Bug and Bean Photography

Nancy hasn’t returned emails and phone calls. She has our payment. We DON’T have our photos. Sad, really sad.

Dear Nancy — I’m honestly not sure why you haven’t responded to any of my emails but hopefully you will respond to this posting.
While our first project with you March 3, 2011 was wonderful, your disappearance and lack of responsiveness since March 3, 2013 have been very frustrating, unprofessional and unsettling.
Where are our photos please? You have the only photos of my son at that age.
I sincerely hope nothing bad has happened to you but please just respond so we can either get our photos or just refund the $ 350.
I am also going to send a note to the Better Business Bureau… since all your phone numbers are also no longer working!!!
*If anyone knows what happened to Nancy, please let me know? I just want our photos OR to get a refund.

Working with Nancy was a dream come true. She came to our location and got started right away. She was delicate and creative with our newborn and asked permission to try certain poses. She came prepared with props and clothes.
Her presentation of the final prints went smoothly. Polite, patient and a variety of options for custom prints, photo albums and digital prints.
We were fully aware of the pricing and were prepared to spend what we wanted to stay within our budget. I consider Nancy to be an exclusive photographer and would recommend her to everyone.

Nancy did an incredible job with our daughter’s newborn session nearly two years ago. She was very accommodating on schedules and patient when we had to delay her arrival at the last minute due to an uncooperative newborn. She was peaceful and patient with all of us — 8 day old newborn and her two frazzled, very sleep deprived parents!
Her work was nothing short of stunning. One of my dear friends who hires professional photographers for retail photo shoots was in awe of the framed photos we had displayed in my daughter’s room. She said that they looked like something torn from a magazine. Yes, Nancy’s work was an investment but one that I am sooo glad that I made. I adore the photographs and know that I will always treasure them. I recently moved across the country and it makes sad to think that if I were to have a second baby that he/​she wouldn’t be photographed by Nancy. Because if I were in the Bay Area I would be calling her again!

Three years ago, I contacted Nancy when I was pregnant with my first child to arrange a newborn session (recommended by a friend). Much to my surprise, I delivered a preemie baby girl at 29 weeks. I contacted Nancy to tell her we wouldn’t be having that newborn session for a looong time given our daughter would be in the hospital for several months. Nancy could not have been more sympathetic or kind — mind you, I had never met her. She even offered to come to the hospital’s NICU to capture images of our baby if we liked. While we decided against that, it really made me appreciate that Nancy is not just a business woman, she goes out of her way to please her clients, even in unusual circumstances like ours.
Nancy took our daughter’s pictures after her homecoming, and we were thrilled with the results. We recently had a second baby — a boy — and I told her I couldn’t have imagined anyone else taking the photos. Yes, Nancy is clearly talented and takes amazing photos (as you can see from her portfolio), but she also is kind, patient, dedicated, professional and humble. Nancy was very honest about her pricing — she provided a pricing sheet up front and was very clear about the package options. There is also a «rates» tab on her Web site. Photographers like Nancy make a living from their art — their photos — so don’t expect the digital files for free… that seems like common sense to me.
Sure, Nancy’s prices are not inexpensive — but go to the mall if you want cheaper/​generic studio pictures. Given the hours she spends taking the photos, meeting with her clients and editing the images, she’s worth every cent. We have pictures of our children and our family that we’ll treasure forever.

Found Bug and Bean Photography through Google. I am an ex-​photographer and I can’t just take pictures of my kids and family without ever being in a photo can I? So, we hired her.
So, being an ex-​photographer I know the routine, I know how it goes and it was a breeze. She was very professional, friendly, fun and her photos were amazing. Even made me look great (and I belong BEHIND the camera, lol).
She uses natural light and is very skilled in her trade. You can’t put a price on creativity and know-​how. My family looks awesome and we’ll love the photos for generations.
Her prices are fair. I’m surprised that there is one star on here and I read it and I don’t think that was a fair review. The lady states «I wish I didn’t have to write a bad review because I did in fact like her photography and believe she has a great portfolio. The low rating simply reflects the service we received after the photo session.». So, you liked her photography but just didn’t want to pay her rate? And then you say «I just wish her price quotes weren’t so pricey.». If you can’t afford it, go to someone else. Don’t be a Unilocal terrorist and give bad reviews due to price. This is why I am an ex-​photographer. Due to customers like you who try and do underhanded things to small business owners and ruin our livelyhood. I know firsthand that being a professional artist is not easy. Put a dollar amount on creativity and you’ll get what you pay for.
Anyway, I’m done raging now, LOL. I think Bug and Bean Photography was awesome. Nancy, thank you for everything and I hope you appreciate my review. Don’t mind the Unilocal Terrorist and keep on truckin’!

I wish I didn’t have to write a bad review because I did in fact like her photography and believe she has a great portfolio. The low rating simply reflects the service we received after the photo session.
She came to our home and spent a couple hours with our family for our first born’s newborn session. She was very patient and gentle to our baby. She even brought scarves and fabrics that would look great on the pictures.
After viewing the pictures, we were very excited to take the prints home and share the digital copies to our friends and families. We were extremely disappointed and heartbroken when we found out that the only pictures we could actually have are ones we purchase as packages or a la carte. The price was absolutely high!!! We couldn’t even afford to keep the digital copies. We asked if we could at least have the low res copies. even ones w/​her logo just to share on Facebook or email but she refused to give them. I offered to pay for them but she still insisted on the original files for a super high amount or her packages!
I look at my daughter and I am so sad that we don’t even have 1 digital file for her pictures. What we have are ones we used for the announcements which also cost an arm and a leg. We event went to see her at her San Francisco office just to be told that she wouldnt compromise or negotiate on the prints.
No matter how good of a photographer you are, you should fully disclose the amount associated with your service… including prints and rights to digital files. She didn’t do either one.
We didn’t even have a family portrait for her newborn session. I wouldn;t recommend Bug and Bean due to her price. There are other photographers out there who are just as good. They will provide high res photos and have reasonable print prices.

We could not be more pleased with Bug and Bean! Nancy was a pure pleasure to work with (very patient, kind and professional) and we absolutely love the photos she created of our family! I wish I’d discovered her years ago. Her custom prints are such high quality that I’m now spoiled against normal printing techniques. Bug and Bean was, for us, worth every penny of our investment and I’ll treasure my prints for the rest of my life.

I found Bug and Bean photography while browsing through another professional photographer’s website and saw she was ranked 3 out of the top 5 Bay Area Baby Photographers by the members of GGMG Golden Gate Mothers Group. She uses natural light. Most creative child/​family photos that I’ve seen and have experienced. She is fast in responding to your phone calls and it might take her a day or two to get back to you through emails but she most definitely will get back to you. Nancy is very professional, very easy to talk to, and really takes her time capturing the best shots of my toddler. Nancy is patient and calm, kind, very caring — you really feel that come through as she is photographing, and artistic — view her portfolio in her website and you’ll see just what I mean! Nancy really invests a lot of time editing and working on the final results of the photo session. You can see it when you view your photographs. I describe her work to be Child Fine Art Photography. The highest quality of work that exist!
I just wish her price quotes weren’t so pricey. In these times of a struggling economy, I didn’t know of such packages and even a la carte prints exist to be so expensive. Her session fee was a reasonable $ 300 however, my failure to thoroughly read her ordering and price listing in her client info form was my bad. I was so excited to sign the contract that I didn’t bother to view her ordering/​pricing list. Thankfully she accepts credit card payment and was willing to work with what I could afford. I want to order more prints from my daughter’s photo session but will need to hold off until I’ve saved enough to purchase from Nancy.