Photoshoot and Makeover day out advice

Chelle22

Evening all,

I am looking to book a makeover and photoshoot day for my best friend and I for her 30th Birthday, and there are so many bad reviews out there I wondered if anyone could recommend a good one? I would like somewhere where you can get the photos on a CD for free/ a reasonable price if possible, oh and around the London area.

Any advice welcome,

Many thanks,
Chelle

schofield8883

they do tend to be a rip off seem cheap but you usually only get one print in the cost and for other prints they are usually £60-£90 i was charged £90 a pic to put them on cd.
I then found some local photographers on facebook that are just starting out and are just as good and been to one that was £60 for all pics on a cd (which was around 100 pics, 50% realy nice) but have now found one who only charged me a fiver for the cd and got 90 which are fantastic. So do have a look around also try gumtree obviously if you did it like this you would have to pay for the makeover seperate but again there are a few local people that come to your house and do hair and makeup for around £15.
it may be completly different around london but good luck and i hope you find somewhere. The big companys want to get all the money they can get from you and are not worth the money your just another customer and they spend the least amount of time on you for the most profit. Local people try and give you value for money

Ps stay away from New id experiences very bad experiences with them and very expensive

socks_uk

My daughter did the Coverlook one when she was 18 (and her friend was 17) and I'm pleased I sort of used mind games to go along with her!

By mind games I mean that they were going to go down to London on the train from Lincolnshire and stay 2 nights in a London hotel. I suggested she go and research prices on the internet and unbeknown to her I checked out travelodge websites and tube prices. When she came back with her total cost (not including the photos) I then said that me and her stepdad could drive them down there for a fraction of the cost! Mind games over!
The photoshoot - the girls had a fantastic time with all the make-up and the attention. And the photos were very professional. One free photo per girl was included in the deal (which I think was some 'prize' - although I think they're all 'prizes' to lure you there.) but then they start talking about 'packs' of photos etc. I think the total amount for all the photos was going to be nearly £1000! It was only when 'mum' (me) said they had had a lovely time and we'll just have the free ones please that they started bringing the prices down. It was when it got to £250 for I think it was 40 photos on a CD that the girls promised to pay me back so I put them on my credit card!

This was all 5 years ago, the girls paid me back their £125 each and I got some of the close-up ones printed locally and they are still on my wall now. So, my advice is...

1. Be aware that they make their money by trying to sell the photos at the highest price they can get.
2. They will offer interest free credit 'to help you' purchase the photos.
3. If you want to go for 'the experience' don't take your credit cards or bank details so you're not tempted.

Some other people may be along with other company names that offer a less pressured service. I hate to think how much my daughter and her friend would have spent had I not been there but saying that... they are beautiful photos! Hope this helps.

susancs

Unlike the Schofield883 I got a good deal on a makeover and photoshoot for my teenage daughter and 2 friends at Burlingtons ID studios which is on the top floor of Debenhams at the large Westfields shopping Centre, White City. I purchased 3 individual deluxe makeovers and photoshoots with a free A4 photo included for £12.25 each from Virgin.

When I called to make the booking ID studios charged me a refundable deposit of £25 per teenager.

The experience took about 4 hours and included a haircut, style, makeup, nails painted and photoshoot, for which they had to have 5 changes of clothes. I only got the one A4 photo for each girl which was included in the package (which I had to pay an extra £5 postage). The group shoots are not included in the free A4 photo deal just one of the individual shoots. You could get the whole lot of photos on Cd for about £500, but as they are all similar and as you can only really put one photo in a frame or scanned into a social networking site, I thought the free A4 photo was fine. They got offered free soft drinks also.

The day was lovely with really nice staff (except the 20 minutes choosing the photos the sales person was a bit irritating) so the photo was an added bonus really. My husband took some photos of them afterwards which were just as good to be honest. The sales person at the end does try to sell the whole cd on credit and extra photos at about £60 each but I just went in there and said that I was just having the one each for the girls and that we had to hurry as we were going for a meal with the table time booked soon, so he knew it was a lost cause as I just smiled and kept saying no thanks we are just having the one photo and didn't engage in any other conversation, apart from saying we have to hurry as we have to be at the restaurant. They obviously do the sell up as the deal is fab as to get a haircut alone is £40 there when I looked at the price list, but if you go in saying you have limited time as you have only 20 minutes until you have to leave and prepared to say no and just insist on choosing your one free photo at the end, you will have a lovely day as all the other staff really pamper you and make you feel special. They also offer deals such as paying credit up front for the photos when booking to get BOGOF and nearer the time they ring to confirm you are coming and mention the benefits of this again but just say thank you but we are not interested. I got the deposit minus the £5 postage refunded within about a week after the day. The photo they each got is lovely.

Westfields is a huge shopping centre with lots of lovely places to eat and good designer shops if you want to go there after or before the experience or you could book a theatre show afterwards.
http://uk.westfield.com/london/

Link for deal I purchased as still on.
http://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/experiences/Deluxe_Makeover_Photoshoot_for_One_Special_Offer_788/

socks_uk

susancs wrote: »

The sales person at the end does try to sell the whole cd on credit and extra photos at about £60 each but I just went in there and said that I was just having the one each for the girls

I think that was the point I was trying to make. If you go just wanting to enjoy the 'experience' and have the free or 'included' photo, then you'll have had a good day!