JCPenney Portrait Studio

This place is always too busy. I’ve been here about two different times thinking this first time was a bad day for them but honestly after the second time I’m over this place.
The photographer that happened to be the manager actually took horrible photos of my new born baby. She was rushed and was very impatient. She got terrible angles and was taking photos past the background or even got parts of the wood floor that wasn’t even part of the backdrop. She took our first family photo and parts of my bra was showing in all the poses!
I understand that there’s lots of editing they can do afterwards but to me I didn’t appreciate it considering I purchased the disk, which has all the poses. They make it seem like your getting a deal buying the disk, but in reality the unedited photos look like crap and the poses not wanted are unwanted for a reason! (Total rip off).
While we did the edits together we were interrupted so many times that at that point I wanted out. We had been there for over two and a half hours with a newborn.
The worst part of all, I can’t redo these photos because I was trying to capture the moment of my daughter when she was a newborn.

Came here for my baby’s 3 month and 6 month pictures and absolutely want to come back for her 9 and 12. Mark was our photographer and he was beyond awesome! He followed me in all the crazy things I do to make my daughter laugh and helped make for a perfect picture. He definitely went the extra mile.
In addition coupons make this such an affordable way to get pictures done often without clearing your wallet.

They take pretty decent photos especially on a groupon coupon. It is best to make an appt since the do get busy but I think they should at least call you when they get backed up. We had a 1pm appt and waited an hr to be photographed. By the time we left the wait time was an hr and a half WITH an appt. I think they should at least call and give a friendly notice so you don’t rush there just to find out your going to have to wait an hour.

Bottom Line: Excellent pictures, great for families, a little patience may be required.
I’m pleased to say I had a good experience and will definitely be back. My husband was skeptical, but I, *gasp* came here without looking at the reviews and I’m glad I did. This is as very family friendly photo studio. So, you do need to have a little patience because kids can be hard to work with. If you are easily frustrated by children, don’t come here.
First, I made an appointment online. This was quite easy and painless. They had several appointments available even day of — and this is the day before Thanksgiving.
We arrived just about on time and were 3^rd in line. When you check in, you pick which background you’d like to use. We picked two, and I am very pleased to have had the option because the variety was very nice for the pictures. There are 2 studios going simultaneously. Unfortunately for us and the photographer, one of the families in session was difficult to work with. That is, they kept trying to force their toddler to take pictures, but she was clearly not in the mood, so much time was spent chasing after her as she ran screaming out of the studio and into the JCPenney store. This is obviously not the studio’s fault. The family was also dysfunctional, wife yelling at husband, then the children. We ended up waiting 30 minutes because of this. Fortunately they do have a child area with Disney/​Pixar movies playing. Also because there are other kids around, your kid will probably end up entertaining him/​herself with the other kids.
Our session was great. The photographer was patient, professional, and great with our child. This is hard to maintain all day long working with kids so I appreciate this. He knew how to pose us, and take pictures quickly. He used a Mickey Mouse doll and acted silly to get my son’s attention and smile. He also let us know when we had to wipe the drool, lol. The pictures turned out great! The only regret I have is not having taken an «in the moment natural» picture where you’re not looking at the camera. It’s ok, I’ll be back next year.
We brought a coupon thank goodness because it can get pricey. They have coupons all the time in mailers and Parents magazine. We got the digital photos and a 2 year JCPenney Portraits membership which gives you free sitting fees for 2 years. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the latter. The photos were available to view online and download within an hour!
Having these pictures to treasure for a lifetime — it’s really made my day

I went here for the first time to get my sons 9m pic done and I must say I was very pleased. Before hand I came in to get info about pricing etc and Liz (the manager) was very helpful and answered all my questions, then on the actual day of the pictures I had a lady and I forgot her name but she was great, super nice and made my son smile and took great pictures they were hard to choose from which I wanted to order. they have so many props and poses they do .so much better then picture people and the pricing is great but must recommend to get the member card. I paid the sitting fee for both me and my son when I thought it would just be me but they said he is a person so he counts. All in
visit was amazing and I will definitely come back here to take Xmas pic and when my son turns a yr old

It’s totally worth it when you get the groupon deal where you can get 3 digital prints for $ 20. It’s simple, no need for any preparations. You just go there and pick 2 back drops and take your family photo. If you have any specific poses you can most definitely let them know. You pay for what you get of course so you can’t expect something woah out of it. There will be waiting time for them to set up and for them to show you pictures.

