Evangelos Photography Ltd

Expensive for what it is, definitely because they are partnered with UBC for grad photos. 500 bucks for a few digital photos in absolutely insane.

Extremely and unreasonably overpriced for just okay photographs. It’s honestly disgusting how expensive it is? One star is given to the one friendly photographer who did my photoshoot. I didn’t purchase anything from them and I guess my alternative is to attend the ceremony and take as many photos as I want there instead, for FREE.

This place is horrible. The experience was rushed, claustrophobic and awkward. The photographers made no effort to make you look relaxed and happy. The prices and bundles are ridiculously expensive. I had to pay a total of $345 for an order of 5 DIGITAL photos which would be sent to me within 60 days. Amongst those photos, I couldn't select the family and friends ones so that was a waste of everyone's time. The props are cheap and tacky. The one thing that makes me ok with giving this place a 1 star and not a 0 star is that they allow you to bring your dog for the photoshoot. Still not worth it though.

The quickest photos I have ever taken. No consideration for whether you like them or not and they didn’t even guide me to positioning like a normal photographer should. My head is tilted up so much in all of the photos and I cannot believe the photographer did not even suggest to lower it given that I cannot see how the photos are coming out. Digital image is over $200 and it’s at least $40 to buy one single photo. I recommend just taking the one photo that you are required to take and leaving. Huge money grab… immoral considering their customer base is made up of students.

Mean staff, unprofessional photos, ridiculous prices, lots of hidden conditions, cramped space, feel like you are getting scammed the whole time, what better place to take grad photos!

I really enjoyed my visit at Evangelos, the photographer was super nice and attentive to details I would definitely recommend!

This shack is a complete mess. Main few middle-aged people who work here are so mean and unwelcoming. Such a hostile environment right from the beginning. Charge hundreds of dollars for photos that are not up to the standards you would expect for grad pictures. Very stressful experience dealing with this place. Their website was made in 1800. Very sketchy/scam-like

I was initially forced by my undergraduate society to provide a good review. Quite frankly this place is over-priced, and the flowers they force you to hold are hideous. Artona is better, I do not understand why we must use this photo company.

The owner and photographers were all super friendly and professional. The photographers were constantly fixing my hair and gown for me. I had a really great time here:)

I would give this place 0 if that was possible.

Showed up to a 9: 30 appointment 10 mins early and no one was there at reception. When the middle age lady finally came out she was very rude, won’t let me finish my sentence, and deflecting my question regarding how to get my deposit back. The photographer was nice but the whole session lack creativity and the sequence wasn’t planned well. Also I understand covid restrictions but the photographer keeps walking to me and turning me physically with her hands but fixes my hair with a stick…. The uploaded gallery was selectively chosen by staff for some reason so some photos from the session didn’t make it into the gallery which is disappointing cuz the photographer just took one photo per pose. All of the library background had a huge shadow on the books and the bookcase was distorted due to the camera being so close and so high up. Emailed the studio regarding the missing pictures but they still haven’t got back to me. Won’t be in the city during the coming year so I already went to the studio to get my deposit back so I lost access to the online gallery. The whole session from when you first walk into the door to when only SOME of your photos are uploaded to the gallery reflects badly on the studio. Overall this was a very disappointing experience and I feel bad for anybody who goes to the studio.

Our student association uses Evangelos for our grad composite, so we all *have* to book a session with them if we want to be on it. I was really nervous after reading some of these terrible reviews but I had a really good experience.

REALLY GOOD:
- Photography staff are super nice. Very helpful in adjusting pose, hair, taking time to make sure you're getting what you want.

- Can see photo on monitor in front of you after every shot

- The studio is small, but very clean and nice. The waiting room is very roomy and has comfortable seats.

- Photos look really good, as far as I can tell so far!

- Friendly phone service

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
- It's expensive! But every grad-related photo studio is expensive.

- I wish they offered 4x6 prints instead of 4x5. I probably would have opted for more prints if that were the case. Would also be nice if there were more varied print packages - maybe an option with more poses and less wallet-sized

- The website is very, very, very out of date. I think a little refresh would give people a better impression. If there were more photo examples on the website I think I might've had a better idea about what to wear/bringing props/preparedness in general, and been more excited for the session.

- They do send reminder emails but they all got sent to spam. I think a tech-refresh is necessary overall.

- Some of the older owner responses to reviews come across as really unprofessional. Passive aggressive responses don't make the business look better, they make the complaint look more justified.

