Shelby, the "manager" has NO customer service skills. Nor is she good with children! I brought my 6-month-old in for Spring pictures, and I explained to her that my DD had two outfits. In her 1st outfit, my DD didn't smile, and Shelby was horrible at getting her to smile. So zero smiles in the first outfit. After snapping a couple of quick shots of my non smiling daughter, she told me to change her into her second outfit. Cudos to her for realizing that she wasn't doing a very good job with getting her to smile, she asked another photographer, Amanda W. to assist her. Amber W. was amazing with my daughter! All smiles in her second outfit. Then I asked if I can change her back into her first outfit to get some smiles, and Shelby goes, "Well we're all booked up, I can't guarantee that I could get any more shots of her." After going back & forth with her for a bit, I politely told her that I was GOING to change my dtrs clothes, and we'll be waiting until she's ready. Surprisingly, Shelby accomodated and took some extra shots in her 1st outfit. However, when I asked for a specific background and she told me No. Then she silently snapped shots of my dtr as my mother and I made my laugh. (Isn't that the photographer's job?) Then we sat at the computer, and like the other reviews said, they slap you with this HUGE picture package and Try to sell it to u. I narrowed the pictures down to 4 poses, which was easy to do, since they took such horrible pictures. I ended up choosing one pose for the $10 special, and 3 extra poses for $60 (which wasn't a bad deal- 1 8x10, 2 5x7's, & 8 wallets for each extra pose, plus the CD of all images). The prints were ready in about 15mins, which was good. But when I looked at the pictures, I noticed that one pose was cropped incorrectly. When I pointed it out to Shelby, she said, "Oh that's because it's a close up." I said, "I know it's a close up, but when I viewed it on the computer, I saw that you were able to adjust the picture so that my dtr's hair isn't cut off." In the end she basically said, it couldn't be fixed, and she wasn't going to fix it. Thank goodness for the other photographer, Shaniya, who overheard us. She immediately interjected and offered to re-crop, and re-print my image. She even gave me extra Mother's Day cards for my inconvenience. Overall, the company itself isn't HORRIBLE, however, to have a good session, you need a good photographer. Sit back and watch the photographers before you take your pics, demand the background you want. They're YOUR pictures! Truthfully, it seems like they care more about the quantity of sessions and sales, rather than the quality of the pictures and customer service they provide. So it's up to YOU to make sure you're getting what you want for your money. Cudos to Amber W. and Shaniya for their awesome customer service. Stay clear of the "manager" Shelby. I would recommend. Amber W. for a photographer, especially if you have babies and children. read more

Portrait Innovations - I hated this background. Look how it clashed with her outfit! Why would a photographer choose this for a Spring picture? Eh. - Session Photography Near Me - Merrillville, Indiana

Everything was horrible with this place! When we got there, I guess something went wrong with their system but we had to wait because somehow we were scheduled for the next day. No biggie. When we took pictures it was ok but after my 5 month old got to crying it was like they were done with us. Whatever. So we pick whatever package we wanted, which was EXTREMELY pricey. We pay, go home and wait to be called. We waited for about 3 in a half hours waiting for a call until we finally called and they said that my pictures were done for a while. Alright. I pick up my pictures but I still had a canvas and book that they said would be there by December 1st, oh we took pictures November 26th. So December 1st came they said it should be there by December 8th. The 8th came, I called back and I believe her name is Kelsey but when I called and told her what happened she said in the most irritable, disrespectful way that "the holiday just passed and it may take a few more days maybe even weeks." Sooo I called on December 15th letting them know I haven't received a phone call, email nothing informing me where my pictures are. They FINALLY put in their system for them to send the package to my home. It is now January 3rd and I have no package, I tried calling either the line is busy or maybe they're not opened. All I know is this place is unprofessional all around. After spending $300 for my pictures and I have to go through all of this? I'll never be back to this place! And I suggest no one come to this place, you're better off going to Sears for pictures. At least they call or email you when your pictures are ready. read more

They discriminate against special needs children. Amber announced that she doesn't have issues with her 2 children because they are "normal". If you have children with special needs who require accommodation don't take them to the Merrillville Indiana location. Their under trained staff doesn't know how to deal with our special type of children and feel the need to yell at them and demand they are taken out of the store because they are a disruption. I went in planning on spending over $200 but left with the $20 package because of our experience. read more

I am very disappointed in this company. I purchased 2 canvas over the last 3 years from them. They are both falling apart. I spent 100.00 each canvas to be told. We do t warranty are pictures but you can re purchase the item again plus handling fees. I don't recommend them read more

Worst experience. First off, appointment did not start on time. Fine - it is Christmas. Next the lady was not very good with the kids. Kind of just laughed a little when my kids were not cooperating. Smelled like cigarette smoke. Took a few pics on the back drop we wanted then shot some when my son was calming down on one backdrop that calmed down my daughter. However, we got kicked out of that room & she then chose for us another back drop. When asked if we could choose a new backdrop in the new room, we were told that we had already used our 3 backdrops and couldn't go back to the other room. Apparently the plain white that she chose was our 3rd backdrop. To top it off, the printer was broke & couldn't even get our photos today...which we were notified at check out. Save your money - you can take better pics yourself. read more

Never again! Terrible service and the photographers don't have a clue to what they are doing. Over priced and generic.

