I took my family to Venture Photography about 8 years ago when my granddaughter was born. The pictures were fabulous. Today, I am trying to reach them to purchase at least one. My wish is that I had purchased one back when they offered them. Like many of the reviews, I thought they were way too expensive. I agree they should figure a way to make them affordable... because... I have only found one other studio where such quality photos are produced. It was where my daughter had her graduation photos taken in 2013. If anyone knows how I can get my hands on just one of those photos with my family I would be greatful. I was suppose to receive the one photo from my sitting but it never came. Great Work and I hope they continue and make their photos more affordable. I gave 4 stars for the Work but could not give 5 stars because the great photos are priced out of the average persons financial reach. read more

I would give Rainy 5 stars. She was a great photographer. The other people not so much. We had a great session for $25 which the end cost ended up easily being $1000's of dollars. The original sales person promised me photos And originals for $25- a discounted price to make up for a loss in my last gift card. She was being so nice and helpful and really taking care of me- Instead turns out it was the normal price and she was lying to me. Well I went to the session anyways and we met Rainy. Wow she was great. A very kind person. I just don't want to pay $1200 for a few photos. So now the business is closing- the gentleman that did our preview of our photos promised us our photos fully released unedited for $250 for a "business is closing" price. We decided to wait. Then when we went to pick up our photo another young lady offered us the same thing- we declined while we think about it. Today we called back because we know our time is running out and Rainy answered. Still polite- and seems to be the most honest. Apparently the $250 package for everything really isn't for everything- it's for 5x7's! Who the heck would pay $250 for just the digital copies of 5x7's. Thank you Rainy for being the only one with honesty and integrity. I wish you the best in your career. read more

This is a terrible company. They lure you in with a cheap sitting and the charge THOUSANDS for prints. Avoid!!!

This rating is hard because, simply put: 1)The photos are unique and super fun, great quality 2) You probably can't afford to buy any If you are wealthy and have money to throw around, go here and get awesome, high quality prints and make an art gallery of your gorgeous family in your home. If you're an average income family, don't even bother because your photos will be beautiful and you will be crushed to learn you can't afford them. Like everyone else who reviewed Venture, we too bought a $50 'deal' which included your session and one print- a $500 value. This sounded odd to me but whatevs... A few weeks later, my husband and I went in for our photo session, brought our 2 dogs, and had a blast. Our photographer, Christina, was fun and great with my pups. The session lasted about an hour and I knew we were going to have some great shots of our little family. Christina got us scheduled to come for a 'viewing' of our photos and gave us a very nice pamphlet that gave you examples of all the print options, sizes, etc. She told us the average family invests $1,500.00 in their photos. My hubs and I looked at each other with a "that won't be us" glance. Then she handed us the price sheet and...HOLY SH*T!!!!! We went home and looked at it some more and almost decided to cancel our viewing because we simply couldn't afford any prints. Can you get digital images? Sure, they will be optimized for 5x7s, you'll pick ten photos and pay $1,350.00. What the F*CK!?!?! The 'cheapest' print option for your wall is a nicely framed 8x10 (tiny?) for $700.00. And the really cool, collage type styles are up to $5,000.00. Yes, you read that correctly! I was crushed and sick to my stomach. When we remembered our original purchase of the session included a bonus $200 off coupon, we thought, let's just go and see what happens. So, a few days ago we went and viewed our images. They were beautiful, very unique, and fun. My blind dog who you can't get a decent picture of ever...well, Christina got three awesome ones of her. It was very sad because if the photos were even remotely affordable, I would have bought a few for my walls. I must say I appreciated that when I was honest and told the guy who did our viewing that we couldn't afford any of the wall photos, he was not even remotely pushy. There was one photo of just me that I loved and really wanted to use for my work website. I asked about getting that in digital, but guess what, you can't buy digitals 'a la carte'. Major bummer. We figured out we could buy desktop framed photos (5x7 and 8x10) for $125 to $200. We bought one of each and used our $200.00 off. So we didn't come out bad on what we spent, but we certainly did not buy what we really wanted. read more

