Great with our toddler, lots of patience and seemed to be very well experienced in working with young children. Loved the day and it was made to feel like a very special experience for our little fami... See more
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Great experience and very friendly members of staff. Amazing photographer who had great energy and loved to listen to ideas my son had for photos. Comfty studio and great presentation of the photos.... See more
Helped make us feel relaxed and made it an enjoyable experience. This was reflected in the quality of the pictures
Our photoshoot experience was amazing. The photographer was great with our little one, entertaining him to get the best shots & very patient with him when he was a little fed up & wanted to feed. The... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
Welcome to the world of Mackney Photography! We are a passionate family business, who together with our amazing team, we specialise in capturing the essence of life through our lens. If you're looking to freeze those precious moments in time, then you've come to the right place! Our award-winning portrait studio has been providing smiles to families all over Derby for the past 10 years. From babies to pets, we have photographed them all! Our photography studio in Darley Abbey is the perfect haven for you and your loved ones to feel comfortable and at ease. Over the years we have loved being part of our customers happy memories and capturing these precious times with warmth and a familiar welcome. We would love to take you on a journey to create the most beautiful portraits at Mackney Photography and therefore see why our customers return time after time... Love Wendy and Simon Mackney
Contact info
The Polishing Shed, North Mills, Darley Abbey Mills, Darley Abbey, Derby, DE22 1DZ, Derby, United Kingdom
- 01332 650 076
- info@mackney.com
- mackney.com
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Loved our experience from start to…
Loved our experience from start to finish, the quality of our frames are impeccable and would highly recommend to anyone!

Reply from Mackney Photography
Funky looking decor with unprofessional…
Funky looking decor with very unprofessional approach!
Arrived for a fairy photoshoot with my little one, the space was filthy, not been hoovered or wiped down for weeks, flooring so dirty you can see dirty feet on pictures now. Photograper was not ready for a shoot at all, I had to wait a while. 2 dresses were offered for a complete look with wings to be attached. Mind you, you are dealing with little children (mine was 1 at that time) and you are offering wings with a load of old elastic bands hanging off it that cannot be used and for some reason could not be cut off, concidering the wings are being attached to a dress with a SAFETY PIN, SHARP SAFETY PIN that kept openning and pricking my little ones back at least 4 times!!!!Health and Safety isnt important in this place! Then it was along process of keeping her occupied. Once again, you would expect a photographer dealing with kids, to use some accessories to keep their focus. Not in this case, apart from simple 200 times "pick a boos" that would not work, I had to get involved before my little one started crying from "helpful" pick a boos and a face showing up from behind the camera. Photographer didn`t use any lights, just camera on sports option taking 100s of pics. Yet when it came to viewing them, a handful of them were decent enogh (quality wide) in most on them the facial features were not in focus at all and ALL had the only ONE feature added (little fairy, same one to every single image). So Photoshop skills aren`t good enough either and no attention to detail. At the time of viewing , they will sit you in a nice room , with nice music on, dimmed lights, huge screen, the best images on the walls, so everything to distract your attention from the quiality of the images they will present to you! No wonder why I only saw many disapoiting details only aftre the images were printed! They will do whatever it takes to distract you, being wonderfully nice , taking abount family , kids and stuff... So one of the photograph had these wings with elactic band showing up on it, and for some reason you think this is tottally accaptable to be shown at the time of viewing after a 6 WEEKs post-shoot processing wait, 6 weeks of someone looking the the handfull of images! It looks more like "last minute.com business". Obviously, I requested the image to be edited after it has been printed, I was asked to return the original image for an exchange (like I would want to use it with such Quality!) So, I had to get 2 trips to exchange the image, yet one of the members was suprised why I was so upset, when I "should be pleased we did it for you"!!!? Really, pleased you did it for me, pleased to point out at your own unprofessional mistekes? pleased to spend my time on it? How very unprofessional! Totally dissapointed! And for all that poorly photoshopped hassle, be ready to pay a minimum of £600 (as images come in minimum set of 9, electronic versions starting from over a £1000. I would not recommend at all, not to a friend, nor to the enemy

Reply from Mackney Photography
Amazing day
We had an amazing day! We were welcomed into the studio by a number of friendly faces!
Photographer and her assistant worked brilliantly together to get the best shots of my little girl and some of the 2 of us together!
The photo viewing later was presented lovely and choosing the images I could afford was hard work

Reply from Mackney Photography
Lots of pictures taken so that there…
Lots of pictures taken so that there are plenty to choose from. The quality of the montage, along with individual pictures we purchased was very good. They are happy to take on board your own suggestions for poses/backgrounds too.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Just fabulous!
An absolute five star experience from beginning to end. Everyone we met was so passionate and kind. From the very first booking contact right through to collecting the final prints in a frame, it was brilliant. Thank you.