This place is awful. My kids surprised me with a family portrait session and I was so excited. When we got there it was crowded. The staff at the front check in were rude. The photographer didn't know what she was doing, so most of our pictures looked awkward. Then when we were picking out our pictures the lady was so rude when I didn't want a huge package. We spent $160 on pictures that were just ok. I would have rather spent more and went to a professional that would have given us better quality pictures. So disappointing. read more

5/8/15 Bad experience with Shanya, a black woman with a nasty, bitchin' attitude was very rude and unprofessional the minute she opened her mouth as we approached the appointment desk. My daughter has spent over $3,000 there in the past 8 years getting pictures taken of her two daughters. And we were appalled at the way she treated her throughout this whole experience. Even to the point where Shanya whispered to another black client about her experience and then I caught her eye, and she looked shock that I might have heardwhat she had to say. She was making her own rules for the day, regardless of what was requested for portraits. Now Amanda, our photographer was very friendly and went out of her way to make it a more pleasant experience with the kids, inspite of Shanya! Somebody in Corporate needs to look into this, they're going to be losing a lot of business after people like us spread the word of the way we were treated. read more

I recently had taken family photos with portrait innovative and our complete experience was horrible and unexceptionable. To start the photographer seem to not care about the photos how the photos turned out but was merely rushing us to be done. When we received our final copies we immediately noticed how poor the lighting was and how basic editing was not done resulting in poor quality photos. I took the photos back and they refused to do back edit to enhance the photos and only said they could lightening the photos. For the price I expected photos of better quality but this was not the case. We traveled a hours out to receive photos that could have been done better on a cell phone. If you expect great photos to be taken DO NOT COME HERE. Your better off take group cell phone pictures and editing them on an editing app. No need to spend over 300 dollars for something you can do yourself.. #theworseexperienceever read more

We made an appointment and showed up before our allotted time. We were then left waiting 40 minutes. Their site advertises various backgrounds and props but we were simply shuffled from one room (with a Christmas theme) to another room with a plain white background. After going through the pics, we were told they only had one package (for $299) or we could buy individual pictures for $20/sheet. The package included a cd, but the pics are low resolution so you can't print them. Overall, a terrible experience. They have no appreciation for customers' time and are ridiculously overpriced. I will NOT go back and I am telling everyone I know about it. read more

I brought my 1 yr old to Portrait Innovations because we were moving out of town in a few days anf I wanted his family to have pics of him before we left. 1st I called for directions (I wasn't from the area) and the girl that answered the phone seemed annoyed. Ok, I finally get there, I wasn't properly greeted (by the same person). She just asked for my name. As we're walking to the back,my son stopped walking and she said "come on boy" which I didn't like but I brushed it off. She asked what my son's name was and when I told her she said "he's the 3rd _ I've had this wk"! She took a few pics in the first pose with him smiling. When went onto the 2nd pose he got a little crabby so I tried to make him laugh. She was very impatient and called in a co-worker to help make him smile (which she did) but her appt came and she had to leave. He began to whine again so I gave him his bottle & she said "oh your son is still on the bottle, my daughter has been off the bottle since she was 8 months old! While my son was drinking his milk she went off to answer the phone. While she was gone I got him to smile a lot (he had his bottle so he was happy again) & she was nowhere to be found. Another mom and I even laughed like where is she, she's missing all of these pictures! So she comes back and he begins to whine again. I jokingly say, he was just smiling/laughing, maybe it's you lol. She says I can get you another photographer but no one was available. I then say to amy son, I can't believe I drove 30 mins and you won't cooperate. She says where do you live, I said Hammond. She said, "I live in Hammond, it doesn't take 30 mins to get here". I said well it took ME 30 mins! Remember I got lost! We then realized that the session was over and I asked if I could purchase the first few pics that he DID smile on. She said no, they have to do an entire shoot (60 shots) & he only had 15. To make a long story short, I left there empty handed and unhappy with their customer service. I've used Portrait Innovations many times before in Wisconsin for my daughter but this time left a nasty taste im my mouth. I left out of there and went directly to Sears and got his pictures taken. I would go to PI again but definitely not this location! read more

