This place tries very hard to adhere to appointment times and get you in and out. Unfortunately, it's hard to time with children and faulty printers. Our shoot went fast. Less than 30 minutes. However the printer ran out of ink and paper AND they had to tend to the next appointment. We had to stay for two hours and with a one year old that wasn't easy. They do provide toys but we had dinner plans and were all in our dress clothes so really wanted to leave. Anyways Yasmin was super sweet. She just needs to work on time management as I can see another family getting really upset if they were made to wait that long. We do love our portraits so it was a good turn out. read more

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Went here to re-take are maternity pictures after J*penny did a horrible job and the experience was so great! Like a breath of fresh air! Appointment was on point, hardly a wait at all, it was air conditioned, their were seats to sit down in, and there was actually someone who knew how to take pictures!! The lady was very patient with us and our kids, gave us ideas, asked multiple times if we had any poses we wanted done, and pictures came out great!! Will definitely go back to this location! read more

Picture People - Session Photography Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

So last year I wrote a review for Picture People. To put it nicely, I wasn't impressed ... at all. I told my wife that I will never again get our pictures done at a Picture People. Pictures were mediocre, customer services were horrible and we waited for four hours. We've tried several places in OC due to Groupon deals and I've had enough. Mainplace (which is now closed) was the worst. Brea was ... eh. The others were "eh." The only good one was in Alderwood Mall, north of Seattle, WA. And that was because my friend was the manager ... don't know how they're doing now. So my wife convinced me that we needed to take some family pictures. Being an amateur photographer who has a sister who owns a photo studio, I'm rather picky when it comes to pictures. In the past, I would go into a photo shoot with a smile and walk out with a scowl. Today, I walked in with a scowl and I came out with a smile. Why? Check in was fast Asked the right questions: "What is your preferred side?" Called our kids by name rather than "sweetie" or "handsome." Shows effort. Was creative in selecting poses Observant Attentive Enthusiastic Energetic Patient Friendly Expeditious And the best part, he took the time and offered to print out a small sample so we could confirm the color and cropping rather than print a big huge 8x10 and then make us feel guilty or have an attitude if we asked for a reprint ... or make us wait for 2-3 hours like the one at Mainplace ... oh wait ... didn't they close? If you wanna take a yearly family photo, Aaron is the guy to look for at this Picture People. With service being where it should be and quality based on our taste, I would only look up Aaron and have him take our family photos. He even went the extra mile to take more picture after we were done with our first shoot! The fact that he offers his service where to most it would seem a major inconvenience, that shows passion and that he takes his photography seriously. Happy Customer. 5 stars. Thanks, Aaron. You earned it! And yes ... Groupon hooked us in again. read more

This Picture people is located in the basement of sears near their optical and hearing services. They have 2 private picture rooms which I like compared to the other ones that are open. I like the privacy. Having 2 shy girls the privacy helps with better pictures. I love the employees here they're soo nice and helpful. I have been to this location 2 times now and have spoken with Lauren she is very nice she was our photographer the my first time at that location. She works very well with kids. This last time we had a guy his name starts with an N I can't remember it though. He was good but he's not very good with kids. I think next time I will request Lauren or Aaron since I see everyone with kids recommending him. The reason I didn't give it as many starts was because of the wait time. The past times I have have been to Picture People I was in and out at a reasonable amount of time. We checked in at 3 and they took us right away. Pictures took about 30 - 45 minutes to take. But to view our pictures that took forever I want to say over an hour. Anf then to print the picture took long as well. We had a Dr. Appointment at 5:45 and thought we would be in and out by 5. We had to go the next day to pick up the picture we got with our membership(which is worth every penny). Eithe then the wait time everything else was good. read more

Aaron is amazing. Energetic, enthusiastic, and he takes very quick shots-a must for squirmy toddlers. read more

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I would definitely avoid this photography place if you value your time. My appointment was at 11:30 and we didn't get in until 12:45. The session was 20 minutes and then we waited another hour just to see the pictures. The people were mostly nice and the photos were ok but the wait time and organization was pretty terrible. I had kids with me including a 5 month old and it was hard keeping them occupied considering it was only supposed to be an hour total. Why make an appointment when you can't stick to it. I understand being behind but this was bad. Not going to do this again. read more

**Edit: Just thought I'd mention prior to this horrific experience I brought my daughter for her 6 month photos and got Aaron as her photographer. He was an absolute dream, he is so professional, patient and very creative when it comes to poses. He works hard to capture beautiful photos and he succeeds. My daughters 6 months photos turned out absolutely stunning. I called to see if I was able to make a same day appointment for my daughter to have her 1 year photos taken, I spoke to LAUREN on the phone who was able to fit me in at 2pm. When I arrived to my appointment I was checked in by the same woman I spoke to on the phone LAUREN who introduced herself to me as the manager. As she's asking for my information I interrupted and informed her I was a member of their picture club and this wasn't my first visit she then informed me they had a new system and had to reenter my information. After she checked me in was when my experience turned into a nightmare. The whole time I'm speaking to LAUREN THE MANAGER my daughter was in my arms because she had just woken up from her nap. LAUREN then tried to have my daughter warm up to her by playing peek a boo. My daughter then got teary eyed and began sobbing. I told LAUREN she had just woken up from her nap so it would take a few minutes to have her get acquainted with her. Lauren then continued to play peek a boo and wave and say hi to my daughter and she was not having it, that's when I noticed LAUREN get a bit bothered. LAUREN then proceeded to ask me if we spoke mostly Spanish to my daughter at home because it seemed like she didn't understand what she was saying to her, so I replied and informed her we speak to her in both languages and she understands both well and that peek a boo was her favorite to excuse her because my daughter had just woken up from a nap. LAUREN then said, "it doesn't seem like she's taking too well to me, you know if you want we can wait for my associate who is coming in at 2:30 and she can work with her, she looks more like you, like more similar, you know like the same color. sometimes kids see a different color and it's not familiar to them (mind you at this point she has her arm extended and is rubbing her index finger back and forth on her skin) oh and she speaks Spanish." She then continues to tell me she had another baby she worked with who came in with his dad and the baby didn't take too well to her while she tried to take his pictures, she said she asked the dad if the child's mother was Mexican and the child's father told her yes, she then said ohhhh no wonder let me bring one of my Spanish speaking associates in to finish your session. At this point I have a blank stare just looking and listening to her in disbelief that this woman could have the audacity to say everything she had just said very nonchalant and fresh. Well that's not all folks, we then went and sat with my daughter by their little play table and were trying to get her to warm up to the environment as she's starting to play a little LAUREN walks and sits on the floor on the opposite side of the table starts playing with the toy making swoosh, and zoom noises and when she sees she's not getting a reaction from my daughter she stares at my daughter and begins saying, "hola, como esta?" I have no idea what took over me to not only stay quiet but also to wait and have my daughters pictures taken when I should have told her she really should take some etiquette and customer service courses walked out of there in a flash and never go back. She didn't just insult my daughter's intelligence by saying she didn't understand her (she was playing peek a boo with her and waving hello) she mentioned color and ethnicity. Picture People should really talk to their employees and question them about their managers managing skills, because clearly some of their managers do not have what it takes to manage and are giving their brand a disgusting name. How so you may ask? Well guess what? It only takes one dissatisfied customer to tell 10 of their friends and those 10 friends to tell another 10. Until they have to file for bankruptcy. So really they need to get it together. LAUREN THE MANAGER YOU'RE A NUT JOB! read more

Going here during the holidays is terrible ! Expect to spend a least 4-5 hours here. I have to give credit to the staff. They are friendly and professional. Our photographer was Jasmine and she was great. Everyone else here is good too, I just think they're under staffed and over booked. I advise you to go during the week for a 5 star experience. read more

We went in for newborn and family pictures with our six week old twins, they were so friendly and helpful. Aaron took our pictures and he was great with the boys and very patient with us the whole time. I would highly recommend this place for all your family photos and if you get the chance to request Aaron you won't be disappointed. When we had difficulty getting our Groupon to pull up Aaron went out of his way to help us clear up the misunderstanding and didn't make a big deal out of the extra time it took. The photos turned out perfect and we couldn't of been happier. read more

Love the manager here she takes the best pictures!!!!!!! She really tries to get that perfect pic and she truly does get it! Thanks girl!!!

