Witch Pix — Attraction in Salem

First, before painting this as a completely negative review, we can honestly say that the staff at Witch Pix was kind, friendly, and helpful. We were treated well and with respect. Unfortunately, we felt that the process was a bit rushed and the creative part of the session was not very collaborative. After the photos were taken, we were given the opportunity to review - which after doing so, expressed our dissatisfaction with the poses and quality of the interaction between us and the photographer. We realize that they are trying to make as much profit as possible by getting their customers in and out quickly and efficiently, but we felt that this affected the quality of our photos and the overall spirit of enjoyment that was taken away because of their lack of interest once the photos have been taken and the bill has been paid. They re-shot our photos once we expressed our dissatisfaction, but acted like they just wanted to get us finished, out of the studio, and on our way. After the second set was shot, we were still somewhat unhappy, but by that time we were exhausted from the heat, the costume changes, and the declining attitude from one of the staff members, so we just accepted that this was the service that was being provided. More of a tourist trap - as many establishments in Salem have proved to be. Not about the memorable experience, not about spending time with an experienced photographer who cares about getting good shots of everyone - not just those most photogenic visitors. We left discouraged, upset about the investment ($185.00), and moreover that we could have used that money for something else...but decided to just pick and print out a couple of photos we liked best and archived the rest. We believe that this experience might be acceptable to some, but truly feel that its was unfortunate that our experience (as a whole 2 hr investment) was a disappointing waste of time and money. When in Salem, invest in the historic backdrop, museums, ferry ride into Boston, and/or the food and interesting people in the area - and make careful choices with your money. Instead of charging for a session where the customer has very little control, they should ask the customer what level they prefer, offer 1-5 photos, 5-10 photos, and 10-20 photos...the way they would like them shot...let them review them immediately from the camera with the photographer, then set custom prices to make it affordable for all. Once you enter and commit...you are stuck. Most of our photos were throw-away ...and only a few (4-5) were good enough (we felt) for us to print and frame - after we shared our disappointment. If a customer is not happy, don't make them feel that they are wasting YOUR time, just try to help them find a solution - no matter what. The "return on investment" for both sides in retail should always be a huge priority to be successful...no matter what that return would be...in this case happiness, joy, memories, and the feeling of being served respectfully. $185.00 did not buy us much in dealing with this business. Doing the math shows that OUR ROI was not only low, but something that left a bad taste in our mouth. Honestly, we could afford to take a hit like this and not see the repercussions - but other tourists who might not know better or can't take the time to voice their dissatisfaction may be less fortunate. Interesting money making concept, but definitely not for us - or for those who don't have money to burn. Not important enough to cause anger - just needed to share our view and let others decided for themselves. Good luck - we hope your experience is wonderful...but gambling on vacation is not fun. Truly, our honest review. We would...

Customer service was a one star but the photographer was great so that’s why I’ll give it a total of 3 stars. While exploring Salem we came across Witch Pix. Going in everyone was pleasant and willing to help out with any questions. We were there for a bachelorette and saw they had packages specifically for bachelorette parties. As we were getting ready to book they let us know our party of four didn’t meet a minimum requirement of 6. Which was not mentioned on the brochure. We were told that if we booked we would still get a 8x10 for the Bach and 5x7 for the other 3 but instead of the hour it would be a 45 minute session. We went ahead and booked the $220 session. We arrived to check-in the next day. Instead of being pleasant to paying customers they questioned where the other half of the party was because we were “already 4 Minutes late.”Now as someone who has worked customer service I understand and respect others time but they failed to notice the brides ankle which was wrapped and swollen from earlier and it took us a little longer to walk to the location. Since we felt bad about the 4 minute tardiness we asked if the two of us could start getting ready and they responded with “No, because we would have to repeat ourselves and there’s rules that need to be followed.” Once the other two arrived we headed straight back to get dressed. They didn’t have anything ready to go. Which I found shocking since they mentioned that we were running behind more than once. They kept suggesting a veil on the bride but she opted for horns. I’m mentioning all this to make you see that they were more than willing to repeat themselves but when it came to explaining the rules/process they refused. Make that make sense. At this point I’m fuming 😤 because this was not the experience we paid for. We get dressed and head to the studio part with the photographer. Toby was a full 5 star experience! I showed him some poses we wanted executed and he took it and ran with it. It’s great to witness creatives in their craft. He had great energy and enthusiasm the whole time which made it a turning point for us. Toby, thank you for saving the god awful experience to something we will always look back at and appreciate. So many shared laughs and not only that but he also made sure we got as many shots as we could. They also never gave us our prints that we were told we would get when we booked and honestly I didn’t even bother to mention because I wanted little to no communication with them at this point. We did leave happy but the customer service left the worst taste so that’s why I had to...

My sister and I visited Witch Pix in October.

Some huge positives: The booking process is really simple. The photographer was absolutely phenomenal. He was funny and kind and very talented and creative. Most of our photos are pretty cute. The owner’s daughter, I believe her name is Sydney, was very sweet and fun to talk to. She was the first person to greet us.

There are, however, a few things to be aware of.

Guests are not allowed to touch or look through the dresses. Attendants do this for you and it can be limiting for people who want more autonomy in the process. If you want this level of autonomy, I suggest wearing your own dress. Once they put a dress on you, even if you hate it, you cannot change it. We were told this after the dresses were already on us. This can be problematic if the dress is too big (as mine was). I highly advise bringing dress clips because they don't have them. We were told that all of the dresses are steam cleaned and sanitized inbetween shoots, but this is a bit misleading. There’s just a girl in the back with what looks like a handheld Shark steamer that she uses for about a minute per dress. The dressing room has a huge wall of windows that looks into a main corridor of the mall. Even though you’re wearing a tank top, and there's a rack of witch hats, it can be surprising to find out that people can just look at you. This could probably be very easily remedied with curtains or window clings. I myself did not have a very good experience with attendant staff. And while I think it’s important to mention that a staff member made me feel both dismissed and exposed, it’s not the focus of this review because I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have a job like this in the middle of October in a place like Salem.

The most important thing I can tell people considering Witch Pix is to try to go at a time of year that’s not incredibly busy and absolutely jampacked. And also just to know the things above. Knowing these things can set your expectations so you’re not surprised...