I was in Portrait Innovations in Merrillville yesterday (10/20/16) and my entire experience was terrible from start to finish. I had a coupon that clearly stated to show the photographer when I arrived - when I did she dismissed it right away and rushed us to the room to begin taking photos. The photo session was for my 3 year old nephew and my 19 month old son. My son is terrible during photo sessions at this age and will not sit still. I told the photographer and others about this and they immediately acted as if I was being dramatic and started tossing a ball to my son. Who, of course, did not want to stop playing with it and got even more upset when they took it from him. The photographer literally forced us to have individuals shots done of each when we stated numerous times that we did not want them. My son had already been crying and his face was red and she was making him sit even longer - wasting energy on a photo that I told her I did not want. She was extremely rude and interrupted me more than once. She also kept making my son sit on boxes, wagons, stools, etc. and he FELL BACKWARDS OFF OF ONE. Then, she literally forced us (again) to sit through a 20 minute presentation on all the photo packages we could buy - including a book of photos. A BOOK...when she had only about 4 decent shots the entire session. I told her that we only wanted the coupon (for 3 poses) and she interrupted me AGAIN to tell me that she had to tell me this information. She was yawning and not covering her mouth the entire time she was talking. We received a free photo collage with our package - we created it and she ended up printing something totally different. I will NEVER return here and I will make sure to spread the word about my experience. It is hard enough to have a photo session with young children, but this place made it 100 times worse. ALSO, my nephew was playing at the lego table with other children and ended up crying because of sharing issues...when the mom of the other children came to check and see what had happened another EMPLOYEE whispered and pointed to my nephew "it is this boy" and ROLLED HER EYES. SO UNPROFESSIONAL!!! read more

BE FOREWARNED: This post is for FIRST TIME clients of PI. I took my 6 month old daughter there to get her first pictures so I would have some in time for Easter and Mother's day. The studio accepted me as a walk in and they were very friendly and took great pictures. However, when it was time to look at the different packages, they neglected to give me a price list and kept saying that they'll "customize" everything at the end. Basically, they sit you at a computer and tell you to pick your favorite pictures out of three until you go through all of your shots. THEN, they SLAM you with this "ultimate" photo package which gives you WAY more pictures than you'll EVER need or use all for the solid price of $500 dollars! Of course I refused to pay that amount so then you start removing pictures to get the price down, but all the while they're just SALES people who only care about getting you to spend as much money as possible. And they kept telling me that you can ONLY get your pictures by also purchasing a calendar and three photo books on the side. They ALSO said that this package included a cd with the copyright so you could use it to print out pictures in the future. So, I ended up paying almost $350 for 15 poses, 8 special effects photos, books and a calendar when you factor in taxes. That was $200 more than I expected to pay, but they have a "Satisfaction guaranteed" policy so I was confident I could go back to them with any concerns. HA- what a joke. First of all, I realized that the "cd" they give you is NOT copyrighted- you have to go back to that studio JUST to print more pictures for MORE money; how convenient is that?! THEN, when I received the books and calendar- THEY ARE SMALL AND PATHETIC. I've used shutterfly and produced MUCH better and LARGER photo books for cheaper. And once you agree to the price, you DON'T really have time to TRULY customize it to your liking, because they are running around and taking pictures of other clients. I also realized that because I was rushed that I didn't even get to choose the Title of my books, which REALLY infuriates me. The whole experience was confusing and rushed and I feel like I got scammed BIG TIME. I thought perhaps I could just return a few poses, because I never got a chance to look through EVERYTHING before I purchased it, and some poses I got weren't worth buying, but they insist that I have to set up an appointment and bring back EVERYTHING. Now, it's been almost a month later and almost Mother's day and I'm still being given the runaround. As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me". I'll just have to swallow this ripoff and needless to say I will NEVER go back to this place or recommend it to anyone EVER. I'm just putting this out there to warn other first time parents who are just excited to get pictures of your new child/children. If you choose to go here, just purchase the "specials", sometimes they sell one pose packages for $20 which is a good price. But be warned if they find out you are new, they will INSIST that you buy the most expensive package and it is NOT worth it. They will also try to tell you to get the cd, which also isn't worth it cause it's not copyrighted. And you CAN continue to remove pictures from the package to get it into a more budget friendly price. As for me, when my dd turns one I'm going to check out Picture People in the Southlake Mall because at least THEY post their packages and prices online so you know what you're paying for in advance. read more

We got our pictures taken there on 12/13. Pictures came out ok. Ordered 2 photo books that were supposed to be delivered there on or before 12/28. I was told to check my email for the notice of when they came in. Had to give her my email no less than 4 times and repeatedly spell my first name for her. I know they got my email right because now I get all kinds of promotional email from them but no word on the books. I called from 12/28 to 1/3. Either the phone recording would come on and say they were closed when they were supposed to be open or no answer at all. Finally on 1/3 I got a recording saying the # was disconnected. Called the studio in Granger to find out the one in Merrillville was now closed. I was not told they were closing. Now the studio in Granger is waiting to see if my books show up there. They said they have no access to my info because when it closed the other studio deleted all its records. So now I just pretty much wait for the studio in Granger to call me. Hopefully the books show up.Its just ridiculous. read more