V.I.P. Studios Photography

Davis, United States

4.5

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 530-757-2187
Website:
www.vipimages.com
Address:
Serving Davis and surrounding area
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.9 miLittle Puffer Steam Train Depot
2 miWawona & 46th Ave / SF Zoo‎
2.1 mi46th Ave & Vicente
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Description

Specialties

My studio is located in a two-​story yellow house in Davis dedicated full-​time to photography. I offer cutting edge products/​services like metal and bamboo prints, gallery wraps, albums, designer holiday cards, and much more. I also offer a wide variety of framing options and my design experience can help you decorate any wall in your house. My staff and I will meet all your professional photography needs; we strive to give you quality customer service and help guide you through image selection and choosing specialty products that suit your style.

I also love working with businesses, large or small, to help them with their commercial image. Whether it is for a website, annual report, or any type of collateral, I enjoy growing in a team capacity to achieve marketing and advertising goals. For details on my commercial photography program, email vip4​u@​aol.​com.

History

Established in 1989.

V.I.P. Studios Photography was founded in 1989 in Davis, California, with new staff and ownership of the studio still serving the Davis and Sacramento communities. Weddings was the initial start and main focus. In time, the demand for portraits gave rise to family portraits. Our photographer’s background is in event photography, gaining knowledge on the art of photography from University of California Davis with the opportunity to work with organizations on campus photographing banquets and formals. Today, V.I.P. Studios Photography is dedicated to any and all types of photography!

Meet the Business Owner

Ara A.

Business Owner

When I was a child, I used to love holding my mom’s camera she used on her travels around the world. I thought that somehow you could see the world differently through the lens of a camera. When I turned sixteen, my dad got me my own camera, and with lessons from my uncle I started my journey into the world of photography.

When I’m not out shooting, you can find me training for marathons, hanging out with Travis my studio dog, having tea time with my staff at 4 o’clock, or breaking into song at any moment. I also love to travel– It’s pretty much second nature after living abroad most of my life. So if your dream is to have your engagement photos taken in the deserts of Utah… let’s do it!

I am passionate about imagery and love the creative process. I feel blessed to be living now with so many amazing, new changes in the photography industry. My goal is to create artwork for your home and heirlooms for your family to remember forever.

V.I.P. Studios Photography also recommends

Pomegranate Salon

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Hair Salons

Ara A. says,

«Looking to get your hair done before your photo shoot? Check out this full service salon that has talented stylists, located right in downtown Davis.»

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20 reviews of V.I.P. Studios Photography