We bought a groupon for our maternity photos which included 3 digital photos.
Tricia was our photographer, she explained the deal and upgrade options to us before our sitting. She took a number if pictures, mostly standard poses and also asked if there were any poses we wanted.
We liked a number of the pictures and did upgrade to 30 digital pictures. It cost about $ 100 including the groupon & coupons.
It took about a week for the CD to be ready which surprised me a little — they had some additional prints they offered when I picked up the CD but up sell pressure wasn’t high.
Overall we were happy with what we expected and what we received. I would recommend Tricia — we enjoyed working with her.

So I bought the Groupon special for $ 20 and went here for the photos. I came here the 1^st time just to see where it was and what I would need since I was shopping at Tanforan anyways. The guy tells me that I don’t need an appointment but it is best I get one. Not knowing when things can suddenly come up I didn’t make any appointments.
So I stopped by a couple weeks later on a Saturday and they said they were completely and I had to make an appointment. Luckily they said it didn’t look like one of their appointments was going to show so they squeezed us in to that.
The photographer got some great shots and made my kid look great. The groupon was for only 3 shots but the photographer ended up taking over 25.
So after the shots was the preview. They tried to push one package that was close to $ 100, then another that was close to $ 200 then finally they tried to push a package that was at $ 300. Even buying some of the sheets alone was going to be $ 18 each. So we ended up doing the Groupon package with the 3 photos; print of 1 of the 3 photos on CD. Then we ended up buying 3 of the others which was an additional $ 45. We paid and was told to come back a week later.
A week later and we were in a rush. So again they tried to push another $ 100+ sticker/​postcard package. I declined and went off. When looking at the photos later I realized they got the wrong photos. They got two of the CD and one printed photo incorrect. I called and they said since I walked out of the studio it is too late to do anything.

If I had the option to give no stars, I would. I had an appointment for my daughter’s 3 month pictures for 3:20, but because the 3:00 appointment started late, we waited until nearly 4:00. There was only one person working and he had to take the pictures, set everything up, help others buy their pictures, deal with pick ups, and answer the phone. Needless to say, it was way too much for one person. The pictures did not turn out nice at all. The photographer really didn’t know what he was doing and that showed in the pictures. He kept stopping in between pictures to look at them on the digital camera and missed almost every smile from my daughter because of this. The angles of the pictures were really poor and did not show her face well. I also found it rude that he kept referring to my daughter as «him» and «he», despite the fact that she is clearly a girl and was wearing a pink dress!

If I could give them no stars I would.
I went here for my daughters 3 month photos without any problem. But when we went back for her 6 month photo shoot it was a very different story. I had an appointment for her photos at 1120, and I got there about 1110. I waited until almost 1145 to start her photo session. Then I had to wait a while for a associate to help me pick out my pictures.
When leaving JCpenny to go home, I got stuck in the elevator and once I got out I went to tell one of the sale associates and they just looked at me confused.
Today I went to pick up my pictures. The associate told me she would be with me in a second. Well 10 minutes later I was fed up and walked out. I asked someone to talk to an manager. I waited another 10 minutes for the manager and they never came, so I went back to the portraits area to wait for my prints. Once I finally got them and I was trying to leave, the associate I had asked to get the manager yells at me that the manager went to talk to me and she proceeds to follow me to the elevator to get the store manager. Needless to say I never got the opportunity to talk to a manger.

One star to the gentlemen who tried, but trying is not good enough to satisfy a customer and keep the standard. Note to management do a better job staffing and note to management go above and beyond to keep the customer happy, your $ 25 off $ 189 are going to keep me away from your business for good and keep me from ever sending anyone else over. It was a special day for us to have the photos taken, but not for one second did we feel special treatment while having the photos taken. the guy had to leave us at least 6 time to help other customers because he was so overwhelmed with everything he had to do: answer phones, greet customers, check out customers, all while I am supposed to spend $ 189 on lousy cheesy photos. Out of 19 4 are so-​so!!! NEVER AGAIN. SHAME on you JC penny Portraits. Save your money people go ELSEWHERE!

