baby show in London whilst there with my daughter who was expecting her baby. The guy who sold it to me did not give me time to read and understand the terms and conditions or tell me the important facts! The voucher cost me £35 for me plus one. The salesmen did not mention that on booking over the telephone you have to submit £100 each deposit for a Saturday and not refundable if you don't cancel within a certain time or if you are late turning up you may lose your deposit! and the photos are approx. £75 each plus you only get one free photo on a disc between the two of you! I was told you get your nails, make up and hair done. This is true to a degree but the nail varnish was just a quick sweep across your nails. I was very pleased with my hair and the make up put on by Marcello was excellent. However all the back drops that were used were torn and tatty. The photographer was very chatty with a good sense of humour which helped us through the session. I was also told buy the salesman that you get champagne throughout your day. Not true you are offered either a weak rose wine or a bucks fizz! We arrived at 9.45 am and left around 2 pm and was not offered anything to snack on. All they could offer us were apples! You are asked to hang your clothes on a long rail with others outside the changing cubicle, The cubicles themselves are small with curtains that don't stretch across the cubicle so leaving a huge gap for anyone to see in! All staff were polite until we went to view our photos on the laptop. We did not like any of them! The guy showing us the photos gave us a price list - very expensive. When we said we were not going to have any of them he told us it would take 2 weeks to give me my £100 deposit back! As we left no one said goodbye! So rude!. It was probably because we were not going to be sucked in to their little money making scheme! read more

Attended the studio last week. Overall enjoyable experience but did have a lot of waiting around before we were seen. Arrived at 4 and didn't leave until almost 9. I would like to have had more time reviewing the photos and possibly having them sent to me, via a password protected link, so that I could view them but not use them and pick ones that I liked. The photos are expensive and then to only receive them on a CD. It was something different and overall would recommend it. read more

My friend and I were offered the pamper day at a discounted price as long as we booked within 2 months and the pamper day happened within 6 months. Since then my friend has had numerous patronising and pushy calls from someone working in vanity studios stating that we must book now with £100 deposit (less than one month from purchase) or we won't get a date. As students, it's quite difficult to come up with £100 within a few hours as the man on the phone said we had to do it that day. We were told we couldn't get our money back as it was at a discounted price. Absolutely appalled at how my friend and I were treated. read more

I had a photoshoot at Vanity Studios with my mum. We were both slightly apprehensive as we had never done anything like this before but all the stuff put us at ease! We both had our hair and makeup done which looked great. The photos themselves were brilliant, we had some separately and the photographer also took some of both of us. There were hundreds of photos to choose from and it was very difficult as they were all so good! We both had a brilliant day of being pampered and would definitely recommend vanity studios. read more

A great experience on the whole. I would highly recommend the hairstylist, makeup and specially the photographer who really puts you at ease. However, I did not receive the complementary picture. This was a huge disappointment as I really liked most of them. Being a student I could only afford to purchase 5 pictures. However, I would recommend this to anyone able to afford buying the pictures later on. The photographer is definitely the highlight as he can bring out the best in you. read more

When I purchased my promotion in Kingston for £60.00 I thought I will have nice time with my girls - make up, nails hair, relax...a bit of fun. Be very, very careful, as YOU WILL NOT GET a photo of more that one person in it, so my hopes to have picture together with the girls or to have a picture of the children together (on guest voucher) within the promotion were absolutely out of question!! I asked about it when booking and the answer was very much unclear, so I had a feeling that was coming, but never was told this wasn't possible. The booking fee is £50.00 each per head (or £100.00 for weekend!). Due to family reasons tried to re-book 4 days before my session was due (5 days in terms), but there was absolutely nothing they could do for me... so attended the session. Girls liked it, but I didn't ... make-up rather rushed, hair - mine is very short, but even with that I would expect more that 2 minutes, and my nails were not done until I asked, and my 9 year old would have done better job ... There is NO STYLIST available - one of the selling points! And no glass of water for any of us in over 4 hours. The photo shoot was a bit better, however having attended other previously is was very much posed and not very dynamic. Some pictures were very nice, but mainly the close-ups, other not that impressive. I have ended up buying some pictures during the viewing session, as I would probably left my children heartbroken if I didn't, and they were lovely pictures, but no touch-up or cropping included.... Be warned - the viewing session is a hard sale exercise and they get very, very uneasy if you mention just one image included in the promotion! This promotion is a scam. When I was leaving there was one extremely unhappy customer voicing her concerns with regards to promo. read more