We went to venture after my mother purchased a studio sitting from someone at the mall. The person persistently called her until she set up a photo shoot. We went with our family which included our 2 and 4 year old. After the 1 hour photo shoot that went ok she sat us down to schedule our photo viewing which was 1.5 hours. At that time she shared the average amount people pay is $1500 but could be up to $5000. She finally gave us the price list AFTER the photo shoot and it was ridiculous. $1250 for 10 digital images (5x7) and a 10x10 $800!!! Outrageous. We called to try and figure out if there were different options and there weren't so we canceled and will never see our pictures. Terrible business plan to lure people in without disclosing the costs. If we knew the price we would never have gotten the pictures in the first place. Wasted many people's time! read more

I wish I had read the reviews before using them. My opinion similar to many of the other reviewers. The photographer was great with my kids but the whole process was horrible. The staff is rude and not helpful. The owner Neil only wants payment for the overpriced photos but not involved in helping it make it a easy great experience. The photos are so expensive. If looking for a professional photographer don't make the same mistake as us and go elsewhere. If I could give 0 stars I would. read more

The folks that work at Venture were very pleasant to us and produced some quality photos, but the way that place operates is a mix of pushy and intentionally confusing (to the point of deception in my opinion) with some frustration sprinkled on top. The contracts and conditions are so convoluted that you should bring a lawyer with you to understand what you are really getting when you buy a package. I felt more pressured and manipulated by VP than I did when I bought my last car. The sales tactics aren't the only thing VP and car dealerships have in common, both offer financing which should be a big red flag all by itself. Lastly, after the bait and switch is complete by conveniently handing over the product pricing AFTER your photo shoot (so you've already invested the time, emotion, new outfits, can't cancel for a refund) it feels like a hostage situation. Venture has your family photos tied up in their system and they'll let you see them so you know they are safe, but won't let them free unless you meet their outrageous demands. I simply don't have $1500 to spend on a thumb drive of 10 digital photos. Those photos, by the way, are 'optimized' for 5x7 prints which of course means that they significantly reduce the quality of the images. I ended up walking away with the 5x7 that came with my photo package, and by walking away I of course mean I have to wait 8-10 weeks for 'production' and then go back into their store pick it up. Some more info if you are still reading this: - A single 6x6 print in a 10x10 frame costs $550. - They insisted that it was policy that my wife come to the photo review appointment and actually put me on hold to ask the manager if it was OK that I come in alone. They had the balls to request that my wife take off work to come in and only begrudgingly allowed me to schedule my appointment solo. - They are not Better Business Bureau accredited and I think it is easy to tell why. - There are security cameras in every room and the office has a lookout window like a military bunker or a panic room. Just bad vibes. - In their response to a complaint on the Better Business Bureau site about intentionally reducing the quality of the digital images they arrogantly stated "As you may know the US Copyright laws value image rights at $1,500 per image, so if they wanted to pay $15,000 for the full release we would be willing to do so." For that amount of money you could build a studio, buy a high end camera, hire a photographer, and start your own photo business. read more

Worst photography experience of my life. This is a giant scam. They will lure you in with a $50 sitting fee and "complimentary" framed photo. There is nothing that unique about the photos. To me, it is just a small step above JC Penny. And you have to return for an hour session with a design consultant after the photo session to even get the "complimentary" photo. All of the printed artwork starts in the $1000s for one piece. Yes, you heard that right. And a disc with rights to 10 photos (that can only be printed in 5x7) is over $1000! And you even have to bring all your own props. And there is no natural light. Biggest scam ever! I'm pissed we even wasted an hour and a half of our Saturday for the actual session. read more

This review is based on the statement Venture proclaimed "we are high end". Yes , Venture is a step up from Sears or JC pennies with nice mounting. This would be a 5 star review if it came out of Sears or Pro-ex but it did not. They do not have the artist that is needed to produce the images that tells /captures the story in photographs. The plain white studio is fun and I here they offer beverages. During our pre- consultation I was very clear that I need all 5 of us showing our faces while doing our thing (what is important to us). We were not in the market for a "family together and smile" portrait, just had a nice one done for our holiday card. I was excited for a fun unique piece of art that showed our family, our life, our story. I spent several hours acquiring our special things to help Venture achieve this. Going through their collection of photographs I felt they could achieve this. I did order some prints $$$ and as they sit on my mantel it drives me to write this review because it is just not "high-end" . I was disappointed during the viewing to find many of the images where of the back of 1-2 of us or were just one or two of us. The first image was of us 5 running forward, it was a great shot of all of us but did not tell our story nor was it special or unique. I ordered some other images anyhow (oops). I was excited to hang them but am now looking into another less obvious place. The composition of them together is unbalance and is bothering me. Print 1 of two of my children is angled to the left 30° showing 1/3 of their body, The 2nd print of my third child is angle to the left (again) by 20°, face shot, while the 3rd print of the three is full body and straight but lacks the face shot that I wanted but pulled the other 2 prints together(so I thought). I was unable to find a balance/even configuration (showing each kid evenly) that showed the whole family which was truly important to me. read more

