FAQs

Your school's Graduation Portrait Session dates can be found by clicking on "My School Info" at the top of this page.  Appointments become available approximately two months prior to these dates.  Please note that reservations are on a first come first serve basis.

A Group Portrait Session is a separate photo appointment that you can book for you and up to 14 friends. Group photos are for a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 15.

To book a group appointment, click on the "Book Now" button at the top of the screen and follow the steps. You can also read more about how to book appointments here.

If you would like to view or modify your appointment, please click here.  

Be sure to have your booking confirmation number ready. You can find this in the original confirmation email with the subject Artona Grad Photo Appointment Confirmation. Please note that appointments can only be changed up to 24 hours before. 

If you are photographed between September and March of the school year, you will be included in that year's class composite presented in May.  Please confirm with your department representative or Artona's customer service team if you have any questions.  

Artona does not provide hair or makeup services at this time. You are more than welcome to bring your own makeup and apply touch-ups at our vanity station. 

Unfortunately, we do not have reserved parking. Click here for our parking tips. 

Please remember to bring your deposit, any photo props or additional changes of clothing. Your $60 deposit can be paid by Cash, Debit, Credit or Cheque.

We will provide the graduation cap and gown, so don't worry about that.

For more ideas on how to prepare, check out this blog post. 

Your Graduation is a formal achievement! We recommend that you show up in formal clothing in honour of this event. As the photo session consists of various styles (from head and shoulder to full length), it is suggested that students dress accordingly. Dark and solid colours work best.

Check out our How to Prepare Guide, Look Books and this blog post for outfit ideas!

All Graduation Portrait Sessions include one Friendship Shot or one Family photo.

The Friendship Photo allows you to bring a maximum of two additional people for one of your photos.

The Family Photo will be a photo of you and your immediate family - maximum of 5 members, including yourself.

Please let your photographer know at the start of your session if you are requesting a Friendship or Family photo .

Please arrive 15- 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment to sign in and prepare for your photo session.

Clients who arrive late for their appointments may need to be rescheduled. 

You can find directions to our Vancouver studio by clicking here.

Feel free to bring personal items to be used as props. As long as it can fit in our studio (and it’s not offensive or inappropriate!) you are more than welcome to bring it in.

Check out this recent blog post for prop ideas!

Individual Graduation Portrait Sessions take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Group Portrait Sessions generally take 10-15 minutes. Times may vary depending on the size of the group.

For high school Graduation Portrait Sessions, we do not charge a sitting fee but there is a $60.00 deposit required when you register at your session. The deposit releases your photo previews online (you will be emailed a secure Customer ID and password), and customized Photo Preview Booklet (mailed to your home address within 2 weeks of your photo session).

For high school and university Group Portrait Sessions, there is a charge of $15 per person for 1 digital download image; or you can select 4 digital download images for $20 per person.

For university Graduation Portrait Sessions, there is a $60.00 deposit required as well as a $15.00 sitting fee when you register at your session. The deposit releases your photo previews online (you will be emailed a secure Customer ID and password), and customized Photo Preview Booklet (mailed to your home address within 2 weeks of your photo session).  The $15 sitting fee is collected on behalf of your school or faculty and is non-refundable.  As long as you order within 90 days, your $60 deposit will automatically be applied to your order online.  

Our Vancouver studio is located close to West Broadway and Cambie.

If you are taking the Canada Line, you can get off at either Broadway City Hall or Olympic Village. We are less than a 10 minute walk from both stations. 

You can also take the Expo Line to the Broadway and Commercial station, then take the 99-B Line and get off at Cambie. 

For further directions, please use www.google.ca/transit.

All orders can be placed online. Please click here. 

If you would like to place your order over the phone, please get in touch with us to arrange a telephone appointment with a member of our sales team. 

We offer a 30-60-90 Day Interest-Free Layaway Plan. Simply provide up to three equal payments by Cheque, Visa, Mastercard or American Express, payable to The Artona Group Inc.

Orders will be released 10 days after your LAST payment.

For payments by personal cheque, the order will be released 10 business days from the date of deposit given the cheque is in good standing. There will be a $45 administration fee for any returned cheque or declined credit card.

If you missed the order deadline stated in your Graduation Portrait Session Portfolio Preview Booklet, you are still able to place an order. The $60 deposit you paid to Artona is valid as a credit towards your graduation order 90 days from the day you were photographed. We keep graduation photos on file for 4 years.

For School Day Photos or Convocation Portraits, we keep the images on file for 1 year. Once the year is passed, we no longer have the image. Please call into the studio to confirm whether or not the image is still available for purchase.

If the order was placed online, you are more than welcome to keep your preview booklet as a memory of your Graduation Portrait Session.

Yes. If you are not happy with your original photographs, we can definitely book you in for a retakes. Please note that retake fees do apply.

