Sam Pappas Photography

Very happy with my son's senior portrait. I, too was there on the overbooked Aug 20, 2011 Saturday. It was unfortunate there was a scheduling misunderstanding and they double booked the day (which is why I rated them 4 instead of 5 stars). However, I found every staff member pleasant and accomodating. Sometimes you have to make the best out of a difficult situation. Naturally, we had the option of rescheduling, but we opted to wait. I did not find the studio dirty, however the clutter that was there was from the students themselves...extra changes of clothes, musical instruments, even a dog or two. Here's how the senior portrait works. Your school will likely chose ONE photographer for the yearbook portrait. Yes, it is a headshot, and no, headshots were not invented in the 1970's. The only thing that 'dates' your photograph is your choice in glasses, hairstyle, clothes. I'm talking to you ladies, as guy trends such as tie width and length of hair change more slowly. The senior yearbook portrait sitting fee is FREE, folks. (a yearbook fee might apply, depending on your school). A change of clothes cost your $15. Contemporary backgrounds and props are $25 and up. And, no, you are under no obligation to purchase photos. We chose the $15 option with the change of clothes. The photographer showed us the photos on his camera and even allowed me a retake of one of the shots. Nice! Yes, students appeared to be photographed out of order. While I was there, students were changing in and out of clothes and some left for lunch and returned so the photographer took photos 'out of order'. No sense in waiting for a dressing change when you can slip another student in. Yes, you will pay $75 to take the proofs out of the studio. If returned within the week, you can get a full refund. Or, if you like, you can apply that fee towards your purchase. Why do they charge you? Come on...scanners are widely available and let's face it, some people don't play nice. When I returned to order prints, I was even offered a free retake (I declined). I told the employee exactly what size photos I wanted which was different from the portrait packages offered. They offered a simple switch-out...I need less wallets, and more 8 x 10's. This was done at no additional cost. Bottom line...talented photographer, patient staff. An unfortunate scheduling day but they managed just fine. If you're the type that gets super stressed at portrait time, try just the yearbook photo and reschedule a special shoot (outside, multiple changes of clothes, whatever) at a different time. Your darling will be a senior for 9 months! more

First: We waited over an hour past our appointment in a small, dirty, cluttered, and crowded waiting room (not even enough seats for everyone) to have our kid's senior picture taken. Unfortunately, Sam Pappas is the only photographer the school will allow. They called someone whose appointment was after ours, and though we pointed it out, they still let the other person go first. Every person in the waiting room was angry about the wait and making comments about the poor service and how they experienced the same in prior years with their older kids. Then, they expect you to take a decent photo after sweating and fuming in anger for an hour? The comments we heard from others on their way out were ""I didn't like any of the shots"". He took six really cheap looking rotten shots of our kid which were reminiscent of the 70's; just sitting on a stool like an elementary school photo. If you wanted anything other than that, like standing up, you had to pay extra. I believe that is their whole thing--Sam Pappas forces people who have no choice but to use him for the senior picture into racking up the costs in order to possibly get a decent senior photo. Watching him, I really believe it was intentional of him to take those rotten pictures--and I mean they were poor---so that we would feel pressured into footing the extra cash to get something better. He snapped the 6 pics in less than a minute and he called it a photo shoot. You have about 1 minute to choose your shot for the year book or you pay over $80--nonrefundable, to take the proofs home. I hope every parent will complain to their school about not allowing a choice, but being forced into using a Walmart quality photographer. more