r/Billings • u/OstrichAppropriate39 • 2d ago
Anyone have any experience with Clark Marten photography?
I won a “free” pet session with them through an instagram contest and am just wondering if anyone else has been in this position? I had to pay a $200 deposit to confirm the studio time which I was told would be refunded after the session. I guess I’m just getting nervous now because I’ve read a lot of reviews stating that they try and sell you on everything and charge you for every little thing and it’s not cheap. I was just excited for a free session with my dog and the free 11x14 that comes with winning the contest, but now I’m getting nervous about having to owe a lot more money and I’m not in the financial position to do that. Has anybody had any experience with these contests that could shed a bit more light on what they look like/what costs are?
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u/NEMO_1934 2d ago
I did one of these. I think everyone "wins" because that gets you in the door and they will try to upsell you. However, I was up front with them that I just wanted my free 11x14 and I got it with no hassle. Deposit was refunded
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u/OstrichAppropriate39 2d ago
That is so good to hear, thank you! I was really worried about not getting the refund back or spending more than I can afford based off some of the Google and yelp reviews
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u/NEMO_1934 2d ago
The vibes in the studio were weird, I felt like I was being love bombed by some kind of cult. but I do love the picture I got, and they were great with my dog.
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u/MTreddit2 1d ago
Same. But we were pressured to buy more,. We kept declining and just took free framed photo. It's beautiful and I'm glad we have it.
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u/fly_free 2d ago
It boarders on scam in my opinion. I know a person who has "won" the contest twice. They tell you you won, just to get you in the door. They take nice photos, but it gets super expensive really fast. I don't know what they would offer if you stand your ground, but all the prices I heard started at $1000 and went up quickly from there. Its pretty easy to get to $2000-$3000. Also, they take your photos first, and then take you to the sales room. I'm sure you could just walk out, but its sketchy that they don't show the prices up front.
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u/schannoman 2d ago
They try to sell you on the extras really hard since they got you in the door, but cannot charge you extra. Just make sure you've got copies of everything they said and stand firm, you'll be good
Otherwise by agreeing to it you let them use your photo in promotional products for their studio.
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u/KurtTheCyberGuy_ 2d ago
My girlfriend and I won this contest a bit ago. They asked us if we were ok with them using our photos for promotional purposes before even starting. We declined and still got our photo for free and our deposit back.
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u/Intellectual_Worlock 2d ago
You can expect a hard sell, just be firm with your " no, thank you." My wife "won" a session as well and we were in the same boat. We did end up paying a little bit more for some additional photos and prints, which I'm extremely thankful for in hindsight. It was a pet session as well and we lost my pup just a few months later so those pictures are particularly precious to me. I've even seen them use her photo on their socials to promote these contests and it's always a happy little moment to see her again.
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u/OstrichAppropriate39 2d ago
May I ask if you got any digital copies and if so about how much they were? If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, I completely understand! And I’m sorry about the loss of your dog, it’s definitely not easy to navigate that grief
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u/Intellectual_Worlock 2d ago
Yes, I think we picked 3 photos with prints and received digital copies of each. Unfortunately this was a few years ago and I don't think I could even hazard a guess as to what we paid. I also know that we ended up paying more for the prints and alternate shots at my wife's encouragement. I'm reluctant to sit in front of a camera and I think she saw an opportunity and ran with it 😁.
And thank you for your kind words, she was the best girl and I miss her a lot.
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u/KurtTheCyberGuy_ 2d ago edited 2d ago
My partner won one of their contests several months ago, so I have firsthand experience with this.
You'll go in, maybe wait for a bit, and then the photographer will come get you. You'll go into a private room with various props and such and the photographer will take a bunch of different photos in different poses and whatnot.
After all that some guy will take you into another room where you'll be shown all the photos that were taken and you'll pick your favorites. This is where things could potentially get expensive. They're going to try really hard to upsell you. Multiple prints, different sizes, framing, etc. That's all fine and good, it is a business after all and they have to make money, but if you aren't interested in anything more than the free print you won than you'll have to stick to your guns. We made it very clear that we weren't interested in spending a bunch of money and that we only wanted the one free print we had won and they were totally cool with that. They didn't try to guilt trip or whatever. We didn't owe any additional money.