After your retake session, the new images will be uploaded to your online gallery within 5-7 business days. You will be able to view both your original and retake images. You can read more about how retake appointments work here.

To book your retake appointment, please get in touch and our customer service team will be happy to help.

Your Graduation Portrait Images will be online through Artona’s website approximately 5-7 business days after your photo session. Graduation Portrait Session Portfolio Preview Booklets are mailed to your home address via Canada Post within 2 weeks of your photo appointment. When your booklet is being sent out, you will receive an email from Artona indicating that your Preview Booklet has been shipped.

Upon signing in for Group Portrait Sessions, you and your friends will decide whether the group would like 1 or 4 digital images from your photo session. Each group member will receive the same one or four images from the session. Copies of the digital image will then be emailed out to the Group Leader for distribution.

Additional poses and prints are available for purchase online on Artona’s website. When signing in for a Group Portrait Session, the Group Leader will provide Artona with their e-mail address. A secure Customer ID and Web Password will be emailed to the Group Leader for distribution. Should group members be interested in ordering additional group photos, they simply need to log in with the Customer ID and Web Password to view and purchase photos.

Graduation portrait session prints start at $39.99.  You will receive a fully customized Graduation Portrait Session Portfolio Preview Booklet and login information to see what products and services are available for purchase. Packages and prices can also be found online once you login to your online ordering account.  There's no obligation to place an order, and your photo will be included in the composite and yearbook (if applicable) as long as you are photographed by your photo deadline!  

Remember that your $60 deposit is credited automatically online, or you can return the photos via mail within 30 days for a refund.  

Prices and package options vary depending on the type of session that takes place.  Here are some of the different types of photo session that we offer:
- high school graduation (at the Vancouver studio, mobile studio, and on location)
- high school commencement (at your graduation ceremony)
- high school school day photos (at the start of the school year for ID card and yearbook purposes)
- UBC graduation (at the Vancouver studio)
- UBC fraternities and sororities
- University graduation (at the Vancouver studio, mobile studio, and on location)
- University convocation (at your convocation ceremony) 

Our website allows you to order your School Day Portraits prior to photo day.  As long as you order within 1 week of photo day, Artona guarantees that your photos will be delivered to the student’s school before Retake Day.  

If you are not happy with your School Day Portrait order, you may attend retake day at your school.  After that, if you are not happy with your School Day Portrait, you may attend Artona’s in-studio retake day which takes place in our Vancouver location (in November) to have a final photo taken.

Once an image has been dragged into a placeholder in your package, you can click on the image to ‘Enhance’ it by Cropping, adding Borders, and changing the Colour of your photo.

Swapping sheets is a way to customize your package by swapping one sheet size for another.

To Swap Sheets, first select a photo package you would like to  order. Once a package is selected, click on "Swap Sheets.” Delete the sheet(s) you are not interested in and ‘add’ your desired sheets from the bottom of the page. Once finished, you must click on "Done Swapping" before you can select which image is to correspond with each sheet.

To order the Session Portfolios online, proceed past the package choices by clicking on “No thanks, I’ll purchase photos A La Carte” located at the bottom right of the screen.

From the “A La Carte page” proceed to "Specialty Frames" and then to "Specialty Items” by clicking at the bottom right of the screen. On the “Specialty Items” page the Session Portfolio option is the first item; click to order this product.

Digital Images can be purchased, with or without retouching, on the Specialty Items page (after specialty frames).  Log in using your customer ID and password and click to the “Speciality Items” section of our online system.

1. You can purchase Digital Downloads of 5 or 10 images from your session.  

2. You can purchase a set of Digital Images which includes your portfolio of 2, 4, or 16 selected images (depending on where you were photographed) complete with a copyright release so you can print what you want, where you want, when you want.  

3. You can purchase a set of Digital Images on Disc which includes your portfolio of 2, 4, or 16 selected images, complete with a copyright release so you can print what you want, where you want, when you want.  Please note there is a surcharge for production of the CD.  

For School Day Photos, we will have the image on file for one year. Please contact Artona as soon as possible to order school day images. Once a year has passed, we no longer have the image on file.

For Graduation Portraits, we keep the images on file for 4 years. If your online account is no longer working, please call into our studio to have your online account reactivated.

Please understand that all orders go through several automated and custom stages during processing. There will be a $50.00 fee charged to track and change orders after they have been placed.

If you have questions or concerns about any orders, it is best to contact us directly prior to placing your order.

In the event this does occur, and it has been more than 5 business days since your session, please contact us immediately and we will have our web team upload these images .

The first thing you will want to try is to locate the scroll bars on the page. There are horizontal scroll bars at the bottom of the screen, and a second set located just above the black bar containing your photo previews. There is also a vertical scroll bar located on the right of the screen.

