When I called I specifically asked about the "Proper Lighthening" the most critical factor in getting the Proper Photos!, I have been a local Indpendent Film/TV projects in tri-state with over 120 Fim Projects to my credit. There was no Lightheing....it was the most Horrible Experience of my Life! I throw away the USB that they gave me!! The most inexperienced Photographer I have ever seen in my life! I wasted $145 for three HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PHOTOS!, If I were you I would to go to Professional Photo Studio, and spend the money to get the "QUALITY PHOTO" you are looking for. I could have taken better Photos wih Iphone!!!!!!! Don't Waste your money and time!!!!! I would not even want it to give it a ONE STAR!!!! read more

Picture People - I look like a guy in an Open Casket! - Session Photography Near Me - Dulles, Virginia

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Wow! It's a good thing that I didn't read the reviews before I booked my appointment because I might have hesitated doing so! I needed a business photo to accompany some work that I'm currently doing. The last time I did similar work for someone else, I wasn't told they wanted a photo until the last minute---eeep! What to do? My husband grabbed the camera and took a shot---and it was pitiful---especially next to other contributors since most of them glammed up. Lesson learned! This time I got plenty of notice. I considered doing Glamour Shots but ruled it out because we don't live that close to one, it was very expensive and it would be very time consuming. So...what to do? Aha! I got it! First go to Macy's and have the Clinique people put some makeup on me, then go to the Picture People. Bonus points because I did this on a day when we had a function to go to in the evening where we had to look decent LOL! I made the appointment for The Picture People using their website. The day before, I got an email confirming the appointment. I went on a Thursday afternoon and the place wasn't busy. This may well explain why I had a better experience than others. My photographer, Masaya, took me on time. He was very friendly, had a good sense of humor and knew exactly what he was doing. The one drawback? When I had to take some non-smiling photos, it took a little bit of work to stop smiling LOL! I ordered the high resolution business photo CD which gives you 3 shots for $75 plus tax. Of course, there was a bit of an upsell attempt --- if I liked all the shots, I could get them for $150! No thanks. If I recall correctly, 15 shots were taken, different angles were shot plus different backgrounds were used. They even use a round, gold disk in some shots that's positioned in such a way to cut down on glare. The photos didn't take long at all and I was never made to feel rushed. After the session, Masaya told me to wait a few minutes while he uploaded the photos. When he was done, he signed on at a computer terminal in the waiting area and pulled up my photos. He gave me a piece of paper and told me to write down which photos I liked, all the while figuring it would take me a while to narrow it down. Much to my surprise, I actually liked 3 of them right off the bat! He then told me that it would take a few minutes to put them on the CD. All totaled, from start to finish, it all took about 30 minutes. When I got home, I popped the CD into the computer and my husband and I were very pleased with the photo quality. Long review, I know---but I would certainly consider using The Picture People again. They even give you a coupon for your next visit along with your receipt. Now, I'm entertaining thoughts of getting our daughter and family to join us all for a family portrait next time they visit. Hmmmm... read more

After reading negative reviews I still went and came 15 minutes before my scheduled time. I waited about 20 minutes before I was called and I was getting anxious with an infant there. My expectations weren't that high for this place and everything from the customer service to the photos were just OK. I just wanted a simple family portrait and that's basically about what I got walking out of there. I have to say they are extremely crowded on Sunday mornings, but around 3pm when I was waiting for my pictures things seemed to die down. The staff is pretty young, and unprofessional. One of them kind of gave me an attitude when I was checking in. However, in the end one of the staff members was extremely helpful and pleasant, so it balanced out. I agree that I felt rushed during the session. At the end, they asked me if I wanted any other poses. Uh, you're the professional here right? Do you have any suggestions? Overall, I would come back again for some simple family portraits, but if you want more high-end pictures do not come here. read more

Our appointment was for 5:20. We got there at 5:15 but did not get called back by the photographer until about 6 (considering the other reviewer sharing that her session was cancelled by her being 5 minutes late, this is complete hogwash and unfair in policy). Once we got back to the photography area with my 2 nephews and our 5 month old daughter, the photographer seemed hesitant about how to pose them or make them all smile at the same time. She was very unprofessional and not at all worth the cost of the session. She rushed through the session and after a while asked if we wanted other poses. We're not the professionals, supposedly they were. ((face palm)) We finally picked one of the shots which was mediocre at best but at least all 3 kids were looking at the camera. Never again. read more