Don't know anything about the turnaround time or quality of the physical prints yet, but given that I've had a pretty positive experience so far, I don't really have reason to be pessimistic.

Everybody at Evangelos is so sweet! They gave me great prompts for my photo and made the experience a lot of fun!

The price is insane, forces students to buy grad photos with around 300 dollars for picture+ frame. INSANELY GREEDY.

I’d give 0 stars if it was possible, horrible service, horrible attitude, horrible pricing and packages.just save ur time and go to artonas or something.the manager/owner was very rude and made the environment very hostile, did not allow me to view my photos as they were taking it and did not allow any retakes when they turned out unfavourable.we had no control over the family poses/ positioning even though we expressed that we wanted different poses before the pictures were even taken.when we brought it up once again, the manager said that any extra photos were going to be $65 (we had only taken 5 at that point). Anyways, hated all of the grad photos taken, and many of my friends from my faculty also had the same experience.

TOP NOTCH SERVICE! Friendly and professional staff. THEY TRULY MADE OUR EXPERIENCE SPECIAL. They were very accommodating and responsive to our needs and concerns at every point throughout the service. Prices are quite comparable to other studios. I highly doubt anywhere else could provide the excellent customer service we received at Evangelos. Recently came here for grad shoot and later decided to also have my passport photos taken with them. They are officially my go to studio now here in BC.

I’ve been trying to contact evangelos and it’s been 3 months since I’ve got my photos taken. I still haven’t heard back from them and I’ve already emailed/ called as well as paid for my photographs.

Terrible service in getting back to customers.

If I could give 0 stars, I would. Not a great experience at all! From what I gathered, this is the only place that offers UBC grad photos. Here is a timeline of the experience:
1) Book your appointment, using their weird out-of-date website.
2) You get 1 basic email confirming your appointment. No "add to calendar" or reminder email approaching the date, so you better write it down and input it into your calendars right away.
3) Show up to a dingy waiting room with no particularly friendly service.
4) Pay $45 CASH deposit. Its 2022, get a card reader already. You say you're a "small business" - but other smaller businesses still manage.
5) You're given a sheet with a strict deadline of 60 days to order your photos before your deposit is forfeited.
6) You get your photos taken. For the most part this is done fairly professionally, and the photographers I received were friendly.
7) You are told to wait one week before your photos are uploaded to their website for preview. Again, no automated email, no messages, nothing - it's up to you to know when everything will be ready.
8) You log in to see some mediocre photos, at OUTRAGEOUS PRICES! Seriously, like minimum $300 if you want the digital copies, and still over 100 for basic printed copy package. This is ROBBERY! Honestly having a hard time justifying paying for this at all, even a basic printed package.

Final words: pretty up the waiting room/store front, modernize your tech (website, POS system), be friendlier, and LOWER THE FREAKING PRICES! I wish UBC would offer photos from another studio, and if they do, please notify me. This place could use some competition to set them straight. If you're coming for grad photos, then you really don't have much of a choice, but DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME/MONEY ON PERSONAL PHOTOS!

UPDATE: Just got my photos FINALLY (took forever for them to be ready), and I just now realized that the smaller photos are 4x5 NOT 4x6, which is the standard small size photo. There are NO FRAMES available at any stores I've been to that will properly fit a 4x5. Why produce an unconventional size photo? I predict it's so you are forced to buy frames from them, which are likely highly overpriced and will take another month to receive.

Final final words - don't get your photos done here, even for grad. You could probably buy a cap and gown for cheaper than they're medium priced photo bundle, and get someone to take your photos for you (we all have a friend with a DSLR that is a hobby photographer). UBC - please branch out to some other studios. I don't even want Evangelos to fix these problems, I just want them to go out of business.

Was serviced by a super rude Karen. No politeness at all. Pricing is ridiculous. Can only buy 5 photos, not single. Group photo count separately, forcing to pay more than 500 bucks for rudeness and average photo. SHAME ON YOU!
Better off just get refund and take photos at some other place.

Tiny cramped studio with poor customer service. Was forced to go there because my daughter's UBC grad photos were taken there. Rooms were so small that the photographer had to stand in the hallway in oder to take a group photo. And they don't accept credit cards! While I was waiting, I heard them explain that to every single customer that came in. Unbelievable.

It's always a pleasure to come to Evangelos. The staff are friendly and professional. Very happy with my experience and the photos turned out great!

Processing time for the photos was given to me as 6 weeks and I have been waiting for about 3+ months and my photos haven't yet shipped to me. I paid a hefty amount for these pictures, and I am quite unsatisfied with their punctuality.

