Great photographer and experience but unfortunately it's a sales trap. I honestly don't care about paying a sitting fee, cool. If you don't purchase art/print that day, then they delete your photos. There is no way to think about such an investment. Wish they offered at least 30 days to make a decision. I hate to write this because I thought they would not have this sales tactic but it sadly true. read more

Very expensive and they did not follow through with promises made during the initial pitch or the sales discussion after the photos were taken and purchased. It appears they have now closed...? Gee, wonder why? (Not) The staff took wonderful photos and was able to get our dog to be excited and "smile" but they charge handsomely in the end. read more

If Bonilla contacts you regarding a contest, it's a scam. They brought us in telling us that we won a contest and told us that we would pay $150 for a photo shoot and the proceeds would go to the ASPCA and the cost of the shoot. What they actually did was bring us in to sell outrageously high priced, poor quality photo packages. They refuse to sell digital copies without the purchase of a minimum $800 photo purchase. The saleswoman was incredibly pushy and very frustrating to deal with. They don't even mail you the photos! They make you come back into their studio to pick up the final product. This was such a negative experience, and it is clearly a scam. Hopefully others won't make the same mistake. read more

They pulled the bait and switch tactic that I am sure they thought was a "loss leader" incentive. So, I went in and went through the hassle of getting my dog cleaned up and and setting time aside, etc. Only to find out I would definitely be spending money on my "prize package" Anyway, whatever, the final edits I got of my dog look strange. Just hire a friend that is in a photography class. Youl will be a lot happier. The business model and products are so bad, It's a borderline scam. It went from being a day I looked forward to to a day I regret. The staff was friendly. Good job, to the employees. When I told them the edits looked strange, they basically just told me they didn't care and they were good enough. read more

Okay so firstly, the I'd give the staff here 5 stars. They are all wonderful, fun, and accommodating. It was a fun experience. HOWEVER, be prepared for the cost. I "won" a pet portrait contest (news alert: everyone wins), but $250 of the $500 is for the "studio fee". The other $250 gets you a tiny 8x10 picture - and you cannot have a digital copy of it. I wanted a larger photo, so I upgraded to an 11x14 I believe it is. This one picture cost me $300. For one photo. No frame, no digital copy. If you want a digital copy, you have to yet again, upgrade to a $2500 package. $2500 for 20 photos!?! A wedding photographer I hired to take engagement photos AND be at my wedding ALL NIGHT, was $3k. With all of the digital photos I wanted. Again, great staff. Great pictures....But if you're not rich, I wouldn't waste your time. read more

You could have spared yourself the negative review if you would have refunded my money in the 7-10 days that were promised. Warning to anyone signing up to "win a free pet portrait"... it's a bait and switch sales tactic, and good luck getting your $175 deposit back for your "free photo". read more

They did a great job at making me and my dogs feel relaxed. I got some beautiful pictures, and it was a great experience overall. I was surprised by the prices, but the quality is superb. The customer service was excellent, and I appreciate them working with me on my order. read more

Bonilla Pet Studio - Pet Photography Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

After seeing their ad pop up several times about their contest, I decided to give it a try. And being someone who NEVER won anything, knew when they immediately contacted that I won, something was really off. Especially when they asked for a down payment I stopped responding, kept getting messages if I was interested still then what seems to be the owner?? Venting about what are they doing wrong, and why aren't people coming to them for business. Blocked them after that from everything. Steer clear YALL! read more

I made an appointment to meet a photographer at an outdoor location and they cancelled an hour or two beforehand. We rescheduled for another weekend, which went fine. It's been 4 months and I haven't received anything that I paid for. I've emailed with the company several times and keep getting promises, but still no pictures. I'm very disappointed with this experience and it appears I'm losing the money I spent. read more

My dog is not very easy to photograph, so I was surprised Bonilla was able to get some good photos of her. The boat and sailor hat props made my day. My issue with this studio is the pricing and product. I feel like they need to be more transparent with their pricing upfront and what they actually offer. They don't offer much variety of photo packages. You can't just buy a digital copy of the photo. I ended up paying $1,000 for 10- 5x7 poses printed that came in a wooden box and were matted. Why are the photos automatically matted? The box is nice and all but why would I store my photos in a wooden box and not frame them? Each 5 x7 cost $100 I am not keeping them hidden in a box! For $1,000 you would think I could get the digital copies of the photos I paid for? Nope, that costs extra! I can't remember if they said it was an additional $250 or $500 but either way I was like um no. Instead they let you have the digital photo they post on Facebook with the Bonilla watermark. How about you keep the box and let me have a digital copy without the Bonilla stamp? The last issue I had was the phone appointment I had to look at the photos. When I asked the lady if I could think about my options and call back she was short and said no, they needed people to decide at their appointment time. How about they are transparent with their pricing and what photo options they offer so we can go into the appointment knowing what we want to buy? The photos were good but photographers are a dime a dozen. So no, I would not recommend this photo studio unless you have no other options and money to burn for little in return. read more

