Venture Photography help please

ClareEmily

Ok have done something very silly today, my hubby and I with our 10 month old son got stopped outside Sainsburys by venture photography, and to cut a long story short I handed over my debit card for £25 for a session "worth" £145 with free framed 7x5 print.

Got us all excited by saying we could do a 1st Birthday shoot with balloons cake etc, and I was totally sucked in.

I have just done a search on them and I now feel a bit sick, a lot of people saying the photo session was a lot of fun but then you are called back for a hard sell with the photos being in the hundreds to thousands of pounds.

They are going to call me in 3 days time to arrange a date for the session, and to take credit card details.

I don't want to do it at all as I know that I would be signing up to payment plans we can ill afford, as I am such a push over especially when it comes to my son.

If I tell them we no longer want to do a session what will happen? Is my £25 lost can they take more money from my debit card? I didn't even get a receipt (I am such a flaming idiot).

Shall I ring them today?

Thanks

Clare

dizsiebubba

They might do a hard sell but you can still say no! Go to the session, have fun and get your lovely free photo and then leave...

CH27

Go & get your free picture & stand firm. Do not buy anything no matter how cute & lovely they are.

dirtysexymonkey

why do they want credit card details if youve already paid? definitely dont give them another form of payment. id go to the session but not take any form of payment with you at all so you cant buy anything other than what youve paid for.

miss_marsters

I was in your shoes last Jan when my hubby thought it was an amazing idea as an christmas gift _pale_

They rang me before as well and i was just honest - i said all we could afford would be the free one and they said thats fine. They also said the average spend was £800 :eek:

The shoot was good, nothing spectular but it was fun. We didnt get to see the pics until the 'viewing day' anyway. The man also asked what we were looking for and again i said just the free one

At viewing day i decided to go myself (they encourage you to go in a couple) because my hubby is the weak one and would have bought the lot!

They show you all the pics with beautiful music you all look amazing of course

I was surprised that there wasnt a hard sell, he asked would we like anything else, even asked about the credit we and our familes had!

but i stuck to my guns and just said the free one please and he gave up after 10 mins

you have to wait another week or so for the picture, but i just picked it up and left.... a lovely pic of the 4 of us

They are pretty open with you about prices etc, they will ask about credit, i was prepared to say i was bankcurpt, that usually works for everything!

good luck!

Lemoncurd

We have been twice and both times only came away with only the "free" photo. I don't remember any hard sell and actually looked out for the deal the second time as it seemed good value. Almost felt guilty as they spent quite a lot of time on the shoots and viewing.

WestonDave

miss_marsters wrote: »

They are pretty open with you about prices etc,
good luck!

They are only open about prices once you have seen all the lovely pictures - you won't find anything anywhere on their website or elsewhere explaining how much they are. Everything is sold in their own frames, and at a pretty high price - running loads of non paying sessions has to be funded somehow.

If you can write off two half days for a photo session and a viewing session, and can resist temptation then go and get your free photo, but we did it once and would never go back. There is absolutely no haggling with them or anything - you either pay the set high prices or you walk away. Undoubtedly the photos are good, but nothing you can't get elsewhere for a lot less. To put it in perspective they claim the free photo is worth £50 and the session worth £95. A couple of years ago we paid £100 for a session with the photographer who did our wedding photos, and for that got an entire CD of all the photos he had taken to use as we chose, get printed up as we wanted etc.

Sadly I don't think you can get your £25 back but they shouldn't take anymore. Are they expecting you to make the £25 up to the £145 - not clear why they want credit card details.

ClareEmily

Hi folks

Thank you all for your quick replies, some mixed experiences here.

They want my credit card at time of booking in case I cancel and they take another £25 from it.

I just know what I am like I will be agreeing to buy photos and the result will be arguments with my hubby.

I have rung my bank and they said I would probably lose the £25 but they can dispute it if they take any further money or issue me with a new card.

If I decide not to do the session will they be contacting me forever more?

I have read the small print and there is no guarantee that you will be given the free print this is up to the individual studio, and the cheapest photo is £95 for a framed 7x5, they do not sell prints without frames. We really wanted photos to give to grandparents so this is totally not for us.

narabanekeater

oh dear you didn't get two numbers mixed up o your bank card did you when you gave it to them? just a thought LOL it would be so easy to do

Idiophreak

Personally, I don't think it helps referring to the picture as "free"...it's not "free", you're paying £25 for the thing. So you say "I've paid £25 for this photo. Can I have it please" and that's that. Saying "free" just make it seems like you're not paying them for their effort, which just isn't the case.

emmaanddave

A few years ago we were given a voucher for Venture photo which included the photoshoot and a 8x10 of our choice. The photshoot is fantastic and they really help you relax and be natural. You can bring props or favourite toy etc to be included in pics. 2 weeks later we had to go back to have a viewing of all the photos taken and chose our 'free' picture. we had already decided that we were just getting the 8x10 and we would not be pressured into buying more. We went to the viewing which was done with dimmed lights and a fab array of photos. We did find it difficult to chose and got it down to 5. they did try to sell us a package or buy now pay later etc but we stuck to our guns and got our 8x10. we did not find them to be a hard sales pitch but just be aware they will always try and sell you moe than just the 'free' one as that is the way they make money.

Funnily enough I have just got dh another one for father's Day and we will be booking our shoot up fairly soon.

Enjoy the experience but be aware there will be many pics you may like and if you want to pay for more then that is YOUR choice but if you just want the 'free' pic then don't be swayed.