Like others before me we were suckered into the bait and switch of the gift card at the art fair. I sit here writing this review heartbroken. We just left our photo review and so many of the photos were adorable and fun. But unfortunately I cannot bring any of them home because their opening price point to purchase anything is $1000+ we had a fun time at the photo shoot and were happy with the photos, but I am emotionally stressed and devastated that we were forced to walk away leaving all those wonderful images of my family behind because venture's prices are unimaginably high. So I hope you read this review before you see all the wonderful images of your family you want to have but can't. Be prepared to spend $1000+ on ONE print or $1500 on a digital package of 5x7 photos. Sincerely this heartbroken mama. read more

First off, Venture is very, very expensive. If you aren't prepared to spend $2000-$3000, I would suggest you don't do it. You will fall in love with the pictures and want to buy them. We initially bought a $500 gift card for $50 at a mall promotion. The gift card got us the photo session, the viewing consult a couple of weeks later, of a selection of about 50 photos and a framed 5X7. My husband and I brought our 4 grand children (10 years, 17 months, almost-three year old twins) and honestly had a blast! My 10 year old grandson asked if we could do it again, it was so much fun. At the end of the photo shoot, we were given a catalog that showed the prices, so I knew that if the photos were good we would be spending a lot of money. However, I was skeptical that many good photos were obtained as the twins were crazy and the 17 month old had arrived from New York that morning and had just met her cousins. I was wrong! The photos were fantastic. At the photo consult a couple of weeks later, we were shown a slick photo show projected onto a wall and then worked with the sales person to whittle down the selection for the products we wanted. They do discount the prices by 20% if you keep your consult appointment. Plus you can get the digital copies (optimized to 5X7 size, so you can't take them and get large copies as the resolution isn't good enough). The cost for ALL 47 or so digital copies was $750, with a purchase of other product. It will be 8-10 weeks before we get the photo products. I've never been so thrilled to spend so much money! I did use the digital photos to order some photo gifts on Shutterfly. Unlike many of the other reviewers, aside from the initial pitch to get the $500 gift card for $50, I did not find the rest of the process to be pushy. But we didn't resist much. We were prepared to buy if we liked what we saw. read more

WHAT EVER YOU DO, AVOID VENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY! They are WAY overpriced and their practices are DECEITFUL and a SCAM. I'm filling a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General. I went to Westonka Dog Days and purchased a package from Venture Photography for $50 which is worth $500. The price of what you get is conveniently hidden on the back of a gift card. You get an hour family photo session for $300, a design consultation for $100 and ONE 5x7 which upgraded to an 8x10 for $100. You sign off saying the framed artwork prices range from $100 to $4000. Digital packages start at $500 with a minimum $1000 purchase on framed artwork. They don't tell you that EVERYTHING they offer is framed artwork. They DO NOT give a price list at the time of purchase. Only after you are done with the photo session does the price list come out. If you do the math, the average cost of what they are offering is $3400. There's one thing that's $100 and one thing that's $150 and the prices quickly jump up into the $1500 to $2500 to $3000 range. You can get 10 digital images for $1000 but they are low resolution and unable to be used beyond a 5x7. And to top it off, they offer financing. Financing for photos! It's like buying a car. I can't even begin to imagine how much interest they charge. In order to get the special price deal, you have to have the photo session during the day, which meant I had to take a day off from work. The photographer called two days before the shoot and went over ideas for photos. He had great ideas but a lot of them required purchasing props. I spent more in props than the $50 package deal. The actual photo session was good. The photographer seemed to get a lot of good photos from the ones he showed me on the back of his camera. You book an appointment to view your photos a week later. Beer and wine is served at the viewing (probably to get you liquored up to make the prices somewhat palatable). I never went back to view my pictures. After seeing the price list, I got the feeling it was going to be like sitting through a time share meeting. The doors are probably locked until you are forced to spend way more than what you'd anticipated. I did not go back to get the $50 8x10. I thought it was better to walk away losing $50 than to go in and be high pressured into buying overpriced framed art that I did not want. All I wanted some nice photos of me and my dog, but in the end I walked away with nothing but disappointment and waste of time and money. read more