I advise you to never go there. This is a company which just think about money and not at all about customers. The girl in the street who sold us the voucher has insisted to make us buy it, even if we were not convinced at the beginning (we should have stay on our first position, unfortunately for us we didn't). You have to call many time before the date you want to book and the person on the phone ask you your account number : never, never give it, because they took 100 pounds on my account, even if the guy on the phone told me they won't do anything. So disappointed. Then they told me my one will give me back after we do this photoshoot. But, the thing is we booked and 7 days before the booking My friends had a problem and we couldn't go at this photoshoot, but Vanity studios refused to change our appointment or to cancel and give me back the money because it was not 7 "working days". They invented anything to keep my money.. We absolutely had to go to this photoshoot otherwise my money would have been lost. They explained me they would keep the money for them even if we don't do this photoshoot, how is it possible? I am a student, i needed my money and they didn't care. They need more this money for superficial photoshoot than me for my oyster card or my courses. Unfair, totally unfair. Then I found a girl to replace us, for going at the photoshoot, the only way to not loose the money, but the thing is, because she was alone, vanity fair just give me back half of the deposit,50 pounds.. Never go there, because one time the deposit given, they will invent any reason to keep it for them,really avoid it because they are not professional at all. The girl who was there was surprised because she had to pay the photo as well, all has a price... read more

This place is an incredible ripoff... The people that do make up and hair don't care about you, they just want to do everything as fast as they can to get rid of you. For example the hair stylist was too lazy to curl my hair, so she offered to just straighten it, like it's not something anyone can do at home and didn't even want to at least clip my bangs up when i asked her to. The receptionist was the only reason i stayed further as she made it feel inviting, I hope she likes her job and the rest of that unprofessional bunch that works there. The photographer that worked with me was amazing, but the second one acted creepy and gross towards another customer, so there I just got lucky. THE SALES PERSON at the end is the worst experience of my life, she knows NOTHING about photography and basically guilt trips you into buying incredibly overpriced packages and can't even transfer full size images to you using a free site that deletes your pics after a few days so you can never download them again and she lies her heart out about the "original" pictures you receive that obviously just had a preset chucked on them and if you want some of them retouched(so you'd like them to do some work that you've paid hundreds of pounds for) then you have to pay on top, oh and after all the stress and unprofessional behaviour they won't refund you a penny, because you already got the low resolution images and it's not like it's a returnable item. for the love of every nerve cell you care about - AVOID THIS PLACE!!! read more

I've been to Vanity Studios twice once when it was in Margaret Street in 2015 and recently (2017) in its new Shoreditch location. Both experiences were fantastic. The important thing is because there are so many clients, especially if you go on a weekend there will be some waiting. However the staff are incredibly friendly and constantly keeping you updated on what's happening. There is a lot more of a "housey" feel to the Shoredich location so you immediately feel at ease with tea and coffee galore! There's also wifi. However obviously the main selling point is the pictures/portraits themselves. The hair and make up team are highly skilled and will make sure they explain to you what they're doing every step of the way to make sure that you get the look you want. There's also just a really nice atmosphere with staff maybe it's because a lot of them are freelance, because there is such an openness to them and they gneinuely take an interest in you and there's a clear love of their work as they style you. In 2015 I had my pictures done. This time around I had my headshots done and WOW! I hadn't even had them retouched yet and they already look fantastic! The headshot photographer has a great sense of daring in regards to experimentation with the camera lighting and background in order to capture the best expressions for the actor. I've already started showing my headshots to people who all agree they look great! Its definately value for money but it's the friendliness and client consideration that really puts this over the top! Definately check out and go on a weekday if you can. read more