"Le Studio" is a wholly unprofessional photography studio, and ultimately an utter disappointment. I have never written a single negative review before, but this was so bad, that it was shocking. I will explain why I feel that it is important to describe what made this such a terrible experience for us.
I wanted to get my 11 year old daughter headshots, which is a fairly simple thing to do, but not only was this the hands down worst encounter that I've had with a photographer, it was also the most frustrating exchange that I have had in years with any business.
First, "Lea" (who runs "Le Studio" ) repeatedly cancelled sessions, and when she did, it was without an excuse or apology. We actually traveled all the way to her studio for our first appointment, which we had confirmed by phone and I had texted her to reconfirm. She wasn't there. The studio (in Red Hook, though it says Carroll Gardens) was on a deserted street, and we had trouble finding it, only to call her to discover she had not bothered to show up. Still, we wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and I understand that mistakes occasionally happen.
However, even after that, whenever she rescheduled, she kept switching the times around, expecting us to be available at her beck and call. We wasted valuable time waiting for her to confirm multiple appointments only to have her cancel them at the last minute. The fourth time, she gave me a few hours notice on a school day to meet, even though that's tough to swing when dealing with a child's photo session .
After putting us off for over a week, she then told us we'd have to pay extra to have a rush on the photos. When I questioned that, she then said she could'nt do it anyway because she had to go to Europe, leaving us high and dry after we had patiently waited for her to come through. She even said she could schedule something for a Thursday on a Tuesday, only to turn around and say she had to leave for Europe the next day. It was somewhat surreal dealing with this, and impossible to schedule anything with her that she wasn't invariably going to cancel.
We wanted to hire her based on some positive reviews and she seemed nice on the phone. I am sure she can be competent when she wants to be. However, working with her was like trying to pull teeth and just as unpleasant. I would definitely think twice about booking her, especially if you need photos for children. No business should be so hit or miss, and I feel we were not only understanding but ,we also gave her one chance after another to pull through. Unfortunately, she ultimately left us scrambling to find someone else at the eleventh hour.There is no excuse for how she handles business, and no way of ensuring a positive experience.
She is hard to get in touch with (she would text to cancel and then not pick up a call or get back to us for a few days) . She behaved as if she was doing us a favor when she did communicate. Even my daughter was confused and upset after getting ready to have her picture taken only to be dissapointed. .
Throughout, Lea of "Le Studio" made it clear that not only did she not value our business or our time, but she also gave us no sense of security that she would follow through in spite of us giving her every opportunity to do so. The impression she gave was that this simply wasn't important to her and it left a terrible impression. We put our confidence in her and this was a mistake, and I would never recommend a photographer who can be so untrustworthy with any client. read more