However, photo quality and editing was done well in the pictures I received by mail. I just wish their pricing was abit more reasonable - we are students after all!

Insanely expensive prices for university students, especially during a pandemic. Not worth it at all.

Probably the friendliest staff I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with in my entire life. Very accommodating, talented photographers, wicked fast, and reasonable prices. The final photos I received after touch-ups were amazing-best I've ever had! My mother loved the photos too. My only complaint was they didn't. SIKE. THEY WERE PERFECT.

The photographers were super nice and friendly. The place seemed clean and safe which is great during COVID and I didn't have any problems or hassles with my experience.

I wish I could give them zero, these guys looting us. Each photo we order is costing us like million dollars.

Photographers were all friendly, made me feel comfortable and did a decent job. However the lady at the front was a bit rude and the prices are expensive esp for digital copies. They say retouching/processing photos is included when you order photos and then at the very end of checkout they add a $9.99 processing and handling fee even if you selected in-person pick up for photos.
The website/checkout process is of bad quality as well.your deposit if taking graduation photos expires after 60 days even if you still want to place an order no exceptions.

Went here to get my graduation photos taken and I have to say, they’re extremely well set up! Great photo quality and a plethora of options. Staff were so nice and really helpful, absolutely made my day chatting with them! Left one star out just because of the pricing model- it’s absolutely quite expensive, which is a shame. Aside from the price factor, you can count on getting a great photo taken here!

Went both here and to Artona for my grad photos. While I was satisfied with the photos, I was very unsatisfied that they did not apply the $40 cash deposit. I did purchase past their given deadline but to compare, I got a full refund on my deposit at Artona (which was $60) after the deadline as well when I didn't even purchase anything from them.

Absolute shysters.

Despite the volume of customers they receive from UBC (they funnel their students to this studio for grad photos), they still charge highway robbery prices with impunity. $430 for 25 photos (no prints) will cost you $17.20 per photo at that ~ B U L K B A R G A I N ~ rate. That's a more acceptable per-photo rate when you're buying batches of 5-10, not 25.

It's not like they're setting up the lights and backdrop every single time someone walks in. You're not getting special attention when you're just student #197 and the photographer is doing the same airbrushes in Photoshop for every person's photos.

The watermarked photos that they send you are so blurry that you can't tell what photos you look best in. This place reeks of opportunism. I would say take your business elsewhere, fellow UBC students, but when you wanna be on your class composite, Evangelos has got you by the balls

I personally had a really great experience taking my grad photos at Evangelos. They really made sure to work with me in ensuring that the photos were turning out as I'd hoped, and they had a super fast turnaround time when getting the photos back to me. In my opinion they also have pretty good deals for their grad photos. I've dealt with many photographers before and have done professional photography myself, and typically studios are a lot less affordable than Evangelos. Because of these reasons I'd definitely recommend taking your photos with Evangelos!

I had a very pleasant and smooth grad photo session! The photographers were very kind and patient, as well as accommodating and open to any suggestions for photo ideas. Extra thanks to them for helping me adjust my hair to ensure I looked my best.

Fast, reasonable price and they are really taking care of you. It was pretty busy when I have gone there but they was caring about social distance and health stuffs! Which is awesome! My photo has taken for perminant resident pr so they do that kind of things as well beside of art base stuffs.

I had to go because of UBC photos.
Very rude and not professional.
I tried to order more photos via phone but I was feeling so uncomfortable with poor attitude. It really hurt my feeling and emailed to UBC regarding it.

Been here for group photos and individual grad photos. The service has always been excellent, staff has always been welcoming and friendly, and the pictures turned out great. The price paid is well worth the quality of pictures and service.

Had an awesome time at my grad photo shoot! Super nice front desk and photographer - they’re also cleaning a lot which gives piece of mind “

From individual to huge group shots, our UBC organisation has been working with Evangelos for years now. The photos are always of high quality, and the staff are extremely accommodating and friendly! Personally my family's experience on getting grad shots have also been great; can't wait to take my grad photos with my kitten here soon!

I brought my dog with me to take my graduation photos and they were so patient with him. We got a lot of great photos and the process was efficient. I had an issue with one of the photos, and they responded really fast and solved my issue very professionally.

Photos are great quality too! Shoutout to all the kind, young photographers here:)

Somehow manages to turn what should be a celebratory moment for which I’m willing to pay top dollar into a miserable, aggravating experience.