Reply from Mackney Photography
It was lovely but for the price etc I…
It was lovely but for the price etc I thought the experience would’ve been a little bit better for example we would’ve liked a drink been offered looking through our pictures

Reply from Mackney Photography
Amazing service here and great quality…
Amazing service here and great quality products. Our dog honey had a great time and so did we. All staff were awesome and nothing was ever too much trouble. Would recommend this place 100%. The stages were all explained and the follow ups really helped with keeping track of what we needed to do next. Ie. Photoshoot>viewing>collection
5 star service, so professional yet you felt very comfortable there.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Well done in every aspect!
I just wanted to congratulate Wendy and Simon for this creative business. When ever I thought of a downside I see the commercial reason behind it. The prices and the process and policies might not be for everyone to accept/understand, but I respect the perfect BIG picture. I love how every attention to detail is thought of carefully. I love how the staff take care of the customer little need. I love/respect how the responses to negative reviews are very strong defending and fighting for the business and the idea.
A big Thank you to the photographer in the shooting session and big thank you to Deborah in the viewing session for her kind and calmness and beautiful approach. I love the unique artwork creativity. My kids looked amazing in their digital photos and am looking forward to receiving my prints. Well done in every aspect and I wish you more success.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Didn't get much time at the end to…
Didn't get much time at the end to consider, felt very rushed.
Felt packages were expensive
Sorry to say won't be returning
We did however spend around £1,200 on one frame - we love it -
Value for money.... not really

Reply from Mackney Photography
Staff was amazing from booking in all…
Staff was amazing from booking in all the way to pick out our pictures.
My son had amazing time and the staff was really good with him

Reply from Mackney Photography
Great photoshoot experience
Good communication leading up to the date of photoshoot. The photographer (Charlotte) was super friendly and energetic. Captured lots of smiles from my baby boy.
The portrait session was good. We purchased portrait prints (6 images). The photos were lovely.
The details given during the portrait session were inconsistent with what I was told upon collecting the photos. My Mum couldn't attend the portrait session, so we asked (Emma I think) if we could come back to choose more photos. She said yes as we were purchasing images, then they would be saved for 6 months, and we could book another session for £120 to choose images and £100 could be redeemed against photos we decided to purchase.
There is a 12 week wait from purchasing photos to collection. During this time, there was no communication. I think this could be improved to be consistent with the texts received after booking the photoshoot. It felt like they had a sale now, so the experience ended there. After sales has room for improvement.
When I collected the photos, I was handed 6 prints. They were wrapped in brown paper with celetape. Given that we had spent almost £500, I think these could have been presented more professionally, such as in a folder.
I asked the lady if we could book in for another portrait session as we would like to purchase more. She said all photos have been deleted apart from the 6 we purchased (this is not what we had been told in the portrait session). She said that isn't policy. This was disappointing, but the impression was given that she wasn't bothered if I didn't buy any more photos and she wasn't prepared to be flexible. Overall, it was quite an arrogant attitude so I left.
To conclude , a positive photoshoot experience and portrait session. After sales could be greatly improved.
Hi Wendy, thanks for the response - I really appreciated the call this morning. In reference to the wrapping, unfortunately my photos were not wrapped in ribbon.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Such a good experience!
We had such a good experience at Mackney Studio! The whole experience was welcoming and very professional. Everything was explained so well from the initial phone conversation through to the shoot and the viewing session and to top it off the artwork that we were shown and purchased is absolutely amazing and we will love it forever!

Reply from Mackney Photography
Great experience and beautiful photos…
Great experience and beautiful photos from Pop Studios! Would definitely recommend!

Reply from Mackney Photography
A wonderful family experience capturing beautiful memories
A few weeks ago we went to @mackneyphotography for a family photoshoot and what a wonderful time we had.
The staff at Mackney photography were welcoming and friendly from start to finish. A huge thank you to Georgia and Lottie. They were extremely good with the two boys and used different techniques to get their attention and keep them engaged throughout.
Last weekend we were invited to view our photos and select which ones we would like to purchase. The viewings take place in Mackneys relaxed cinema room. With frame & print options and special packages designed to suit any budget, there are plenty of opportunities to bring your artworks home and relive the special moments forever.
We were blown away with all the gorgeous images we had to choose from!
Thank you @mackneyphotography for capturing precious moments for us to treasure ❤️

Reply from Mackney Photography
Would highly recommend
I recently took my daughter to Mackney photography (pop studios) for an Ocean (mermaid) photoshoot. It was fantastic! This was our 2nd visit. We previously had a shoot in the fairy garden.
My daughter had an amazing time on set and the photographer was again fantastic.
At The viewing I couldn't have dreamed of how the images turned out, I was blown away AGAIN.
Thank you to this friendly team of professionals for once again creating these special pieces of art.
I can not recommend Mackney Photography/Pop studios enough. Thanks again x

Reply from Mackney Photography
The best time!
From start to finish our experience was amazing- made to feel welcome, relaxed place, lovely people to work with! My son was in his element dressed as a superhero! The pictures are out of this world & the options to buy great too. Even the return to view the pictures was amazing- I was crying by slide 3 seeing my sons happy face on them & how the pics looked! Thank u so much- we will treasure them forever! X

Reply from Mackney Photography
Amazing experience.
Amazing staff, all so friendly. Worked so well with my daughter making her laugh etc to get the perfect photos. Couldn’t be more grateful for the photos we’ve received. Worth absolutely every penny.