Thank goodness for this place! There are no studios like this anymore and I am so thankful they reopened! All I wanted was some pictures of my kid with a black background and I was shocked how hard it was to find a place! Brandi, our photographer was so nice and great with my little guy! She got exactly what I wanted, no fuss, no muss, just exactly what I asked for. I don't know for sure, but I think she even helped us after hours! I will for sure be coming back here; it was a wonderful experience! read more

Really long wait and bad service. You're always the "next customer" yet we ended up waiting over an hour after our scheduled appointment to even get the shots taken. Jasmine our photographer was at least professional but having to wait over an hour after the shots to review them plus the wait before pictures taken mean we basically lost a whole day there. read more

I went in for the Groupon which was for one pose. They took photos with various backgrounds, then had us pick but there was a lot of waiting and she told me an additional collage would be $18, but then at checkout, which took forever, they asked for $85. She said she didn't realize they charge per pose. So I walked out with the one Groupon pose that I came in for...2 hours and sassy attitude later. We will not be back! read more

Heather offers great customer service at check out and Jasmine did a great job with photos

This was our first photo shoot and it's been an awful experience. Complete waste of money. We ourselves could have taken better pics. Photographers didn't seem to have any experience. The lady we got was not at all interested and didn't try to engage the kids. Unprofessional. Just one pic out of all was okay. Leave kids, she couldn't take better pics of us adults. Either my eyes were closed or my husbands eyes were closed when both were okay the pic was tilted. She didn't even take a second pic even after telling her that I closed my eyes. She said it was okay. They couldn't suggest any pose The only pic we took for canvas came out so dark that its not eligible for showcasing. They didn't even do a little editing before printing. They did a second print but even that didn't come out good. Not going to this place again nor recommending to anyone read more

Unless you get Aaron as your photographer and salesguy, your time here will lag on F.O.R.E.V.E.R. So I came here for my daughter's 9 month photos and luckily we got Aaron. He hustles in every respect and offers a ton of energy. He is very interactive with babies. He did a great job with taking photos and selling the prints/canvases after. He worked as fast as he could and offered excellent customer service. Three months later I came to take my daughter's 1 year photos and family photos. As soon as I walked to the studio, the mood felt very slow and lackluster. We were the first appointment and none of the employees moved or greeted us for a while. There was an African American lady sitting on the stool doing nothing and the manager-in-training Lance I'm not sure what it was he was going. They didn't come to assist for about 15 minutes given that our appointment was at 10:00 am sharp and we arrived on time and no one else was there! When they finally got us checked in, the African American lady photographer took us to the studio. I could barely hear her speak. She had no energy and barely moved. I had to do all of the work to entertain my daughter and make her smile. When we had Aaron, he at least made an effort to make my baby smile. This girl.... nothing. She needs to bump up her energy and get some people skills! It's not right if I'm paying for this service and she's not making any effort to make my daughter smile. I will give her an extra star for taking nice photos but I feel they could have been better had she made an effort and not just sat there with a camera barely speaking and with low energy. Taking pics went from about 10:15-10:45am. After the photos, it was time to get them loaded on the computer and time to pick out sheets. The photographer is not "trained" to show us the photos so then we had to wait for Lance to do it. By this time, he was on the phone dealing with some issue and I swear, I must have waited 15 more minutes before he could assist us. Waiting doing nothing when the photographer could have at least put the photos onto the computer so we could look at it before Lance came by to sell the prints. Nope! By the time Lance came by to sell, it took FOREVER with two small kids hungry and tired, to get him to put in the right codes into the system to get me the best price possible. O.M.G. I kept telling myself "where is Aaron???" Lance means well but he moved so slow and didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't find the right code. I sat frustrated for another 1 hour and 15 minutes watching Lance find the right code and picking photos. By this time, my son who came with us was starving and i kept having to fend him off saying "almost done, almost done." When it was time to pay, Lance didn't know how to do a split payment so that my Husband and I could split the bill. So, that took another 10-15 minutes. OMG. By this time, I was ready to just pay on one credit card. Oy vey. If you come here, you need to have a lot of patience. The people move slow and have no energy unless you are fortunate enough to get Aaron, who hustles and works very hard! Also the management here is pretty bad as well. I called and spoke to Lauren about getting my trilogy frame a day after this incident. I told her that Lance told me that the trilogy shipments would come in on Tuesday. Then she said that was not correct and that the only way to get the trilogy frames was to get it sent from another store. Lauren said she was going to call around other stores to see if they had a cherry frame. I gave her my name and number and she said he would call me back with status.......Welp, she never called me back. I had to call them back on Wednesday around 6:30pm to see what was going on. Turns out no one did anything and the lady who answered the phone said "oh, I have a cherry trilogy frame here. i can make the frame in 5 minutes. when are you going to come pick it up?" I told her in 30 minutes I would pick it up. I knew I would not be able to make it in 30 minutes but I said it anyway to get them to make my frame otherwise who knows when they would get to it if I didn't trick them into getting it done! I then picked up the frame the following day to ensure it would be done! I should not have to go through hoops to get a frame that I already paid for! Much luck to you if you come here! I really would give this place 2 stars but because Aaron is the best worker here that hustles and offers great customer service, I'm bumping it up to 3 stars. read more