This company specializes in pet photography. That is an understatement. It is with knowledge, compassion, caring, and professionalism that they offer services to photograph our fur babies unlike any I've seen or experienced. They provide expertise during sessions that keep everyone relaxed, including those with paws. I will always cherish our experiences as I look at their masterpieces. read more

Great employees, very expensive pricing. We won a $500 Photo Shoot at Bonilla and went to the Norfolk location. Everyone at the studio was super nice, professional and polite. They treated me and my dog very well. He enjoyed the photo taking and got lots of treats and pets. Again I just want to say how great all the staff at the location were to deal with. They did get some great photos, probably out of 20 or so decent photos, 2 were really good and another 4 or 5 were pretty nice too. Out of the $500.00, 250 covers the photo shoot and $250 can be applied to an artwork purchase. The only thing the 250 covers for any artwork is one 8x10 unframed photo.  If you are planning on having pics done here - you should just be prepared for the cost. Also what really bothered me is that they will not sell you any one single image of your photos as a digital copy. You have to buy the digital package of all 20 or so photos, they will not split them up and the price for the digital photos is $2500.00. Nope that's not a typo, it really is 2500.00.  Again - the staff was so great, they just work there and do not set the prices and are not even pushy about trying to get you to buy more.  Also they do have to charge $150.00 on your credit card to hold the appt time but if you do not apply it to any artwork purchases they will refund it to your card and did back to mine so there was no problem there.  My final advice is if you can afford it, you will get good pics but you could also take your money and track down a prof. photographer for much cheaper too and get all the digital copies you want.  I just wanted to share this review to make folks aware before they go out there and get great pics only not to be able to afford to buy any. read more

Wow. I am a different sort of client, I suppose. I won the contest to bring my Golden Retriever Jack in, and was excited to get some pictures taken. I let them know beforehand that I am also starting my own pet treat company in Richmond, VA. My thought before the shoot was - if they do a good enough job, I'm going to see about using the digital prints for my marketing materials. Worst case scenario, I walk out with a free portrait of Jack. Best case scenario I have all of the pictures I need for my marketing purposes (mailings, social media, website etc) at a fraction of the cost of most pet photographers. I went in with an open mind and was totally blown away. I brought in a few items I wanted to see Jack pictured with, and the photography team was happy to incorporate the items. These are now the exclusive photos I will be using for my business. Class act from beginning to end. When we walked in, there was even a sign that said, "Welcome, Jack!" I think he was sad to leave. If you are starting any sort of pet business, I highly recommend considering Bonilla Pet Studio for the photos. read more

first of all staff are pretty nice here. but I had to pose me, my fiancé and dogs. our photography mostly sat on floor during shoot. the "free" photo shoot is and Bait trick. you will spend 150 to hold your photo shoot. the 500 covers for session fee and an 8x10 unframed picture if that gives you any clue who ridiculously prices it is. if you have it go for it. I went through a lot to get dogs etc there. so I ended up spending way too much for framed photo cause I didn't want to go through hell of photo shoot with dogs again. my dogs are hard to photograph. transparency with pricing before going would be nice. no one tells you ahead hoe little you get for your money there. they didn't even do all the editing we disicussed. I showed up for my editing appt(I live an hour away), confirmed appointment twice before arriving. I get there and am told I can not be see. for my scheudled appt to review and approve the edits. i was pissed. so I asked for refund cause I showed up for my editing approval appt and no one could see me. mind you I work two jobs so my time I take seriously. well as soon as I asked for refund then my photo was printed and framed. did not get to review edits before they printed and as I said they didn't do all the edits requests. I was told no refunds and they rushed to print it without me seeing edits that I had scheduled appt to see before it got printed which they were calling me to schedule at first. they did mail me the picture but offered no compensation for the inconviences and service issues. was supposed to get social media photo for Facebook and didn't get that. for 1700 bucks I expect alot more. I regret spending a dime here. I pray others don't fall for their bull read more