No registration required
Place rating: 2
Union City, CA
I wish I could give a higher rating but I’m pretty disappointed in the service that I received. I booked a basic session online for my graduation portraits for 5:20pm Tuesday. I arrived at VIP studios early but when 5:20pm came around there were 3 other people who claimed they had an appointment at the same time. There was some sort of mixup and and I was not taken in until 6:00pm. She did let me know about the mixup and how she was behind schedule but 40 minutes after my scheduled time is pretty ridiculous. After I was done my photographer said that I’ll be receiving an email from her that following Thursday with a link to my portraits and directions for ordering. I never received the original email. I had to ask my roommate how to access my photos and I was not very satisfied with them. I will probably still purchase some however because those are the only portraits I have, but yeah. Don’t know what else to say
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
I walked into V.I.P. Studios at 3:00 with an urgent request, and by 4:30 Ara had gotten me to smile enough times to get a bunch of good portraits for my City Council Campaign materials. Over the weekend she professionally retouched the headshot we selected, and voila it was incorporated into my canvassing brochure. I couldn’t be more pleased. Her work was responsive, delivered ahead of schedule, professional and very reasonably priced.
BTW, getting me to smile naturally is no easy task.
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
Ara is a highly skilled photographer and has been very long in the industry. I can see how experienced she is from her work and she knows exactly what kind of pictures I was looking for. She made me very comfortable throughout the photo session and all ended smoothly.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
Ara has a way with me and my now husband to make us both extremely photogenic together. She’s very talented and my husband doesn’t normally like taking photos or photographers but he wouldn’t stop talking about how awesome and talented she is and how he’s happy she’s photographing our wedding. She has a way of capturing our love for one another. I’m excited to see how the pictures turned out for our wedding as the engagement shoot came out absolutely amazing!
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
I highly recommend Ara as a photographer. I’d never had professional photos taken before realizing that I needed photos for secondary applications for med schools. She made every effort to make me feel comfortable and to make the experience very personalized for me. Of note, she was able to make me laugh for almost every shot — a true accomplishment!
I didn’t have a vision about lighting or angles going into this and gave her free reign to try whatever she felt in the moment. The final spread of pictures had the expected (and extremely flattering) traditional head shots, but the ones that most appealed to me resulted from Ara’s creative impulses. After getting your standard shots, seriously consider letting her take over and follow her instincts. You won’t be disappointed.
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
VIP Studios Photography is a great place to get portrait shots done. Ara, the owner and photographer, is very friendly yet professional. She captures the essence of a person whether you are an executive, bride, high school senior, college graduate, or a baby.
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
Ara was amazing! She made the whole photo shoot easy and fun! She was very professional and took amazing photos of me inside the studio and outside (scenic). She also constantly fixed my hair and my cap and gown for it to look perfect in the photos. I bought the silver package for graduating College seniors, it cost me $ 57 and after seeing all the photos I would say I got my money’s worth. She was also open to ideas, and requests. I would recommend this place to everyone! :)
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
I came here for my UC Davis graduation portraits and had so much fun with Ara! First of all she has the cap & gown so you don’t have to wait till you get your rental. She knows how to pose you and used two backgrounds to create a nice variety of images. I felt very comfortable during my session and would recommend this studio highly!
Place rating: 5
Carrollton, TX
Getting a picture done by VIP Studios was a great experience, the photographer was very skilled, and her equipment were also amazing! Not just the camera but her customer service was very satisfactory, she was fun, comfortable to work with and very kind. As I explained what I wanted to get done in the picture, I didn’t have to even repeat myself in order for her to understand, she would even do retouching that I wanted to get done before I mentioned it to her. She is very skilled at her job and a very nice person to work with, and I must mention, she is a very quick person, she will take jnto consideration the degree of urgency you have for your picture to get it done, and she will do it in time, and will work just as hard as she would with any other work! I would give her more stars if I could! I am very satisfied working with her and appreciate her kindness with customers deeply.
Thank you! (Sincerely, SY & SW)
Place rating: 4
Vacaville, CA
My experience at VIP was fun. She gave clear instructions on how you can pose at your best. Yes, she is professional at what she does. Before you make an appointment, make sure to order the session that you really want to try. Don’t change your mind later. You will have to pay a fine if you decided to try a cheaper session.
Place rating: 5
Rosedale, MD
A wonderful local business in Davis and great personal attention to all the details. End result just blew me away. Strongly recommended!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