Reply from Mackney Photography
New Family Experience
We had a lovely experience with our family portraits. We recently adopted 2 children under 5 and wanted to document the start of our family but didn’t know how the kids would respond to the experience. Simon was brilliant and kept everyone at ease. I didn’t think he’d get anything with the littlest one but I was so pleasantly surprised with the selection we had to review! They were to considerate of our budget. We made a brilliant display to cherish.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Had a great time and got some beautiful…
Had a great time and got some beautiful photos from our shoot. Would highly recommend if your looking for good quality.

Reply from Mackney Photography
Avoid at all costs…
Edit to respond to reply - again with the lies to suit your own narrative. I did not book online, it was through Facebook- let’s keep facts straight. Where I have kept mine the same the entire time it’s yours that have changed throughout. Also, not my first photoshoot - I advised it was my first photoshoot for our daughter, born during COVID. With regard to digitals images, we were advised of specs and we specifically asked, several times, about if the images were suitable for our respective computer wallpapers, Facebook and instagram were not a concern. As we are not professional photographers we took your salesperson at their word that the specs would suit what we had asked. They did not. The images are unsuitable for computer wallpaper unless you used a thumbnail, which is not what I wanted. I would have never paid for the digital package if your salesperson was honest. But honesty is the the majority of the issues I have had with your company.
The only decent thing I can say was the actual photo session was quite good. Was made to feel comfortable- the photographer was kind and good with my daughter. I thought everything seemed fine.
The issue began in the one hour viewing session and has only gotten worse from there.
The purchase process and high pressure sales tactics used by this company are nothing short of emotional blackmail, price gauging and misrepresentation. While they do have price listings on their website, they are misleading and inaccurate, at best.
I wanted to purchase 10 photos in 5x7 so I can eventually frame them myself when I move to a larger home (because guess what - you can only purchase photos in your one hour session and any photos you don’t buy are then gone forever, if that’s not emotional blackmail I’m not sure what is).
I assumed when you purchased these already overpriced photos the digitals would be included - but no. Not at all. Nor is there an option to only purchase digitals. In this day and age I find this disgusting and deceitful at best. You have to add an extra £200 to your already ridiculous price tag to get some of the worst quality digital images I’ve ever seen. Images of such poor quality that I am unable to use them as my computer wallpaper without them looking like absolute pixelated rubbish.
Oh wait but to get the £200 digitals you can’t just order photos al la carte and spend over the £495 it advises on their price sheet. Nope, you have to purchase a picture package. So you have to get photos in sizes you didn’t want all in order to get substandard- crap quality digitals. I could have scanned my prints I purchased and got better quality results - which is more than disappointing.
This company uses fear mongering, high pressure, stressful sales tactics all while playing on your emotions, fears and mental health in order to make more money. Don’t let the beautiful photos, nice studio and helpful staff fool you. I will never use them again. I would never recommend anyone use them. Unless you enjoy this sort of treatment while spending almost £1000 for 10 photos in sizes you didn’t want with substandard quality digitals.
As an update with the ongoing issues I have had with this company since my viewing appointment I can say, this company refuses to deal with the several issues that we have incurred with them. They have gone as far to be incredibly insulting in email communications with zero aim to be helpful or resolve the situation. They do not care to do anything except to make money off you while they gaslight and blame you. They continue to use scare tactic and threats to try and quiet you - even trying to force me to take this review down. They have gone even further by threatening legal action against me for defamation. I have truly never dealt with a company, in any country, that acts like this towards its customers and I, honestly, I have never been more disgusted by a company’s actions and treatment of customers.
Sadly, while at first I did really like the photos I received, the ongoing issues and immense stress this company has caused me has now made it so that I can no longer even look at these photos without becoming extremely anxious, sad and upset because of how they have acted and spoke to me.
Their misleading and high pressure sales tactics.
The way they treat their customers when they aren’t perfectly satisfied.
I will continue to do what I have to. They have destroyed memories that were supposed to be beautiful and last a lifetime yet now I look at the photos and see nothing but the upset and stress and hours of emails and stress this company has caused.
There are much better photography studios out there, with transparent pricing and better quality photographs. Please do yourself a favour and look elsewhere, I do not wish my experience with this company on anyone. No one deserves treatment like this.

Reply from Mackney Photography
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