We went with a friend and she was very unhappy with the portraits that were taken. I will think twice before I take my family here. The photographer didn't listen to her, and the photographs weren't what she has requested. read more

Worse Picture People ever! Rude staffs and long waiting time....they don't care! The photographer who took my daughter's pictures never smiled, was rude and never made an effort to try to make her smile or even pose her! It was a really bad experience. .. read more

This location is amazing. I stopped by as a walk in while I was out shopping with my baby. Small children are super temperamental, so appointments are for rookies. ;) Zoey was able to take us in right away and I literally hit the jackpot with photographers. SHE IS AMAZING. My baby loved her even more than I did, and these quick 'let me stop by & burn through a coupon' photos turned out to be the best I've ever gotten from the Picture People. (And I have four kids, so I've been here a LOT lol) I highly recommend this location. read more

We had a 2 Appointment. On Easter weekend!! We were greeted right away by Zoey and her team. The team asked the children's names (2 and 2 months old). Zoey was our photographer and took her time to work with both of the children. She made sure to call the children by name and calmed the fussy 2 month old to get the perfect picture!! The Picture People have my highest recommendation!! One word to sum up our experience is BRAVO!! read more

We had an appointment scheduled and showed up only to find out that the studio was closed. No one bothered to call or email to inform us of this so we had two kids dressed up and ready to take pictures and no photographer. We ended up calling around and drove all of the way to the Potomac Mills location. I would never use this location due to their unreliability and poor communication. The icing on the cake was the email the next day from Picture People saying they were sorry I had to cancel my appointment. read more

I went to the Picture People store today, having scheduled an appointment. The assistant manager, after checking me in, said, "We can't print your pictures, because the printer is not working." I asked for digital then, and he said they couldn't do that. I said, "OK, can you mail them to me then?" And he said, I think so, let me check. He came back and said that since I lived close by, they would not mail them, that I would have to come back to the mall. I said, "Could I have my money back then?" and he said "You'll have to do that through Groupon." The whole time he was talking to me in a sickening sweet voice. I didn't tell him that walking is very painful for me, and I rarely go to the mall.I could feel the disgust behind the "politeness." Thoroughly distraught with this place--made me feel like a second class citizen because I had a Groupon. I think I was treated so poorly because I had a Groupon, and was not wanting to be up-sold. read more

We brought our baby nephew for a session for his first birthday. It was a wonderful experience! Zoey was amazing! Loved the patience she had with our nephew. Pictures came out amazing!!! read more

I was told the session would be one hour when I booked the appointment for my toddler, and when I called on the way to tell them I would be 5 minutes late they informed me for the first thime that their policy is to cancel appointments if you are not absolutely on time. When we arrived five minutes later. I absolutely would have understood if our session was shortened by whatever time we were late, but to cancel it outright?! Even if these pictures are gorgous I will never do business with them again. read more

Waited for almost an hr after appt time and decided to walk out. Staff was too worried about going home on time to help. The other couldnt multitask to save their life. Cant wait for our membership to expire, not worth the headache to save a few $. read more

We had a terrible waiting experience at the Dulles Town Center location due to incorrect information communicated to us that we "are next," only to learn 45-50 minutes later that patrons that came into the store well after us had skipped over us in line. The store or chain apparently has a policy that late customers lose their appointment if on-time customers with subsequent appointments show up. We were not informed of this initially. When we were running late for our 3:40 appointment (due to missing the exit), we called from the car to ask what to do. We were told to come in but also advised that there might be a wait. When we arrived (5-7 minutes late), I checked in and specifically asked the store employee at the front how long the wait would be because of the information I was told on the phone. He told me unequivocally that we were next. However, both studios were occupied at the time with large families (one of which had brought a dog). So, we waited. About 25-30 minutes later, I saw a family of four walk in. I heard the father say he had a 4:20 appointment. After another 20 minutes or so, one of the studios was finally vacated. Based on the information that I received about being next, I still thought we were in fact next. I was wrong. I was told by the store manager that the family that arrived after us needed to be accommodated first. He did not apologize for the incorrect information communicated to us. My wife wanted to leave at this point, but we had waited too long. I suspected that the family in the other studio would have to leave eventually as the dog probably would need to be walked. After another 10-15 minutes, we finally got into a studio. The photographer was pretty good (she was good at making my infant son smile), but I felt like we were being rushed. Instead of the one-hour sessions that preceded us, we got 13 minutes. However, we did get good service when we selected photos. I can understand the policy about accommodating on-time customers, but take exception to the incorrect information and failure to communicate the policy (no advance notification or signage). At one point, I was even told that if customers with a 5:00 appointment showed up early that we would have to wait behind them as well. Fortunately, we were able to wait out the family with the dog. This chain recently was acquired and may be going through a transition. The Tyson's corner location went out of business. This store will soon follow if it cannot learn the basics of communication and customer service. read more