If using these scroll bars are ineffective and the problem persists, the next step is to increase the current screen resolution in your display settings: right-click on the computer Desktop and select “Properties” on the menu that pops up. Once the Properties window opens up, proceed to “Settings” by clicking on the corresponding tab at the top right of the window. Finally, from this tab you may use the line bar located under “Screen Resolution” to increase the current resolution. Try to use a setting of at least 1024x768 pixels.

Please note that the information used to access your graduation images online is different than the information used to access Artona’s online booking system.

Your Customer ID and Web Password can be found in two places. It is on Page 1 of your Graduation Portrait Session Portfolio Preview Booklet (mailed to your home address within 2 weeks of your photo session), and also in the confirmation email sent to you after you have signed in for your portrait sitting. If you do not have this information, please call our studio for assistance.

Your Customer ID and Coupon Code are case sensitive. Please ensure you are entering it exactly as it appears in the proof booklet and/or email. 

If you are still having trouble, you can try resetting your password by clicking on the “Can’t find your password?” link below the log in boxes and provide the email you used when registering on the day of your portrait session.

If by chance there are any other issues, please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

If you are ordering online, the “$60.00 Coupon Code” will automatically be applied  during the Checkout process. Should this not occur your coupon code can be found on page 1 of your PreviewBooklet and also in the confirmation email upon registering. Entering the Coupon Code will automatically deduct $60 from your order.

If you're not interested in placing an order for Graduation Portraits, simply return your Graduation Portrait Session Portfolio Preview Booklet within 30 days to Artona for the refund of your deposit.  Please note that the refund period for your deposit is 30 days from the day you receive your Preview Booklet. Please note that after 30 days from the day you receive your Preview Booklet, the deposit is not valid for a refund, but it is still valid to apply to an order.

As there will be a surplus of $60 in your account from your second deposit payment, our Accounting department will make adjustments and refund your credit card or write you a refund cheque for $60.00.  The refund cheque will be mailed out to your home address. Should you still not have your refund  when your photo order arrives, please contact us immediately.

Tax rates vary depending on your area of residence. Please click here for the most up to date tax rates set by the Canadian government that are applicable to your orders.

Orders that do not have a deposit deducted will be flagged by our Accounting department. In the event a deposit was not applied where it should have been, our accounting department will issue a refund in the same manner payment was received. .Refund cheque will be mailed out to your home address. Should you still not have your refund when your photo order arrives, please contact us immediately.

Your payment of $75 consisted of a $15 sitting fee and a $60 deposit. The $15 sitting fee is collected on behalf of your school or faculty and is non-refundable.  As long as you order within 90 days, your $60 deposit will automatically be applied to your order online.  

Unfortunately, no. All of our graduation photo orders are shipped directly to home, since we do not have the space to store orders for pick up. Plus, your photos are made just for you and we wouldn't ever want to get rid of any unclaimed photos! 

Orders generally take 4-6 weeks for completion .  If you require your order earlier,  Rush Fees may apply.  Please call  our studio for further assistance.

All orders first require a processing period of 4-6 weeks from the day you order and payment is processed. Once your order is ready it will be delivered via your preferred shipping method which normally takes 1 to 2 business days.

We respect our customers' privacy and have a strict policy that prevents Purolator (the shipping service provider) from leaving customer orders unattended in an unsafe area and in which the package may be subject to damage from the weather.

If you are not at home during the time of delivery and there is no safe area to place your package, a note from Purolator will be attached to your door or mailbox with specific instructions on how to pick up your order from the nearest dispatch centre.

The first time you log in to your online gallery and have viewed and chosen your favourite poses, click on the blue link on the bottom right to proceed. The first step that pops up will be choosing your Composite and Yearbook Pose.

Contact us to confirm or to change your yearbook pose. If it has passed your deadline date, we cannot guarantee your change of image.

If no image is selected online, the image selected at the time of the portrait session will be used.

If the information on your Student ID Card/GoCard is incorrect, please speak to the administration staff at your school to have a new ID Card/GoCard produced.

If you have misplaced your Student ID/GoCard, there are two ways to obtaining a new one.

1 - Go to your school office to request a new Student ID/GoCard. Artona delivers GoCards to schools bi-weekly.

2 - If you need a new Student ID/GoCard immediately, you can get one from Artona directly. You will need to obtain an original Translink form (not a photocopy)from your school office, come down to Artona, and pay the $25 fee (Tax Included). The student requesting the Student ID/GoCard must be present and show a valid piece of Government identification with the students date of birth, as the GoCard is processed and printed on location.

Yes, Artona sells Zaino products! Please contact Michael at 604-723-6944 or mrak@artonagroup.com or simply come to our studio at 353 West 7 Avenue in Vancouver. All products are at the front counter for purchase and pickup, with the same prices reflected here.