A Gap in portrait business ethics?

GAP Studios Brisbane has been exposed for luring clients with voucher giveaways, and then applying aggressive sales tactics to bill them for thousands of dollars for basic photo packages.

It’s a member of a category of portrait studios that use a variety of ‘bait-and-switch’-style sales tactics to draw in sometimes vulnerable clients.

Channel Nine’s A Current Affair (ACA) ran a damning investigation on GAP Studios Brisbane, after complaints from multiple clients who fell victim to the business’ bad behaviour.

A regular Inside Imaging reader alerted us to the segment, stating ‘as a long-standing family portrait studio in Sydney, manipulative hard sellers like GAP tarnish my reputation too’.

The last time Inside Imaging looked at this murky side of professional photography was in 2018, when we reported on a number of portrait studios running a version of this hard-sell business model. We still get regular feedback from disgruntled customers who have obviously scoured the internet to find out whether there are others who have been stung by their photographic portrait experience. The most recent was just last week: ‘They suck you in emotionally as you see a whole slideshow of priceless photos then pull out their limited time ‘packages’ which are $1000 off and ‘only’ $4k for a handful of pictures…’

Here’s how they operate:

Client leads are generated through voucher giveaways worth a free printed photo, a free portrait sitting, or redeemable for a dollar sum. These are ‘valued’ at hundreds of dollars. Sometimes they are given to clients via car dealerships, real estate agents or mortgage brokers, handed out at, say, wedding expos, or awarded in a social media ‘contest’.

The client then arranges a shoot, which often lasts over an hour and can be an enjoyable and fun experience. They are then ushered into a separate viewing room, where a sharp salesperson works their magic while unveiling extremely over-priced photo packages, rendering the voucher a tiny discount on the inflated bottom line price. There is never any price transparency prior to the shoot taking place, with websites often stating prices ‘start at x amount of dollars’.

The studios often target young families. Many wouldn’t otherwise consider a portrait session prior to ‘winning’ the voucher, and aren’t anticipating paying thousands, or even several hundred dollars, for a few prints. They probably planned to just leave with their free photos, or pay a small sum for additional images.

While some clients are satisfied with the whole process, others fold under the pressure of the slick sales spiel, spending far more than they can afford.

A variation of this business model has been around for decades, and some family portrait studios use similar tactics in a more ethical manner. Using vouchers to generate leads, for instance, is reasonable given the client is informed about additional costs or pricing when booking the shoot.

Here’s how an Inside Imaging reader explained their more legitimate approach in our previous coverage:

‘Lyle Ramsey from the USA back in the days – the late 80’s – and others introduced the concept of a sitting and a free 10x13cm print as a “loss leader”. The idea can be tweaked so that you get more sittings at a lower sale value, or less at a higher.

I spent 40 years in the industry, and for a lot of that used these sorts of promotions with great success. I can count on the fingers of two hands… the problems with customers it caused, and we were doing 250 – 800 sessions a year. It’s about honesty and transparency – 85 percent of our sittings spent good averages, and the rest took the free print. Of that 15 percent who took the free print, 90 percent returned to us in the following two years for another session, and spent above the average. Honesty works if you explain the catch at the time of booking the session. We would say the deal is this: we will take wonderful photos. You get one for free. Do not blame us if you want to buy more, but you’re welcome to take your choice of just the free print.’

GAP Studios Brisbane does not operate remotely like this, according to ACA. Three clients speaking to the program described the sales techniques as ‘aggressive, manipulative’, ‘slimy – just upsetting and distressing’, and stating they ‘felt duped’ and ‘taken for a ride’.

Roxana Ferreira ‘won’ a complimentary portrait session along with a 11×14 print ‘valued at $650’, after applying to participate in a ‘Family Photography Project’ advertised by GAP Studios on Facebook.

‘They take advantage at the fact that people are emotionally invested, because not only do you go in excited that you won a competition, but you’re in there with your family, and you think you’re in there for a fun day,’ said Ferreira.

Another devastated young mother, Ellie Green, describes how emotional music plays alongside a slideshow of the pictures. The couple are encouraged to nominate a number of their favourite photos, despite only wanting the one free print.

‘He implied that if I didn’t purchase photos from this day that my son would not remember me in time. It was just really emotionally distressing. It was really distressing’.

And then the prices are rolled out. One client was told a USB stick of digital files would cost $3000. (We don’t know if they are of sufficient resolution to make large prints or are just screen resolution.) Roxana Ferreira’s package of four printed photos and six digital files was priced at $5000.

The clients weren’t given the opportunity to think about it for a day or two. They are pressured into purchasing the photos under the threat they would be deleted.

A client quoted $3000 for her digital newborn baby photos said she couldn’t afford it. The salesperson responded by slowly deleting the photos.

‘She [the salesperson] then went to blow up all the photos in full screen on the projector individually, as she deleted my newborn’s photos in front of me. It felt very, very cruel.’

Three of the clients, including Ferreira and Green, left the studio with payment plans worth thousands of dollars.

‘Pay after’

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment platforms have unfortunately provided the salesperson with a persuasive workaround when a financially-constrained client expresses concern about the cost. Instead of paying the full $5000, why not pay just $50 per week for two years?