My husband and I went in for a newborn session with my 9 day old. Jose Vila did an awesome job shooting her newborn pictures. He was really great with my baby and the pictures turned out BEAUTIFULLY! I had to nurse my baby and change her diaper multiple times during the session and Jose was extremely patient with us and didn't rush us at all. Also, I am really picky when it comes to pictures and Jose adjusted the colors and reprinted some of the pictures per my request which was really nice of him.. I will definitely go back for Christmas read more

We had a great experience at the Dulles Mall Picture People! Jose was our photographer, upbeat and very patient with our small kids. There were 5 of us, 2 kids under 6 years old and the grandma. We started with our photos against a white backdrop (not my favorite, and I didn't understand why we had to use the white background, but went with the flow). Then went to their Easter backdrop and took photos with a little white fence and flowers. We proceeded to change the kids' clothes so they could take pictures with grandma with a traditional indian outfit. We didn't feel rushed (we previously had unpleasant experiences with Jcpenney and Sears portraits), and our photographer was very accommodating. My only regret is that we didn't take photos with more props and different backgrounds (80% of our shots were against the white backdrop), but we already squeezed a lot of the things we wanted to do in this session, so not a big deal. A big shout out to the store manager, Annie, for being thorough with her explanation of the different packages and for being patient with us while we were trying to choose the shots we wanted to order frames and prints of. She also gave us a free membership which gets us a little bit of a discount for future sessions, and it gave us $10 off that day's session. We are absolutely going back for our next portraits! Thank you Jose and Annie! read more

We were lucky and got an appointment on the Saturday we called. We got some great portraits of my son and one with my wife by accident. Its the pictures you dont expect that are the best ones. My wife was in a sweater and jeans, after we got my son all dressed up, and the photographer asked my wife to grab our 6 month son and she got one shot in with my wife holding him that was a picture to keep for a lifetime....they ended up putting the picture up on the wall of the studio. The manager was the one who took our pictures, and we were really happy with the service and pictures. read more

I was completely unimpressed by the Picture People on all levels, and I would suggest to anyone looking to get portraits done, to look elsewhere. I used a Living Social deal for a family portrait, and I'm so glad I did since I didn't have to pay a lot for crap photography (their prices are out of control!). Our photographer was awful, essentially non-interactive or personable, and only fired off 11 shots in our session that barely lasted 20 minutes. I would think that if you are a photographer, shooting mainly families and children, that you would try to have some type of personable interaction with kids or kid friendly prop(s) to ensure you are getting the best shot. That did not happen. Out of the 11 shots taken, only 7 were presented to us, of those only 1 could barely be considered good, or maybe, best of the worst. Overall, it was so bad that we did not purchase any other packages they tried to upsell us (expensive!!) and we will not be returning ever! Also, for Melissa B's review about the cancellation of your appointment since you were late; they clearly state on their site to be there 10-15 minutes in advance to ensure your appointment will be honored. You failed, not them. read more

We have been using picture people for a few years. The new photographer Jose was great. He can help to capture the best moments of a 3 year old and 1 year old at the same time! Excllent photos and we are very happy with th results. read more

Josh is the bomb! Helpful and friendly. He was professional and laid-back, completely low pressure.Thanks!

