HELP - VENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY!!

Hiya

We did venture about 6 years ago, the problem is all the pictures are amazing, there was no hard sell, but there didn't have to be, we couldn't pick, and very foolishly spent just over £4000 on pictures, on a credit card (thank god it was interest free and we cleared within 12 months). The pictures are amazing, they will not let you have any of them on memory stick at all.

Take money for what you can afford, leave the Credit card at home, they store your pics for 12 months, so if you love a couple but can't afford them, ask people to contribute money for Xmas/birthdays to add to them and buy them later.

FWIW, I never regretted spending all that money, my DH is typically awful in pics and we have some (8) awesome ones, combos of me and DH, me - DH and DSS, DH - DSS & DSS on his own. Everyone comments on them, but be prepared to be ruthless in your decisions.

Venture are known for this. What are the terms of your studio session - does anything you've signed commit you to buying something? If not I wouldn't go back and I would start again with a local independant photographer who will get the same results if you say what you want.

Personally, I would bail on venture and get them done with a local independent photographer who doesn't over inflate their prices.

Soupdragon - great minds!

I've had some great photos done by independent photographers.

we did venture (got given a voucher for our wedding), and came away with the free photo that was included. The hard sell wasn't as dreadful as we expected, and we just said no thank you. Tbh we were disappointed with the final result. The pics look great on the slideshow in the room, but when we got the actual print it was overexposed and not as nice. we used the experience to get ideas of shots we would like, and would have gone to an independent photographer after if we were really keen on the idea. you can get the pics on a memory stick. think it was 10pics for £400 (can't really remember exact figure)

Renowend for being extortionate and inflexible, although friends did somehow do a deal with the phtoographer and get the cd ...

We won a Venture voucher at the school fair last summer. Session was great, some of the photos looked lovely - but we only came out with the 'free' photo included, as we just couldn't afford their prices! Wouldn't do it again tbh.

I too would second a local independent photographer/photography student.

Venture photos look good in the window but in my opinion the styling/overexposure/cross-processing will date very quickly and are so so so expensive it's prohibitive and not a good reason to go into debt for.

Reportage/candid style in colour or black and white is the way to go.

Another one here who just said no thanks and went with the 5x7 image that was included in the price we already paid.
My DH was appalled at their prices and took them to task on it. He asked them how they could justify their prices, what were we paying for, cos the frames weren't amazing, and it doesn't cost much to prnt the photos. She said the price also includes all the hard work that has gone into the final product - DH pulled a face and said really? I love that man.
Anyway we are yet to see the print we ordered, as it was only a few weeks ago.
TBH we weren't blown away by the photos and DH told the girl at the viewing that too.

I paid for one extra photo in addition to the supposed "free" one that I had "won". They all looked good on the filmshow, but when they came back the frame had chopped of his MOUTH on one of them, and half his foot on the other. I literally cried when I went to collect them, and they gave me a load of flannel about their "unique style".

Point being, when you view the pictures, bear in mind that the framing will cover about 8% all the way round. and make them look crap.

I also hot sucked into putting £2500's worth on the interest free credit deal!! Don't actually regret a penny though, the display lights up our living room & makes me smile. No hard sell, just irresistible pics & really nice frames. The cost is insaaaaaaane though & we managed by skipping the family holiday, which I realise sounds ridiculous!

Thanks everyone - really helpful. The deal we signed up to was the session and then one free small photo. No commitment to buy so I guess we just have to be strong .... I was actually hoping to get some normal small pics for an album or something aswell, hence why I asked if anyone knew how to get hold of the CD etc. Thanks again for all the advice!

They won't give you soft copies. Or even hard copies to frame yourself if I remember correctly. They are wise to routes around spending a fortune! We physically took a photo on our camera of one of the one's we'd bought to try to make copies that way but the quality wasn't brilliant.

Get a friend with a good camera to do shots for you. For a grand you can buy a professional camera and take a course on taking photos and then you will have a limitless supply! Please don't get sucked into spending any money you can't afford. Remember how much they are worth.

Rockland78 - there are good portrait photographers out there who do not work on the same basis as Venture and do not upsell ridiculously priced products after the shoot - where are you based? Venture etc work on the simple basis that most people can't bear not to buy pictures of their treasured children, and it works! It's ridiculous money and if you found a private portrait photographer who gives a disc of images with rights you could get the same product for much less money.