If you get a chance, request for the manager Aaron to take your pictures. He is amazing. My daughter is shy and rarely smiles, but she LOVED him. He was so great!! read more

Too bad printing quality. Very very disappointed with canvas n sheet printings. Upon complaining, photographers say, that's how original is. Then how come, photos look so nice on camera and desktop???? We had same problem with Mission viejo location. So wanted to try another location. But no luck :( Will never go back to picture people to buy disappointments . read more

Really bad customer service. The girl was very rude. The girl forced us out of the camera room when the time was up. We will not comeback again!!! Bad experience read more

I just had the WORST and HUMILIATING experience of my life 2 hours back with the Store Manager, Lauren. She's rude, unethical and not willing to accept the mistake, which is not a big deal as we are all human being and it's normal to make mistakes.I took an appointment for the family portrait in South Coast Plaza in Picture People, inside sears for our appointment and spoke to the manager, Lauren on Saturday at 5:15 pm just to make sure we are ready for the portrait tomorrow morning. She confirmed 11:30 am the appointment on Jan 21st, the last day of coupon expiring and asked us to reach 10 minutes early to get ready. I went with my family, Including 2 kids all ready for the picture. when we went there and I told her about the appointment, she was so rude, unwelcoming and really aggressive in her chat. She also said you are not having an appointment and asked me if you're the one who I spoke last evening about the coupon expiry, I said Yes and you remember you yourself confirmed 11:30 am the appointment and asked us to reach 10 minutes earlier than the appointment. She aggressively said that she can't accommodate us and she said if you like, you can leave the store right now. I was in shock over why someone will talk like this. I told her that this is not fair and you shouldn't treat your customers like this. She said I am the Store Manager and I am asking you to leave. You can report to the picture people if you like. She got mad AND ASKED US TO LEAVE her store in front of so many people. I had my husband along with 2 kids and we were humiliated so badly. My kids were almost teary as she was sort of screaming at me. I NEVER had such a bad experience in my life. I hope my review helps other people and please use your judgment before using South Coast Plaza Picture People inside Sears. I think I have never met someone so aggressive and rude like the Store Manager, Lauren. I hope she serves her karma :( LAUREN, THE MANAGER has 0 inter-personal skills, rudest behavior I've ever come across, no managerial skills (forget about people management skills). Society is very ashamed of people like her and servinf in a store where they capture the moments of life. Unfortunately this worse moment will stay in my memories for a while :( read more

Aaron did an amazing job at taking the maternity pictures. He was just exited as we we're and very outgoing. I would definitely come back and get more pictures done that's for sure.! read more

I've been a Picture People customer for about 5 years now. Prices are affordable, prints are printed in a very high quality, and although they deal with some VERY picky, rude, inconsiderate customers.... the staff are super kind, attentive, and professional!! During my visit I overheard, as I'm sure the entire waiting area full of customers and their families did as well, a woman complaing about her Groupon that she purchased. After a brief explanation from the associate helping her, the customer raised her voice and was bad mouthing the associate for only being able to choose one pose for her Groupon deal. For those who are unaware, in the fine print on the Groupon itself, it is stated that the package is limited to one pose only. At least that is what was stated on my Groupon. After causing a scene and voicing her concerns with the manager, it seems the only thing she was able to accomplish was embarassing herself and causing the wait time for the rest of the customers to extend even longer. Almost immediately after she left, the same associate who was helping her (I wish I remember her by name!!) sat us down to view our photos. I fell in love with every single picture and ended up leaving with all of them! I'd give our photographer Aaron a 10/10 in every aspect of the photo shoot as he was able to connect with our son who is very shy when it comes to meeting new people, and captured a great variety of wonderful poses! I promised our sales associatr i would give her and the entire studio a great review for being so patient, helpful, and professional with our family even after being ridiculed by another customer! I'd have to say, it really does take a special person to work in this business. Fortunately, this Picture People location has an entire team that delivers exactly what you need! Thank you Picture People for creating memories that will last me and my family a life time! read more

Love the picture people. Fast and easy with two kids. Jasmine is really good with kids and takes great pictures. My daughter always request them. read more

I called in to get a same day appointment and no one answered the phone...about 20 minutes later I get a call back from the studio manager Aaron which I felt was amazing service because I didn't even leave a message. Anyone else would have just seen my missed call and went about their business. I was given an appointment a couple hours later and was grateful to get in because it was my daughter's First Birthday. Aaron was great with my kids and I left happy with memorable prints. Truly satisfied with my experience at this Picture People Studio! read more

Expect delays as it's the holiday season, however I must give Aaron an excellent review. He was amazing at getting my 4 year old daughter to smile, he has so much patience and is wonderful with kids. I will definitely be going back! read more

We will likely not recommend this location to anyone nor return here for future sessions. I will say, the two poses I purchased were nice but the entire experience was well below expectation. The quality of photo paper is also very poor for the price per sheet. I have been to Picture People several times as a kid and always had a fun experience which is why I brought my own children there. We were about 10 minutes early to our 11:10 a.m. appointment and I had not changed or fed our 6 month old into his outfit yet. He was getting fussy and the front staff still asked me to come up and give them more of both my kids' information, as if I didn't have my hands full. My husband had actually run back to the car to get the coupon we forgot (which wasn't needed until the END of the session or when we were ready to buy. They should have told us not to worry but instead insisted that he hurry and I stay behind so we don't lose our appointment). When they were ready for us, on time, a female photographer took us to a room and almost expected us to be the ones directing the photo session. It was very awkward and she had almost no idea what she was doing except repeating "hi, hi, hi,...." to our 6 month old. He didn't seem amused and started to shut down and get cranky and tired. She didn't use or offer any props but did ask if we wanted more poses. If I were a photographer, I wouldn't be there paying for someone to do the work for us and that wasn't reassuring to me that we would be getting nice photos. It was then lunch time so we made another appointment to come back at 1:30 pm to view and purchase. I ended up going back alone while my husband waiting in the car with our baby since he was mid-nap. When I returned, there were other people there waiting to get their photos done, one of which was a family with a baby under 3 months old. That same female photographer was assigned to photograph their baby and said, "I hate taking picture of babies". When I made eye contact with her, I don't think she realized she had just photographed my baby a few hours earlier. She repeated it again, as if to make it known what she said so I didn't assume she was trying to be secretive. It was clear then why our session was so uncomfortable. My husband also didn't think much of his first experience there. The girl who helped me at the end, with purchasing photos, was very nice and helpful though. I believe her name was Jasmine. I wish I would have read the reviews first and asked for Aaron, he seems to be someone who knows what he's doing. I really hope this location trains their staff to better serve the baby clients and not make the type of comments I heard today. read more

I brought my 1 year old daughter here to have her 1st Birthday pictures taken. She is a very active but happy baby. Our initial experience at the studio was not a good one with a photographer who did not engage with my daughter at all. I was overall very disappointed with the pictures as well as the experience with the photographer during the session. At that point, I was ready to write off Picture People and not ever use them again for my photos. I am so glad that I decided to talk to the manager Lauren, who was fantastic with her recovery of the situation. She apologized and offered to schedule a reshoot. She recommended Aaron and since I had read positive reviews of him by other customers, I decided to give it a try. Aaron was absolutely amazing from the very beginning. Before we even started to take any pictures of my daughter, I could tell this photo shoot would go much better. He was very kind, patient and professional. He asked me questions about what I was looking for from the photo shoot. Aaron was wonderful with my daughter and kept her laughing and engaged the entire time which I know isn't always easy because she is very active. She really liked him and was smiling the whole time. I was very happy with the pictures that Aaron took of my daughter. However, it was not only that the pictures turned out beautifully, what really made the experience overall such a great one was Aaron's professionalism, excellent customer service and the way that he really valued my time and worked so hard to capture fantastic pictures quickly and efficiently. Thank you Aaron for recovering a horrible experience and making me into a repeat customer! read more

It was my first time using Picture People and quite honestly only consider it because there was a Groupon Offer. Our appointment was for 6pm- 1 he before closing and our luck was that we ended walking all of Mainplace Mall (their old location) to find out that the Groupon ph number is linked still to the old location. Yes, it was mentioned before but under stress I forgot!! Received a call and expressed how important it was (regardless of them closing in 20 mins) that my sons HS Grad pix needed done TODAY!! Aaron from the very beginning was amazing with customer service, I was shocked I didn't have to put up a fuss. He offered to stay and wait for us, he put calm to the situation and believe me..I needed it. We took the next 20 mins to go from main place to South Coast Mall (the NEW location) Not only did he win me over with that BUT Aaron also went above and beyond during our photo shoot! Great pics, Great time...professional and a great attitude!!! Thanks so much Aaron! I feel like I owe you more than just a good review. Much Gratitude, from our fam to YOU! read more