Mediocre quality photos at exorbitant prices, coupled with a rude and vindictive approach to service and product packaging. There isn’t a choice even close to what I want to buy, they refuse to consider any changes, so I’m forced to over-pay for what I don’t want.

I expect to pay a premium for professional photography. I’ve run a photo business before. I’ve bought all kinds of graduation photos over the years. There’s really no excuse for this.

The only explanation I can see for their still being in business is the captive business channel they have via UBC’s recommendation. I have asked the University that they remove them from their recommended list. This business does not meet the standards I expect from UBC.

Honestly, I waited in line over 30 minutes to take passport photos that were overpriced. At the end. They couldn't even take it.

Though they have nice setup for graduation pictures.

This was an EvangeLoss for me. I was extremely disappointed and was shocked that UBC tells all their students to take their graduation photos here.

While the photographers were friendly, they seemed very inexperienced. I took a series of graduation photos with them and noticed issues with several of them once they were uploaded online. Examples of this include strange hand positioning, a picture were I was blinking, and another photo where the background was convexed looked curved and strange (assuming this is due to the background curtain not being laid out properly).

For the group pictures, they did not guide us at all and instead we were forced to position ourselves. This made it incredibly awkward, especially when we felt pressed for time and the photographer had no suggestions for what types of pictures we could do. Once uploaded, I noticed obvious gaps between two of my friends, and another picture where my friend's face was partially covered in shadows due to the photographer not having positioned her well.

We paid for our digital group pictures on the spot (we decided to buy 2 groups photos in order to get the discounted price). They told me they would email me once the pictures were ready to be delivered, and this did not happen. Instead, I had to email them a few weeks later to ask where the pictures went.

Last thing - pictures are truly very expensive, especially for the level of service and photography skill from this company. Unfortunate!
Evangelos? More like Evangenope!

After paying $400+ for 25 digital images, I would expect at least get a DVD, No after 1 month wait they give a 256MB USB Disk! (yes, 256MB! Can you image you can find these USB Disk elsewhere nowdays?), and each picture only 3MB! 3MB JPEG are you kidding me? Looks to me they just want you to use 3MB JPEG print a 4*6 and buy big print images from them.

Shame on UBC to use a such shady business!

Such a great experience, I brought my cat with me and the photographs came up with a range of unique and creative poses which turned out beautifully. I felt comfortable and well instructed during my own session, which made the whole experience enjoyable, I highly recommend coming here for your grad photos,

Was doubting this place at first due to all negative reviews. But my experience here was pretty decent. Yes their policies are a bit convoluted, with the deposit for example. But they do make things clear from the get go. My photo session was quick (25 minutes), and we got 25 different poses. Employees were friendly and experienced. The free parking was also a perk.

5 stars for the photographer Becca.took a star off for everyone / everything else.the changing rooms.receptionist.eh.the prices.yikes.

This place is a cash grab location. In parter with UBC reccomending them for photos they pump students through here requiring a $45 cash deposit.

When it came time to purchase photos expect to pay more than your ubc course to receive your photos with just 5 digital copies being $287.99 and if you want to get any of your family/group photos they are an additonal $190 for just 3 of them. Getting any prints starts at $35

Being a hobbyist photographer this is disgusting what they charge. I have had dealings with multiple photographers in the past who provide all photos digitally and you just pay for just their time and studio time (if applicable)

Based on the pricing and the Ammount of time we where in there it works out to about $400/h for some half rate photos.

The staff where generally friendly but they work with the air of get as many photos done as quickly as possible to get you out of there

Overall I will never return here

A criminal organization in the business of extorting students with exorborantly high rates and unreasonable policies. And that is giving them a compliment. It's hard to believe that such organizations still exist in the 21st century, but low and behold Evangelos is one of them. This company is not in the business of serving their customers, but rather relying on fixed contracts with UBC and milking students pockets.

Firstly, they require all UBC students to pay a $45 cash deposit in person and to pick up that cash deposit once again, in person. Super inconvenient and not customer friendly at all.

While I am cognizant of their reciept policy, I do find it hard to believe that they can make no concessions to accepting proof of photos from their internal system. I unfortunately lost my receipt, but had proof of photography through my login credentials and online portal. They said they could conduct a 35 dollar search fee to spend 1-2 hours to search through their records to find my receipt. Unless they are totally computer inept, I don't believe typing my first and last name would require 1-2 hours and $35 worth of their time.