Our photography session was super fun. The photographer did an amazing job at making us feel comfortable and really enjoy our time. During our photo session we ended up spending way too much money on photos. After receiving them I instantly had buyers regret. It wasn't as easy to tell in our viewing session but our photographer ended up shooting most of the photos from a down-up angle so in most photos we all of double chins. We had to sign something saying all says are final which is a bit of a bummer because we would have ended up returning 9 of the 10 bought. Will definitely not be returning. read more

We have 8 month old twins, and have not gotten professional picture. We went to Venture Photography and our photographer was amazing with our little family. It was a lot of action shot pictures and a little bit of every thing! We had so much fun! Thanks to them we will have gorgeous family pictures for life.. I strongly suggest going here! read more

Got suckered into buying a $50 card worth a $500 family photo shoot at Highland Fest. The company was super aggressive with phone calls and emails about getting a session booked. When I found out a few weeks later that coordinating schedules with out-of-town family wasn't going to work, Venture said sorry, 7-day refund period (?) was over. Feel stupid for falling for their "deal". Sounds I could have spent a lot more if the shoot had happened!! read more

We learned about this photo studio during the art fair in Loring Park. We liked their portfolio and unconventional style, leading us to schedule an appointment for our preschool kids and dog in August. The photo shoot was a mess: the team was clearly not able to get the kids comfortable, involved, go with the flow, or create a fun atmosphere. The studio has fish-eye cameras throughout the rooms and staff watches remotely, giving the meetings a very odd feel. The rooms have poor acoustics, and they played absurdly loud, intense, adult music, ... They never even included the well behaved family dog, who patiently waited and is very cooperative.They use a set of views/ scenarios, reflecting the corporate 'style', which at first is really interesting, but after a few reviews got old quickly. We had to come back 1-2 weeks later to review the products. At this time, we learned that You CAN NOT get the pictures or digital images, you must buy them each framed. The frames are stylish, but are not allowing any costumers to adjust for individual wishes and have limited choices. The costs are ASTRONOMICAL (a price list was only given at the time of the shoot - not in advance) - $300 to over $3000 for a 8x10 frame in addition to the cost of the appointment. The digitals are sent to the UK and the product is shipped to the US. We ordered one pic (the only one that had all in it). Our appointment was in the 3rd week of AUGUST. Since, I called 3 times to find out when we will get the picture (for which we had to pay upfront) and each time I'm given a different arrival date. Today, I was told: maybe the second week of DECEMBER... Our kids asked about the family pictures a few times - were disappointed to wait and wait - but since forgot. I'm deeply disppointed and can not recommend this business! read more

Highway robbery!! We were looking forward to this opportunity for a long time. We spent a lot of money on new coordinating outfits and couldn't wait to have family photos, after a tough season that our family just went through. We received call after call from these people to get our appointment completed, with no exceptions to changes within the family dynamic. We completed the shoot and I have not yet seen the product, but I am no longer looking forward or anticipating that. We were handed the price sheet after and I have turned it over looking on all sides over and over and over again to find where you can order prints - apparently that is not an option. You can however order ONE 8x8 framed print for a minimum of $700, with $3000 for ONE framed photo being the most expensive. But there are no prints, no options to give out to family, nothing. Can't wait for the "Design consultation with wine, beer, popcorn and snacks" to sit down and watch the video of all the photos I can't afford - unless of course I go with their payment plan through a line of credit with a bank they use....... I am really bummed. We will take our outfits elsewhere! read more

We feel completely deceived. Prices are beyond what a working family can afford. Do not be fooled by their Groupon or other "specials" .

Venture was a great experience. The staff treats you like royalty, with excellent customer service. Products are unique. Loved it!!