This was my first time getting professional portraits taken, so I was rather nervous. I was immediately comforted by Ara at V.I.P. Studios Photography who did an amazing job.
I found out that I needed a portrait for some medical school applications and panicked. I gave Ara a call in the morning and she was able to fit me in that day! She then worked extra fast to ensure I would have a great photo by the end of THAT NIGHT!
Furthermore, I was having some trouble making my smiles look real and not forced. So Ara started to tell me some jokes and catch pictures of me laughing. She really worked a miracle and got some amazing shots! She even spent extra time with me, taking extra shots until she captured the best ones possible.
THEN, when we selected the picture I would use, SHE PERFORMED SOME PHOTOSHOP MAGIC! When she had finished her work and I looked at the image, I knew I looked great, but more importantly I COULD NOT TELL IT HAD BEEN PHOTOSHOPPED! To clarify, the work she performed was so perfect that the image did not look airbrushed or unnatural, but very real! Only when I went back and forth between the images could I spot; the «haircut», the «eyebrow correction», the teeth whitening, the shadow correction on my shirt, the PERFECT CORRECTION of my acne, and some amazing work making me just look amazing.
All in all I would give her 10 stars if I could!
Go with Ara, you wont regret it!
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
VIP is the best!
My family has been loyal to Ara and VIP for many years now. She has done family portraits, senior portraits and most recently a wedding for us. We really put her to the test when she photographed my sisters wedding. She and her staff were amazing. They really know what they are doing and gave great direction and even though we thought posing was funny at the time, the pictures show otherwise. We have so many beautiful pictures from that special day. We look through our photo books and are grateful to have such an experianced photographer to work with. The photos are all you have left from these life changing days, picking the right person is essential. We have another wedding coming up and trust completely that we are in good hands.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
My mother demanded that I take senior portraits, so I schlepped myself over to the K Street studio. First off, don’t pull into the driveway. You will get stuck and get yelled at by the neighbors.
I feel like compared to how my portraits were in high school, my experience at VIP Studios was not stellar. I felt rushed and like the backgrounds were too dark. A week or so later, I was called to pick up my proofs. My doubts were confirmed in these proofs. In half the photos, I wasn’t even looking directly at the camera, thus severely limiting the number of photos I could even consider. I picked the least horrible looking one.
When I received the finished product, I just don’t know. The touching up that they did didn’t look substantial, and I look uncomfortable in my photos. Maybe that’s not the studio’s fault, but either way, I’m not a huge fan.
Place rating: 5
Emeryville, CA
Couldnt have asked for better family portraits, amazing job!
Place rating: 2
Rescue, CA
The outdoor pics i got were way too bright and about half of the poses the photographer asked us to get in felt and looked awkward.
Place rating: 5
Fair Oaks, CA
So my mom has been going on & on about a family photo, and with 3 of her 4 children grown, coordinating schedules was daunting. By chance, we won a photo session with Ara at a school fundraiser, we didn’t really know what to expect, perhaps some hack in the boonies or a beatnik in the park.
We pulled up to her studio, a home that has been professionally converted to business. Classy, organized, and seamless appointment scheduling. Please plan on booking in advance, she is in high demand. She had all the right gear, lighting, backdrops, lenses, and more.
After the inside shoot we headed to the Arboretum, a beautiful back-​scape for any photo. We probably took 500 pictures that day. Throughout the shoot she was: fun, pleasant, a great director, and had interesting perspectives. Think we will have both funky and fun, but also some conservative & traditional shots.
Working with her was a walk in the park, both literally and figuratively. We go back on the 7th to check out the photos and pick a couple — hope we can decide!
Noticed they also do matting, framing, and other picture services, more on that and pricing after me & my mom go for the review…
So far, I’m impressed.
Place rating: 5
Woodland, CA
Friendly and professional! My new bride, Jessica, and I were thrilled to have Ara and her team take our wedding pictures. We had an outside, late afternoon ceremony, even with natural lighting problems VIP did a fantastic job. From formal posed shots to funny/​candid, all of the pictures from our special day were excellent. Before the wedding we met with Ara to make a game-​day plan. She had a lot of great ideas, listened to ours and never forced anything on us. On the ‘big day’, with everyone stressed to finish setting up she was calm and ready to get the shots that we will look back on for the rest of our lives. Ara took beautiful wedding party photos (it wasn’t painful at all guys!). Ara is the top photographer around, you cannot do any better than V.I.P Studios! Thank you very much, Ara!
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
Ara is a great photographer. She’s patient, funny, great with dogs and camera shy people. She did a great job with my rather unphotogenic family (the dog usually looks best in our pictures). We went to the Davis Arboretum and had a fun time ending up with a collection of pictures that we were proud of. Thanks Ara.
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
Awesome photographer with a great sense of style! Ara is great at working with kids, teens, and adults of all ages. Super friendly and easy to work with — highly recommend for your special event, family portrait, or any occasion!