Portrait Innovations Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Portrait Innovations full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Excellent earning potential, fast advancement, strong team environment, goal-oriented, relocation allowance

Cons – More of a sales job than a photography job, no health insurance, no FMLA leave, relocation is often necessary to advance

Advice to Senior Management – I only worked under one studio manager, who was ambitious, thorough, and dedicated the store and staff's success, and had 4 different regional managers (I worked in 3 different regions), who fit the same description.

In my opinion, the only way that management could improve, would be to emphasize the sales aspect of the job more in recruiting and hiring. All to often, new recruits would have lots of photography experience, but no sales skills, and would be very inflexible in learning or understanding the process.

I would also recommend a more solid cultivation of managers. I noticed that there were often managers who got promoted who should not have been, and their studios and staff suffered deficits and high turnover as a result.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Portrait Innovations

Pros – I just got my bonus today and it is so nice to be rewarded for all the hard work that we had to put in over the Christmas and Easter seasons . Yes, it was a lot of long hours and there were days that we were tired, but we are paid at time and a half for any of the extra hours we were so the pay checks were totally worth it. I have worked here for a little over a year, I started right after I graduated from college, and I literally have become such good friends with all the people who work there. I even went to one of their weddings! The manager is pretty awesome. She's been helping me work toward being a manager at a studio in the future.

 I get that working in a customer service environment can be tough sometimes, because you can't please everyone...but I have to say I have met some pretty cool famlies and heard some neat stories from all the different people who come in here. I've learned soooo much when it comes to how to work with the things that customers need and want and it's going to stick with me forever no matter where I work in the future.

My most favorite part is the fact that I get to be creative. They've been giving us a lot of new props and backgrounds lately so we've been getting to try out new things and really give the customers a lot of choose from...which you definitely need because the software that you have to use at the studio makes you create a lot of speical effects and products with the pictures and if you don't have enough it doesn't really work out too well when you're showing the pictures.

Honestly, this has been an awesome experience for me at P.I.

Cons – Like I said before, the hours can be long....but the over time pay checks definitely make up for it.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Portrait Innovations

Pros – Clear communication with my regional manager, tight knit crew and usually cordial customers. It was fairly exciting to see the changes and vision for the future of such a young and rapidly expanding company.

Cons – In 3 years with the company despite my best efforts I didn't manage an annual bonus as a manager or an associate. I knew a few managers of other studios who got bonuses but mostly the one's in extremely high volume studios. The bonus plan was always presented as a very achievable mark but it wasn't so. Missed an annual merit increase that got lumped in to my promotion shorting be by about $2 and hour. I spoke with the Director of Management Development about it who gave me a very professional run-around.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep it up for the most part. I enjoyed my time with the company I just felt a little under-appreciated and got the impression that without having a personal in with the company that I couldn't advance beyond studio management.

Current Employee – been working at Portrait Innovations

Pros – You get paid decent money to take photographs and play! I enjoy taking photographs and I love children. Your day consists of holding a camera to take some clicks OR holding a stuffed monkey and making silly noises, just to get a few smiles from a small child. It is a LOT of fun!

Cons – It can get chaotic at moments & I have left work with a migraine or two. I don't like having to pressure people into buying photos. I feel like I am a cheesy cars salesman sometimes.

Advice to Senior Management – As a part time employee of the virginia beach location I can say that I thouroughly enjoy my job. The location, people and clients are really awesome!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Portrait Innovations

Pros – 12$ per hour starting plus yearly bonus program for all full time employees. Pays more than similar jobs with other portrait companies. PI is a fast growing company building new studios across the country despite the economic decline. They are methodical and have the portrait business down to a science. Draw the customers in with the 9.95 special. Take 100 plus photos across 6 different back grounds. Then up sell you to a $120.00 to $170.00 package. People come in to spend 10 bucks and before they know what happened they've spent $120.00. They are developing new products and are heading in the right direction with online re-orders.

Cons – You will work a lot of weekends! Monday is the only day Portrait Innovations is closed. And during peek seasons. Christmas & Easter, you will be open 7 days a week. During the month of December, full time employees can expect to work 65-75 hours a week. No joke. The overtime pay is great, but by week 4 you are a zombie and you start to forget what your children look like. Really sucks the fun out of Christmas. Overbooking is the biggest problem with Portrait Innovations. During Christmas you are booking 100 appointments a day! Thats 10 appointments per hour! absolutely ridiculous. Customers get pissed cause they have a 10 a.m. appt. and they wait an hour before they can get into the camera room. Of course they take it out on the employees. As if we want to book 10 appointments an hour! We do what we are told to do in order to keep our jobs. We do the best we can to keep the customers happy, but dealing with angry irate customers during Christmas is a daily issue. If you accept this position you need to love working with children and have the patience of Job.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire some one who knows what they are doing to get some decent backdrops and props. There is a huge upperclass market out their with a lot of money to spend. The pictures the company uses to advertise are straight up 1994. Employees across the country take amazing photos everyday that should be used to promote the studio.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend