“We ‘win’ four photoshoots with a free picture from each one as we attended a baby show in London and supposedly correctly guessed the baby dolls weight. However, my friend who I was with guest completely differently to me and also got a message saying she had a photo shoot because she guessed right. So clearly, it’s a way of getting customers in the door. The newborn photo shoot itself was a really good experience and good memories were made, The maternity issue I had first wasn’t as good and sadly you could tell by the end pictures that the photographer didn’t have as much experience as the owner did and so the pictures weren’t very good. Sadly, baby studios don’t do their own editing meaning that whatever image the photographer has in their mind that they are trying to capture is not communicated with the editing team that all the photos are quite generic. Sadly, the family picture from when I was pregnant wasn’t nice at all it had a massive dark shadow in the background that hadn’t been edited out and generally was quite sloppy and messy with my partner hidden behind our Child. This was actually the best of the bunch and obviously since I can’t go back in time and do it again, we ended up having to take it as it is. In all honesty I found the man who owns the company very very pushy with sales and was questioning us could afford to pay each month and also questioning each of us separately about it in front of one another it was so awful. He also began the sales pitch by saying ‘ Those tissues there Mum in case you’re still hormonal and dad, they’re there for you for when you come to pay’ I found this so offensive. I had had a really hard first month with our baby battling what I thought was postnatal depression so to have somebody mocking women for being hormonal after childbirth really angered me right from the off! When it came to having the prints posted to us Obvious, they tried to make profit postage which just seems crazy to me when they charge so much anyway! Sadly, you don’t even get a digital copy of any prints that you do purchase! So there’s not really much you can do with just one print anyway. I really don’t think this is the place to go if you’re looking for a newborn photographer or family pictures at all! We have gone to a different photographer now and she is absolutely on another level compared to this place!”
“Be very aware when “winning” a photoshoot on a competition they are doing.
I guessed the weight of a bear correctly at a baby show in which I won a “free” photoshoot worth £199. I claimed this prize within 24 hours like it said to on the email. I had to put a £35 deposit to secure this. A few days later I was called to arrange a date for the little sitters photoshoot.
A few weeks later I received the booklet with the prices and I could not believe my eyes in how expensive the photos cost. You can go on an all inclusive holiday for a week in Spain with the price they charge for 5 digital photos.
I understand we have complimentary 7x5 photo but I’d feel like I’m wasting the photographers hard work and time only having this.
As I am on maternity leave there is no way I could afford the price of a few photos therefore I cancelled the photoshoot. I have therefore now lost my deposit money. If I was made aware of the prices beforehand there would be no way I would book a photoshoot.”
“We visited the York branch for our baby photo shoot and it didn't exceeded my expectations at all. My friend referred babay art studios as she had an amazing experience in Manchester.She had 6 or 7 stations already set up when she arrived including outfits. When we get there there was nothing set up and no clothes been provided. I only took one outfit. So bit fed up I was really looking forward to see my baby in different outfit with different backgrounds. We didn't see the pictures yet but I'm sure we won't be purchasing any of your packages. It's a shame really as we wanted to have the same experience that my friend had in Manchester.”
“Where to begin. As others have said the hidden costs are absolutely extreme however myself and my partner did purchase a package as we felt positive following the newborn shoot. Once they had our money though all care was lost, both the 6 month and cake smash shoots were absolutely awful. We felt completely rushed, Heni spent most of the time shouting "hey" at our baby to get their attention which in turn actually just made them cry. He would huff and roll his eyes because our BABY wouldn't keep completely still. He made us feel terrible because our little one wouldn't smile for the camera. The two latter shoots are supposed to last an hour each but we were in and out within half an hour both times. Our 1 year old wanted to walk around the studio which seemed to be against what Heni would allow. I don't understand how you can expect a 1 year old to sit completely still and follow instructions for a shoot. He barely even spoke to our baby other than "HEY HEY HEY".
To sum up don't waste your money, while our newborn pictures were lovely the rest were rushed and disappointing as Heni would not take the time to allow our little one to come around to the different surroundings.”