I got suckered into buying a $50 card for a $500 family photo shoot. What they failed to mention is the costs for the actual prints are astronomical. Even the digital prints start at $1000. Of course they contact me to book my appointment until after the 7 day period of purchasing my gift card, so it was non-refundable. Make sure to ask for all of the costs upfront! read more

I would give our photographer from our second shoot 4 stars as she did a fantastic job. But after a first shoot that resulted in sub-standard photos and their not so great business practices I have to give Venture Photography a big thumbs down. Please if you want professional photos taken by local honest people please search for a local professional photographer. You will be much happier and supporting someone in the community rather then investing in an overseas company that is overrrr charging for their products and not willing to take responsibility for their mistakes. We purchased about $2500 dollars of photos(3 smaller canvas mounts) plus $500 for the rights to some of our other photos (not the full shoot). When we went to make copies we were told they were low resolution and couldn't be reproduced with good quality above a 5x7. Supposedly Venture tells people this but for some reason(probably an honest mistake) we were not told this. When I called to talk to the manager Rick (who did our design consult) he initially was defensive but by the end was professional. He asked what he could do to make this right. I wanted the ability to make some of our photos an 8x10. He refused. So then I said since we were not told that the rights werelimited to 5x7 reproduction I would like a refund. He said he couldn't do that and gave me no other options. So in a professional way he pretty much took our money laughing all the way. I am not questioning anyone's honesty here I was just hoping someone would take responsibility for their mistake and make it right. But as is apparent here this business is not willing to do the right thing. They are all about the dollar and not the client. Again please don't waste your time and money here. There are plenty of highly talented photographers here in the Twin Cities trying to earn an honest living!! Just to name a few we have used in the past Little Beans, St. Louis Park, Jamie Schultz, or Lisa Slotsve are excellent. read more

This place pretends to be a premium photography operation, but everything about them is sub standard: photo quality, customer service, pricing, everything. Don't waste your money here, they are extremely overpriced anyway. They try to get you in with special offers but its a scam. I bought a $50 package for a photo session and 8x10 photo. I even ordered two additional (very expensive) 5x7 photos. They took a lot of photos, but even then none of the photos were really good. We asked for specific photo cropping; they seem to want to cut off the top of everyones head in the photos, so we asked to fix that. When the photos showed up, guess what, tops of heads were cut off. After getting the poor quality photos, I asked if I could cancel my order, they said no. I then asked for a discount, and they said they would redo the photos and that was my discount (normally a $79 charge)...I held back from telling them to f off when I heard that: we won't charge you for our mistake and that's our discount to you. Brilliant customer service. So I'm waiting for my very expensive poor quality photos. The other reviews seem consistent with my experience. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

We were approached at the State Fair for this "great deal" to spend $20 and get a free session and 5x7 framed print. We fell for it, and had our session at the studio. The photographer was wonderful with our children, very patient and energetic, that's where everything good stopped. After the session, they present you with their pricing brochure. We're talking multiple thousands of dollars for photos. We came back later to view our pictures and were pleased with most of the photos. We were willing to even spend up to $1000 on photos, but that pricepoint still got us pretty much nothing. We really wanted the CD/USB with the rights, but that cost more than $1500 and were only printable to a 5x7! A 5x7 is tiny for printing family pictures. Every which way we tried to do a package to make it reasonable, was still outrageously priced. We essentially left, very frustrated and sad, with only ordering our "free" 5x7 (which we actually paid $20 for). Also, that one 5x7 takes 2 months to get. In this day in age, what takes 2 months to get?! I don't understand how someone can run their business this way. It is heartbreaking and frustrating to load up a large family in new outfits, hair done, drive across town, and spend all this time for family photos, to essentially get nothing. This was our plan for our Christmas cards, which we now have to figure something else out. Very disappointed. I will tell everyone I know NOT to go to this place. read more

We were looking at getting our family photos finally taken this year to give copies family and friends. I wanted to hire a local individual photographer, but we haphazardly came upon the Venture Photography booth at a fair and after chatting with the consultant, we purchased a $50 photo session (worth $500). I bought new outfits for the family and we went to our photo shoot. The actually photoshoot was a nice experience- but no different than working with other local photographers. After the shoot was over, the grand surprise came. Absolutely ridiculous pricing for printed photographs! We didn't want to "hang" anything in our house, but rather have the option to buy small singles for friends and family. A decent single starts at $250 a pop. On top of that, our main objective was to purchase a few single files. We found out that 1) File resolutions size is 5 x 7, which is not a high resolution file size 2) You couldn't purchase single files, you had to purchase in a bulk of 10 and ready for the kicker.... 3) 10 low-res files are $1500!!! 10 LOW RES FILES!!!!! As a designer (and a person with a high involvement in the fashion industry) I've worked with many many photographers. This is BEYOND ridiculous for 10 LOW RES FILES. We left empty handed. Completely disappointed with the time and effort we put into this with nothing in return. We will hire an individual local photographer next time. read more