If I had to base this review on the first photographer that took our pictures, it wouldn't be so positive, we weren't pleased at all. However Jose saw that we weren't happy and offered to reshoot the photos and we couldn't have been happier with the outcome! We have 3 energetic boys and he knows how to engage the kids and captured amazing smiles! We are so happy we had our photos done by him and we will definitely return to him in the future! Thank you Jose! read more

Terrible Picture People studio. Possible the Worst. Even Sears treats their customers better than this cattle drive. I used to take my kids here for their pictures, but never again. Each time we went it got worse and worse. The last time I went there, the "photographer-in-charge" was totally rude and kept us waiting (with infants, mind you), and basically kept telling me that it would be "another 10 minutes" even after they called the night before to verify that we would be ON TIME. We were not only on time for my daughter's one year old pictures, but in fact early. The picture lady did not even apologize, the PT manager who was off duty did! Amazing. After I called their customer service hotline to tell them about my very poor experience (we never did end up getting those pictures b/c mypoor daughter was fussy/bored/irritated and we just Left). The District Manager bent over backwards explaining to me that the Dulles store is going through a management change (they didn't have a GM), and that he was so sorry that such a loyal customer like us had to go through that. He promised me lots of coupons and apology letters that he would send ASAP and promised to get in touch with the store to get things in order. He asked me what he could do to keep me as a customer, acted like he gave a crap, and promised a much better experience with future visits... TWO YEARS later, I'm still waiting for those promised coupons, a phone call, and my daughter's pictures... read more

Jose Vila is absolutely amazing! We had engagement photos done today and they were top quality:) we loved the fact that he was patient and knew exactly what poses to put us in that would be most flattering. Definitely and highly recommend Jose! read more

So so disappointed. They offered me 10x13s which all came out blurry. Then tell me their printer doesn't have enough pixels to do 10x13s , after we purchased 4 of them. There are 2 people working and neither know how to do a refund. read more

Ask for Jose Vila- he is the Senior Photographer and was excellent with my 5 year old and 5 month old. We loved almost every shot, and he very quickly got our prints ready too! he also did a fantastic job explaining the best deal for us. Thank you! read more

I took four grandchildren in today and had josh take care of me.... I cannot say enough about him... he was wonderful with the kids giving me beautiful pictures...he has wonderful experience controlling the environment and kids which is definitely needed in this job.... the kids had a wonderful experience which has never been the case in the past... he heard I was taking the kids to the indoor playground until the pics were printed... and went out of his way to deliver them to me !!!! Now that is a great sign of respect for the elderly that you just don't see much of these days... will request him in all my future visits 'n read more

My 3 year old and I had a great experience here today. I decided to do impromptu photos for Valentine's Day while we were shopping today and we got great photos. Usually getting photos of a toddler can be stressful but my son actually said he had fun. The photographer was great at getting shots of my son actually doing a laugh smile not his normally "cheesy" smile. I'm very happy with our photos, the experience, and the price (we had a coupon code). I also didn't feel pressured to buy anything that I didn't want. We will be back. read more

Photographer was nice and did a decent job however in general the service at the Dulles Town Center location is poor. The printer apparently broke so we were not able to pick up the pictures the same day. We were told they would be done by the end of the day and found out that the printer wasn't fixed until two days later. Then they didn't call people to let them know that the printer took all weekend to fix so wasted a trip to pick up the package. They then said they would call when the photos were finished. Of course they didnt... The photographer was nice but the front desk needs work in the service department. Not going back. read more

We went to Picture people on Saturday. It was extremely busy. First, The lady helping us decide on the package wouldn't allow us to pay the price that was shown on the screen. Then, she took away the free membership. Then, when my husband picked up our order and brought it home, the order was all wrong. I have been trying to call them and get in touch with someone since Saturday. No ONE will return my phone call!!!!!!!!! I guess I'm going to have to go back to Picture people, in person, in order to have someone help me. read more

Love it here. Got the Groupon and ended up getting a few extra poses they were too cute to settle on just one. I have 3 under 4 and the photographers are always so patient with them! We've been coming here for over 3 years and always leave with lots of pics... our latest photographer these past two sessions was zoey and she's fabulous and patient and knows how to make the kids laugh! read more

They took very little time working with my grandchildren and I. I'm very disappointed in the service but my daughter could only be in town for so long so we spent 300 dollars on photos that were barely up to par. read more

We used a Groupon. I hope no one actually pays their standard prices. My pictures of my toddler were similar to a school picture day photo. Nothing fancy but cute for $40. I will definitely use them again since the prices are so reasonable. Photographer wasn't super friendly or energetic but the photo shoot took 50 seconds so I'll get over it ;) read more

