Hiring a Wedding Photographer… One of the Few Blemishes on an Otherwise Perfect Day!
After the groom himself, hiring a wedding photographer was probably the most important wedding planning detail to me. This topic is now a very sore spot with me, and one of the few blemishes on an otherwise perfect day. Let me explain…
Two months before our wedding, some friends of ours had their wedding. I had seen the proof album from the photographer they hired and it was beautiful. I loved the reflective shots they did, and the starburst effect around candles and lights was magical. I thought I was lucky that I did not have to track down a good wedding photographer since my friend had already found a good one. As it would turn out later, I was not quite as lucky as I thought I was.
The day of the wedding itself I was annoyed with the photographer because he kept trying to rush me to get ready so he could take pictures. I was not trying to pull a diva act or anything, but I was pretty sure the wedding would not start without me. He was all hyper and twitchy, I did not need help feeling nervous and he was driving me nuts!
We did not realize until it was too late to make any changes that the photographer that did my friends wedding was actually a stand in for the photographer I had. I guess the guy who’s company it was had been on vacation when my friend got married, so this other photographer was covering for the ‘real’ photographer. Do you see a problem brewing here?
A week or so after my wedding, my friend got the enlargements she ordered from her proof book. While the pictures in her proof book looked great, the enlargements were mailed and had gotten chewed up in the mail. When she contacted the photographer, he was less than sympathetic.
I was starting to get really nervous about my proofs (it would be another week or so before my proofs were ready). My friend finally came to some sort of settlement with the photographer, but she still had a hard time with him.
When I got my proof book I was so excited, until I opened it, then I was upset! There were a handful of pics that were AWESOME, but only a handful. Call me crazy but I think when you are paying 600.00 dollars or more for photos that most of them should be at least good if not great.
Take the picture of my Maid of Honor and myself from my previous blog post “You’re Getting Married in Six Months?“. I think the photographer should have had us in front of either a pretty backdrop or at least a blank wall so that things in the background did not distract from the people in the photos themselves.
Many of the other pictures were way too bright and overexposed. The faces of my husband’s attendants were all but washed out. The picture at the left is of my Mom and Dad. It is a nice picture of them, but it is too bright.
I am so glad we got some of the pictures taken by the lake, because those ones came out great. There were just so many problems with the photos I was very upset. I feel that if you are paying for a ‘professional’ photographer, that you should get professional results.
Some of the pictures the guests took with their disposable cameras on the tables were even better. So check and double check the wedding photographer you choose, so you will be sure and preserve the memories!
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September 12th, 2008 at 9:59 am
So sorry to read about your bad experience. Hopefully you also could arrange some sort of settlement with the photographer.
September 13th, 2008 at 7:34 am
So Sad. Your bad experience will definitely help others. I will do double check the wedding photographer.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Jessica and Chrissy… That is why I wanted to write that post, because I know how important pictures are, especially of such an important event!
There was actually a long saga that followed getting the proof book. I had mentioned my friend who had hired these people before I did. Well, she got some of the reprints that she ordered before I got my proof book. They were all chewed up in the mail, and when she called the photographer he was less than sympathetic. I think eventually she gave up and filed a report with the BBB.
I was so disappointed by then, that I did not even want to deal with any attitude from the photographer so I decided to just keep my proof book and not order any reprints even though they were supposed to be included in the package that I paid for.
The photographer had in the contract that they would contact me in 5 years to give me the chance to buy my negatives, so I just had it in my mind that I would wait and get my negatives down the road. About 5 1/2 years later I tried to contact them and their phone number was disconnected… I was freaking out! LOL I sent them letters and got no response. After about 6 months of trying to locate them I figured I was out of luck, and I was so sad about it.
I kind of gave up my quest for a while and then I had an idea. I was a member of an online forum that was made up of local people. Anytime I have had a question about where to find something locally I have had great luck with this group. I posted the name of the photographers company and explained that it was over 5 years ago, and that I just wanted to get a hold of them to buy my negatives. With in less than a week I was emailed by a friend of theirs who said she would get in touch with the photographers wife and have her get a hold of me… I was very excited. Within a week of that I had the negatives in my hands. I could not believe it. I love the power of the internet to reach people.
Thank you for reading my post! – Denise
September 15th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I am sorry for the experience that you had. Professional photographers should be just that – professional. Most of us are. I do have to add however, that an experienced photographer will cost more than $600.00. We put in many hours not only shooting the day, but preparing the files, creating beautiful albums, and custom designing portraits. Artists do not just shoot and pass off proofs, they are committed to providing hundreds of beautiful proofs and albums. I wish you luck with your dilema.
September 18th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Well that was ten years ago, I got the smallest package they had, and a referral discount. Thank you Jill for reading my story. – Denise
July 9th, 2010 at 3:46 am
I am a photographer and I hear a lot of stories similar to your own, it always make me sad.
Even on the smallest package you may receive fewer photos or have the photographer there for less time however what you do get should be 100% effort from the photographer.
Wedding photos are what we have to bring back the memories and fill in the gaps that we may have missed on such a busy day.
Brian