As I said, they don't exist to really serve their customers well. Their whole business strategy revolves around imposing inconvenient, restrictive policies that ultimately serve their bottom line instead of customer appreciation.

Their staff are well versed, and frankly brainwashed, in defending the company policies and procedures and their owner is likely to respond in the same defence below. Their common tropes/lines of defence are the following:
- They match the policies of other photography studios in the area. Not true.
- They charge reasonable prices. Not true.
- They impose reasonable policies that are common of the industry. Once again not true.

Anyways, refrain from doing business with these crooks. Probably not worth your time or your money.

They were able to accommodate such a large group of people. They are very caring and they displayed their best services and hospitality.

Honestly, a very awkward experience. You basically change in a closet. The staff aren't terrible but they definitely don't make you feel excited about graduating

Employees here are so kind and funny. They are all very patient, as well, considering we were such a huge group of loud students. Love them!

The staff was really friendly and helpful when I took my photos with my friends. They had cute props too!

Pretty scammy business, they require you to pay large amounts of money for digital copies of your own grad photos from a session that is already paid for by the University.

Their pricing isn't very customer-friendly either, since you can either buy groups of 5 or 10 digital photos for an exorbitant price, or none at all.

Evangelos, please be better. All the negative reviews on this page are evidence that something needs to change.

Very poor photos, they somehow made my head really small and hands really big in all the pictures. They make you pose super awkward and its all very rushed and disorganized.

Had to wait over an hour for an appointment made well in advance with no explanation. The color balance was completely off which made my ridiculously expensive photos look like I was a boiled lobster. The front desk staff was unfriendly and very rude when I asked questions. The photographers, though extremely friendly seemed understaffed and overworked. Despite their efforts, the pictures turned out unflattering. The website used to order the products was buggy and did not seem secure. Very poor experience overall and I would never reccomend anyone, especially student who was decent once-in-a-lifetime photos to go there.

I normally never write reviews but the receptionist was so rude to me when I was placing my order.

I ordered my photos to be mailed to me and all was well until I got a call saying that my photos were ready for pickup. So I called Evangelos and the receptionist kept telling me I was wrong and needed to pay more attention when placing my order. She was very sarcastic and basically shamed me for thinking I ordered my photos to be shipped. She finally opened the order file to see that I did purchase shipping. Its so frustrating because she could have just looked up the file first before making several accusations.

Very poor experience at this studio.

Photographer did not mention my tie was crooked, a fix which takes less than a minute, and instead I only realized this when seeing the computer screen.

Had to argue for the photographs to be retaken, and when they were (at the end of the session), not all of them were redone. Only a handful. As I had realized the tie being off during the beginning 1/3 of the session, 1/3 of the photographs were unusable.

$330 for 5 DIGITAL photos is outrageous, especially when the service was horrible.

It is well known that UBC receives a kickback; hopefully some news service picks this up. Horrible!

RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL AND EXTORTIONST PRICES.
I agree with the other reviews on this post. I came to pick up my daughter's UBC grad photo today. The lady at the counter was very unfriendly as the other reviews had mentioned. The framed photo plus print that I received, after paying an extortionist amount of money, came in a dirty dusty finger marked frame and glass. I believe that after paying 180 CAD the frame should at the very least be cleaned. I mentioned this to the grumpy lady at the front desk and her reply was that "frames come dusty and that should be expected". Condescending attitude is not the way to do business. Since this photography studio seems to have a monopoly on UBC grad photos they adopt a surley attitude and gouge students on the prices. Easily ten times the price you would pay anywhere else. Would never use this place for my personal photos.

This place is mediocre at best. The staff are inexperienced and the owner is rude and stuck-up. I had to get my grad pictures done here and they turned out looking very unprofessionally done. During the shoot they rush you along and don't allow you to review the pictures to retake them if it wasn't nice. I ended up with ones where you can see my jeans peaking out from under the gown, among other issues. They also uploaded other people's pictures into the file that was only supposed to have my photos. Poor quality and service, if you can, take your money and go elsewhere to get your photos taken. I have friends who are amateur photographers that take better pictures than this place.

Unprofessional photographers who did not put care into the photographs. The studio was 30 minutes late for my appointment and the atmosphere was chaotic the whole time. Pictures turned out terrible. They charge a ridiculous rate for photographs and make you pay a $50 deposit (for what exactly?), which you need to return to the studio on another day to get back. Basically a massive waste of my time.

Well be writing a formal letter to UBC requesting they end their contract with this business. This is ridiculous and fully taking advantage of students.