AWFUL experience!! I wished I would've read reviews here before I took my three months old twins for their holiday pictures there today with my husband. We were so excited and then found out quickly we should have kept our excitement to a minimum. Appt was at 10:10. Got to the mall early (at 9:55) and fed one baby at 10. Husband went and "checked us in" along with three other families at 10:05 (there doors weren't even opened on time!). We waited until 10:35 to have the photos done, at which time the other baby was crying! They gave us five minutes to calm him down and practically kicked us out saying we could either reschedule or we could wait to see if they could "squeeze us in". I stood there holding one of my sons for AN HOUR and then, after asking two different associates at different times when they could get to us, finally decided to talk to the "manager". What a JOKE that turned out to be! Before I could even finish stating my problem, she told me it was their policy that either we could reschedule or wait to be fit in. UM, HELLO?!! I advised that THEY were the ones who were late getting started in the first place and she just repeated what she told me. Worst of all? When I originally went in and scheduled the appt with her, she told me she also has twins. So, she should certainly understand how important timing is with feeding them on separate schedules. DUH. My husband and I just walked out feeling like it was a HUGE WASTE OF TIME and then deciding to try and hire a local photographer we'd used before. We are going to pay just about the same amount of money to have her come to our house and it's so worth it. In addition, the people who work there don't even have the courteousy to tell you (or give you) a status update. It was a zoo in there! I won't be going back - E.V.E.R. read more

I had a HORRIBLE (one star sort of review) experience at the potomac mills location and was hesitant to ever go to another Picture People...but my baby was turning 6 months old...and I got a compelling coupon in the mail...and grandma was here visiting...so I decided to give the Dulles location a shot since we were going to be in the area. Maybe it's because it was an afternoon weekday and there was no one else there but we had a fantastic experience. According to my receipt, Isabel was our photographer and she was great with the baby. She took tons of shots and incorporated many of the props. In the end, I was tempted to purchase beyond the coupon offer but decided to hold off on the expense until the baby's first birthday. TBD if those photos will be taken at Picture People...but if they could guarantee another experience like this, I'd be happy to give them my business. read more

Jose and bana were very friendly. Bana did an amazing job shooting our kids. Would go back there again :)

I would normally give Picture People at Dulles 5 stars but I didn't have the best experience today so I'm lowering it to 4... I have a 9 mo old daughter and I have been coming in every few months since she was born to get pictures taken here. I normally go on a weekday morning so that I'm not rushed like I'm guessing you are on a weekend, however they still do a good job of getting you in and out. We had tried one other place and the photo session took 2 hours- not good with a young infant. For the most part the photographers at Picture People know that young kids have short attention spans and are able to move things along quickly. The pictures are usually wonderful and most of the photographers have a lot of experience with kids and are good at entertaining them and getting them to smile. There are usually so many great pictures that I can never decide which ones to limit myself to. That being said... today I had a very sweet young girl who had no clue what she was doing. I think it was her first week- but if she was still in training then she should not have been doing the pictures yet. I had a Groupon for my prints and could barely find 2 or 3 cute shots. Not to brag- but I have a very cute, very photogenic baby and the pictures today did her no justice. The photographer didn't seem very sure of herself and I think was new working with kids. Like I said, she was very sweet- but she obviously needed more training before working on her own. I also really like Picture People because their prices are great and the pictures or cards are ready immediately and you can take them home with you that day. I'm definitely going back but next time I will request a specific photographer. read more

Ask for Annie if you have small children. She did an AMAZING job photographing my soon to be one year old! She's very professional and knows how to capture the perfect smile. I stopped the session early (I now regret it because my daughter was doing a fantastic job with Annie) but I still had 19 amazing pictures to choose from. I had to purchase the CD because it was too hard to choose. I LOVED them all! I'll definitely be back again. Don't forget I'm highly recommending Annie. The rest of the staff was helpful too though. read more

Kathleen O'Donnell was SO HELPFUL. She is a beautiful lady, she helped my son take a beautiful portrait photo. Gave us an amazing deal and she made my son (and myself) laugh so many times :). Honestly an amazing experience and I recommend this place - just ask for Kathleen and you will be set :) Really wonderful time! Thank you! read more

Should have learned years ago about how horrible this place is, but I went back after receiving a Groupon. I seriously think they hire teenagers off the street to take photos, no artistic or photographic eye at all. I couldn't even find ONE photo I even wanted to use for my deal. I rushed around and spent a lot of time trying to get everyone ready and I could have taken better photos. Sad and disappointed I was fooled again! read more

Jose took amazing pictures of my kids today. I am so pleased with the pictures! We will be back.