Not for serious photographers - Photographer/Sales Associate JCP Portraits Employee Review

2.0
Mar 31, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The JC Penney associate discount, nice coworkers and manager, photographing people is sometimes fun, making customers happy with your work.

Cons

It's more of a sales job than photography, except there is NO commission other than a crappy $4 for selling a ridiculous overpriced media bundle that no one buys. Insulting minimum wage pay even for a college grad with photography experience. Way too much pressure to swindle customers just to increase sales- with absolutely no reward or incentive for the employee. It's actually horrendous how much they charge for pictures while paying their employees the bottom of the barrel scraps. You might as well work for JC Penney as a cashier and do a fraction of the work for $8 an hour.

Explore other reviews about JCP Portraits

5.0
May 22, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good hours and employees temhere

Cons

Not high enough pay per hour

1.0
Jul 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I love photography, I loved a lot of my clients so the work itself I enjoyed Manager just above me was awesome I started in school photography prior to Covid and loved it. If you do anything for Shutterfly, would only do school photography.

Cons

These apply to the company itself and business practices, not co workers: -Inconsistent Hours -Did not respect availability schedules (even after raising concern to District management, was offered a TEMPORARY pay increase to ignore my availability and come in because not enough people were hired for holiday season) -Pay was low for how much you're expected to do which for me included an 11 hour day because they book every 15 minutes, dock us for going over time, but expect a newborn baby shoot to be done. But we are at the same time expected to keep customers happy and blamed for a shoot going low in sales. It's a baby and every family deserves good photos of their baby. Not for it to be rushed to follow quotas which definitely won't be met when people don't want to come back.

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