JCPenney Portrait Studio in Baltimore (Owings Mills):
Save your money and time. The whole process is stressful, quality of cards we ordered is very mediocre. Plus you have to go to studio to pick up the order 6 days later (really? for 150 $ I left for 30 cards and 10 prints they could’t even mail them???), and cut all pictures on my own. For the money we paid I expected much more. Make your own pics and order online whatever prints you need.

Came here today with my one year old, I’ve been to the one in San Jose and had a slightly better experience.
Our photographer was SO rushed and took barely any good photos. She wasn’t very creative with posing or props that they had and I only like 3 out of the 19 photos that she took. She only spent about 15 minutes taking photos which is not enough in my opinion. I was really flustered when we left.
The high cost for the photos is not worth what you get. $ 70 for three pictures on a CD? thats ridiculous.
I’ve just learned to screenshot the ones I like from the online viewer that they send to you. I will keep coming back because I have the membership and some of the deals on photos are great but the lack of customer service and rushed sittings is pretty crappy.

I wish Unilocal gave you an option to post negative starts…
This was my second experience with that photo studio and I am sure that it was the last one.
The first time we went in it was for a family picture and I was kind of happy with the results (even though we had to wait for about 30 minutes after arriving on time for the scheduled appointment) They took their time with us. Out of 50 – 60 shots I was able to choose a few that were really nice.
That made me wanna go back and have pictures taken for a Christmas card this year. I have made an appointment for Sunday for 4pm. At 3 I called the studio to double check that my cards will be ready in time and I was assured that if we have pictures taken on that day they would be ready on Dec.22^nd. I asked about wait time and girl on the phone said that they are running slightly behind the schedule and there is a 20 – 25 minute wait.
We got there at 4pm just to be told that we have to wait 45 minutes. They took my phone number down and said they would give me a call. 45 minutes later no one called, we came down to the studio to find out that it will be another 10 minutes. After another 20 minutes of waiting we finally got called in. The photographer rushed us through the whole process, took maybe 18 shots max. And than we waited again… Some random employee took me to the computer to have the pictures chosen. I said I came down to get the Christmas cards done and he said «great, today is the last day you can have them ordered and ready by the 22^nd». So we took a few minutes to choose one and get it done the way I wanted. I was pretty happy with the results. We finished the process just to find out the prints won’t be ready until the 24^th… WTH? 15 minutes earlier he assured me it was gonna be the 22^nd! Girl on the phone 4 hours before that assured me it would be the 22^nd! I know it’s only two days difference but when it comes to Christmas cards it really makes a huge difference!
If they told me that in the first place I wouldn’t have wasted the whole afternoon! So after wasting 3 hours of my time I ended up not ordering any cards…
I cannot understand why :
a. they lie (wait was not 20 – 25 minutes it was 65!!!, prints weren’t gonna be ready by the date they have confirmed twice!!!)
b. they book the appointments for every 10 minutes when they know it takes way longer for almost everyone — their explanation was «well Sundays are busy…» Seriously? So do something about it and book less appointments!!!

Recently went to this location to have my fiancé take his SFSU graduation pictures. I called day of and was able to get in within 20 minutes. It was awesome! When we arrived we were promptly greeted and waited just a few minutes while they set up everything and we filled out a few forms. We got in and our photographer shot probably 20 shots. I loved them all great angles and speedy work. I had my 6 year old who can get restless at times however he was great given it was 10 minutes or so. Hardest part was picking our favorites since I loved them all. I highly recommend JCPenny for your photos. :)

Price drops $ 100 for CD copy within three weeks. I asked customer service and studio manager to get refund, they rejected it.
DO NOT get CD copy right away, they will keep your photo files for three months. Just wait for coupon.

I purchased a groupon for this and although it was a great price, only 4 shots out of 15 came out well. Some of them we look crooked because of the woman’s camera angle. They are typically so booked that you are rushed in and out which effects the final product. AND, boy do they try to sell you before giving you your prints! Be ready for that.
Honestly, I may go back because of the cost but will be more aware of how to deal with this place to get what I want.

