Calnen of Nova Scotia

Graduating from Dalhousie, I was recommended by the school to take my portrait shots with Calnen. Naively, I didn’t research the other options available.
I arrived at the studio with a friend who also wanted portraits, and the staff were awesome at accommodating us both. We were able to sit in the room as the photographer worked, instructing the model on how to pose. He was friendly, honest and genuine, telling us what did/didn’t look good on camera. The shots came out very well, and both of us were pleased! I opted to go with the larger package (+$ 4 I believe) allowing me thumbnails of 16 poses to take home and review. We were told that we would receive the thumbnails by email within a few business days.
After a week, we called the studio curious as neither of us had yet received the photos. They quickly sent them along, attaching the order form. Packages begin at $ 59 and range up to $ 306 depending on desired sizes. It was only then that I realized it would not be possible to order prints of more than one pose within one package.
For example, my family only wanted three 8×10 prints, but I would have had to purchase three separate units. 1 unit = 1−8×10, 2– 5×7, 4−4×6, 8−2×3. I would have also liked full-​size digital copies of various unedited photo proofs (as opposed to the provided thumbnails), but again when requested, I was told that this was not available. An edited, print-​quality digital file of one pose is $ 200 unless added to a package ($ 75).
Although I liked the quality of service provided by Calnen Photography, I was left disappointed by their lack of flexibility in ordering prints.

In spring of 2008, I headed to Calnen in order to have grad photos taken.
I was impressed with the reasonably low fee for the photo shoot (around $ 20 as I recall) and the availability in terms of times I could choose to come in.
I didn’t like the prompts I was given in terms of the photos. «Lower your chin, more, more… look up… turn your head slightly to the right… and… SMILE.» Yeah, that’s going to be authentic looking.
As a result, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the photos. I didn’t end up actually ordering any of them. I could have gone back for a free photo session, but I had a feeling my experience would be pretty much the same. Just a so-​so experience at ‘Calnen.’