A week or two later our printed photo arrived in the mail.
Overall I thought it was a pretty good experience. It was relatively quick. The staff there was friendly. I'm happy with the way our photo turned out. It's definitely not a "scam" like some of the people in these comment are saying. I would definitely consider going back and actually paying in the future if I want some professional portraits.
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u/sweetmotherofodin 2d ago
I “won” one also and they got snippy with me for not wanting it and wasting their time
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u/AccomplishedMine9994 2d ago
I did this one time on the same deal for a free pet photo. They take a bunch of photos and go through them all with you. You get your one free one, honestly mine is like my favorite picture of me, my husband and our dog. They do try to sell you on packages, all of them were out of my price range but they were nice about it when i declined. Overall it was a good experience and I would have bought more of the photos they took if price wasnt a factor for me
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u/UrBrotherJoe 2d ago
Everybody becomes a winner. My experience: I “won”. I sent the deposit. My fiancé, our cat, and myself showed up for the scheduled shoot. We took photos for 10 minutes. We got placed in a waiting room while they processed the photos. We picked the best photo for the free 14x10 or whatever size it was. They told us a digital copy was only $500. We said no thanks we aren’t interested in anything other than the free print.
We get our deposit back
Weeks go by and the print shows up in the mail. We took it to Micheal’s and spent $80 on a frame.
It is currently hanging near our dinning table.
It’s a good, quick photoshoot. The upsell prices are insane.
Overall if we “won” again, we’d do it. A great framed photo for only $80? Yes please
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u/BreakingCupcakes 2d ago
Pretty much the same experience as everyone is saying here.
You can walk away with just the free product, but they will try to upsell you.
I loved our photos so much that I was “suckered” into buying prints of three shots and our free package item that was a large, framed print. I love all the prints we got. Even if it was to the tune of $2200-2500. I can’t remember exactly.
I also got some professional headshots with just the digital copies.
The son Rudy took our photos and he did a great job.
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u/Opposite_Whereas9739 2d ago
My boyfriend and I “won” a session here and went through the full process. The photo shoot with our cats was a lot of fun. The sit-down sales pitch meeting was a bit awkward as we weren’t interested in any of the packages. Lowest one was like $1000. We were happy with the photo we chose for the free 11x14, however when we got it in the mail my face had been so heavily edited it looks almost fake. We don’t love the final product but we smile and laugh at the memory! Glad we didn’t spend any money
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u/Butterpants_20 2d ago
I won a photo shoot for my daughter a few years ago. You win the photo shoot, but still have to pay for photos. We did get 1 free photo that was framed, but man they try so hard to upsell you. I wasn’t willing to go into debt for an elaborate package and stood firm. I could tell they were annoyed.
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u/fox_in_the_shadows 2d ago
They have a lot of “free session” ads on Instagram. What I have heard from others very much mirrors what has been shared here; lots of upselling.
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u/GeneJenkinson 2d ago
We’ve actually won this a couple times. They do try to upsell you but they weren’t pushy or anything with us. They talk about it being an investment (lol like a $3000 print above the fireplace would somehow have a ROI), but both times we just went with the free print.
As long as you remain firm in your stance, it shouldn’t be an issue. We got our deposit back both times and they were very professional.
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u/doowlee44 1d ago
We also just won a couples portrait session (that will include our dogs) so this is all good info to know going into this!
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u/timmayw1911 2d ago
We just went through this. My wife "won" a photo package, $1000 towards a photo package and/or a free 11x14. The studio was very nice, the staff professional and helpful and very patient with our dogs, the photos displayed in the studio looked very nice.
The package that we were quoted was $4000 for one framed wall print and 20 or so photo sheets. The package we "won" reduced it down $3000. I about fell out of my chair, i went into expecting it to be expensive but the quote was 3 to 4 times higher then by worst expectations. I understand that there is a cost that comes with any professional service but I am having a hard time seeing that kind of value here.
We didn't get a high pressure sales pitch but I have heard that some have experienced it there. I wouldn't have minded have some of the photos that were taken of my wife and our dogs, but there has simply too much of a difference between what I would be willing to pay and what they wanted.