GAP Studios has a ‘partnership’ with PayRight, offering clients up to $20,000 interest-free payment plans. BNPL platforms offer dodgy portrait studios another benefit: if a client defaults on a payment, the debt collection is the payment platform’s responsibility.

A loophole utilised by GAP Studios is the lack of a cooling-off period, due to the contract being signed at the business premises. This is likely why the GAP Studios salesperson is adamant about locking a client into a contract on the day.

The Ferreiras unsuccessfully attempted to cancel their contracts two hours after leaving the studio. But GAP Studios did discount the price.

ACA accosted GAP Studios workers with its signature ‘gotcha’ style of journalism, and the camera crew was promptly ejected from the studio without any questions being answered.

The reviews

Eight months before the segment aired, several unhappy clients – some who appeared on ACA – voiced concerns about GAP Studios in a Reddit thread.

Three users stated the GAP Studios salespeople delivered a spiel about how his mother or father passed away, and a photo of them is all they have left.

‘Went a few years ago as they were doing some exhibition where you got a free photo and something to do with an exhibition,’ a user responded in the Reddit thread. ‘The photo was being displayed there maybe?? I felt so shit after leaving there. We bought a few photos as I just felt pressured. Got the dead mother story I’m pretty sure. Just put it down to an expensive lesson learnt. It is crazy that they are still in business!!’

It’s a similar story on Google reviews, where GAP Studios has a 3.2 star (over)rating out of 5 from 315 reviews:

‘I wish i had read previous reviews before my experience because I did feel pressured into spending more than my voucher! They didn’t even present the voucher offer or what I could get with $650. I originally almost agreed to spending over $3000, but when he saw me get overwhelmed he came up with a cheaper offer. Not before telling me that me and my child could die any day so it’s worth having them. Ruthless. I still spent $995 on five images, which I’m not thrilled about but I do like the pictures so I’m trying to focus on that.’

Another reviewer stated:

‘I was lured into believing the photos were mine already, won in a competition, but this company, GAP Studios will not allow me the to have the photos of my daughter or family. They apparently deleted my photos and because of that and because of feeling deceived with false advertising, I’m devastated. This seems like the intentional utilisation of a deceptive strategy to gain sales through emotional coercion.’

On review website, Complaints Board, negative experiences date back as far as 2015. Again, the same story. Here is a sample:

‘I too received the $800 voucher from a very reputable car company, and made it clear when I called to book in the shoot that I only wanted digital images as I had more than enough prints. They agreed that would be possible but they still tried to force me into outrageously priced prints and digital only was still in the vicinity of $3000 (including the voucher!). So suffice to say, I left with ordering my 11×14 print that was included in the voucher. I have worked with a lot of photography companies and this has been an extremely disappointing experience. They clearly run off commissions and the sales pitch is scripted and perfected. I certainly didn’t fall for it. Our photographer was lovely and did a great job but the end results weren’t worth that amount of money. If they changed their approach and pricing, they would more than likely triple their business. I wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone. I will also let the car dealership know what an unpleasant experience it was and their gift has left a very bad taste!’

Closing the GAP

While GAP Studios Brisbane is now facing its comeuppance – an ACA investigation and angry viewers weighing in via social media – it’s not the only portrait studio pulling a bait-and-switch. Every major Australian city has portrait studios like GAP Studios.

Inside Imaging‘s 2018 report, Hard-sell tactics tarnish perceptions of portrait photography, opened the floodgates for unhappy clients to voice their anger at the portrait studios we covered. This includes Viva Photography in Perth and Rockingham, and Good Life Portraits in Perth. But many others are out there.

Most of the comments state they ‘wish they had read this article before visiting’ the photo studio.

While a Google search ordinarily reveals a symphony of negative online reviews, providing would-be customers a siren warning them about the portrait studios, it’s not necessarily that straightforward. The portrait studios frequently offer client inducements, such as a free print, in exchange for a positive online review.

This buries the truthful negative reviews, meaning a voucher recipient must dig much deeper to find the negative experiences with these portrait studios.

It’s worth noting here that GAP claims a long list of awards and commendations from the now-defunct AIPP to boost perceptions of quality.

Is GAP Studios a rip off?

The packages seem outrageously overpriced for a fairly pedestrian portrait studio sitting, not to mention the uncomfortable sales experience, but GAP Studios Brisbane is within its right to set its own prices.

Portrait studios offer a variety of products and experiences.

High-end portrait studios may provide a luxury experience, where the salesperson pours a glass of bubbles while explaining how the bespoke photo album is hand made in Italy. Others could simply be a skilled part-time home studio operator, with a nice inkjet printer, custom framing, and low overheads.

At the end of the day, the market decides if a business shall prosper or fail. And caveat emptor, ‘buyer beware’ is still one of the rules of the game even though Australia has some of the most advanced consumer protection legislation in the world.

But family portrait studios like GAP rely on a business model that appears to come dangerously close to breaking consumer law.

These businesses don’t seem to exclude vulnerable people, including those without financial stability. Anyone who stumbles onto a voucher may be the next victim.

The end result is that customers dealing with these businesses come away feeling cheated by their photographer. Those who have been stung tell their friends. The entire industry is tarnished.