Meant to post this for Hayward location not san Bruno
Went for maternity photos ended up being 3minutes late. While calling other locations due to the fact they had no availability the baby taking its photos was crying and had to reschedule so the photographer malia (something along those lines I can’t remember exact name) said it wouldn’t b a problem to fit me in. She posed the whole shoot and it went great! So happy I came here plus I bout the portrait membership for 27 $ and it’s totally worth it! No sitting fee for 2yrs with any1 I bring ($ 9 usual) u can even bring ur pet here! Plus the coupons that come with the membership pay for it. Pic ready in a week, not 2 bad. Ill b back often

We’ve tried this studio twice now, and each time have been more let down. Our first visit was for our sons three month portraits. The photographer working with us was very nice, energetic and great with our son, however we were rushed through for a total of 10minutes in the studio. Our second and most recent visit will sadly be our last. I made it very clear when booking the appointment I was not going to be rushed through again. We got about a half hour in the studio this time, but I could have set up a tripod and took better photos myself. The photographer had absolutely no personality, no interaction and overall just blah. We didn’t order any photos this time. We’ve really tried to like this place, but I’m not wasting any more money on photos I’m very unsatisfied with!
We

EDIT #2: Okay, so after calling to talk about picking up my photos and coming to get them, I feel the need to mention TRISHA. She hasn’t caused me to change my star rating, but I can see why some other reviewers may have had a bad experience due to her.
Firstly, she has NO customer service skills. When she called and left me a message she was very to the point and not an iota of that special spark that a good CS rep has.
Then when I called to ask about when the store closed, she seemed to have some sort of attitude that I was stupid for asking when they closed AFTER their 2 – 3 lunch break. No thank you have a nice day, no thank you for calling look forward to seeing you, nothin.
Then when I finally got there running, huffing and puffing all the way from the BART station (I live in The Fillmore district so San Bruno is a ways away) thinking I was going to run into the dreaded «closed bars» some other reviewer ran into since it was 30 minutes to closing… TRISHA was the only one working there with LOADS of people still waiting around to finish their shoots and buy their photos.
There was one family in front of me waiting to pick up just like me and they had been waiting a good 20 minutes.
When TRISHA came out of her photo shoot she immediately came to help those of us picking up. (+ some points for that.) Yet she seemed defensive and hostile. When it came my turn she even had the gall to ask me if I had a cold (because I was sniffling and huffing from running through the entire mall from the BART station!!) and when I told her no I didn’t, she said «Oh we all have them.» Umm thanks for giving me one I guess?
Just as she was on the phone, she was very to the point, with no manners or thank you’s. When we finished our transaction, I told her (in a sincere tone) «Good luck, I heard you’re the only one here I know how hard that can be!» and she just gave me an angry look.
So after meeting and interacting with TRISHA I can see why some people have such poor experiences here, but please read my original review below to find out who you can have a GOOD experience with. :)
(end edit)
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After reading the reviews here I had my reservations… (including the one I made a week earlier ;))
But holy shnikeys Batman! These guys ROCK!!!
First of all, when we came in we were greeted by MEGAN and she provided a changing room with a mirror where I could adjust my clothing and makeup.
Because we arrived about 15 minutes early, they were able to take us in early after I got ready in the changing room. No waiting at all! (Just for me to change.) We knew what we wanted and had a nice family item to make the session special like they suggested. ANDREW did our shoot and he was so kind and understanding! He knew exactly what we wanted and made it happen beautifully.
After our shoot which lasted a generous 15 minutes, MEGAN edited and helped us pick out photos. We knew about many of the specials and prices since we had already done our research and weren’t shocked or tried to be «upsold» on anything.
We got 48 cards, 3 large canvas prints, the full photo CD, and joined the membership club for only a dollar more than our total.
There’s no JCPenney in SF where we live, but this San Bruno location is great and worth the travel. :)
Also, about the online appointment system; I had the same issue with it forcing me to enter certain fields that didn’t pertain to me. Usually when anything wonky happens with ANY webpage, you should try loading it in Internet Explorer. (I’m not a fan myself, I prefer Chrome, but webpages are usually optimized to be viewed in Internet Explorer.) I did this and it worked perfectly and was easy to use.
I’m uploading just one of our 100’s of photos they took. This will be our 2012 Christmas card. (We met on World of Warcraft and have known each other for 5 years. He moved from Vermont to live with me in San Francisco. :))
EDIT: Oh, and to the reviewer who was upset because they didn’t have the room ready, they don’t have it ready for you because you have to pick out the 2 background and several props that you want. They can’t ready a room that they don’t know what to do with.