Photos.. How many were you given to choose from?

Hi Girls,

Our photographer only gave us 130 or so photos on disc to choose from for our 4 wedding albums, which I think is very poor and also very upsetting as we have not seen any of the other photos that they have taken.

This was for 2 photographers and coverage from 9am until about 5pm.

Please could you tell me how many your photographer gave you to choose from.

Many thanks x

Hi, our amazing photographer (http://tomasdolejsi.pen.io/ ) was the only photographer present at our wedding and he gave us over 400 edited photographs (maybe 500, I have not counted them!). He spent with us all day, I think 10 or 12 hrs? I hope this helps. If you are based in London, our photographer is doing free couple photo shoots this month. Perhaps it might come of interest since you seem a little disappointed with your wedding photographers? 

I know of some brides who were unhappy with their wedding pics and so organised a post wedding photo shoot instead to make up for it. (photos with their hubby)

Good luck! 

xx

HI Misty xx, that really doesn't seem like many photos for 8 hours coverage, how many did they say they would provide you with when you initially met them? Of the 130 are they all different or are some nearly identical to others?

As a guide, we usually supply between 350 - 450 when covering Bridal preps through to the speeches, every wedding is different & therefore we supply a varying number of images.

Andrew

He spent with us all day, I think 10 or 12 hrs? I hope this helps. If you are based in London, our photographer is doing free couple photo shoots this month.

Thanks very much for your replies.

Imia.. I'm in the North so unfortunately I'm nowhere near London.

Thanks Andrewj.. We were told we would receive all our images as she said they would be of no use to her - based on this we booked her.

Most of the 130 images are very similar, with slightly different variations of the same shots.

Photo ops on the day were endless. I spend £1000's on decorations and details and all I have to show for it is 2 shots of the same table decoration!

We only have 11 photos from the second photographer.

That doesn't sound quite right to me & personally, I wouldn't be happy if I photoraphed a wedding & only had that many image sto show after 8 hours.

How do the photographs you've been given compare to the samples your photographer showed you before you booked? I take it she /they had photographed a number of weddings previously?

Do you have anything in writing to push to see the other shots?

Really sorry to hear about this.

Andrew

Hi Misty

Did your photographer give you an indication of how many photos you'd receive? Do you have anything in your contract? 130 doesn't sound like many images, for a full day's wedding we typically end up with about 400 images which give a good coverage of the day. 

Ali x

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Unfortunately Andrew we didn't get a written contract. I could really kick myself!

When we were having photos taken outside the church, she said to us that between them they had taken 2000 shots already.

We weren't given a number Ali but based on what she said at the church we were expecting heck of a lot more than 130!

We married 17 months ago and haven't received any of the four albums etc that we paid for. We hadn't heard anything from her since last October. She ignored our phone calls, emails and texts etc so I had no choice but to send a letter by recorded delivery informing her of our intention to  begin legal proceedings. She replied to this and sent me an email from hell!

Apart from the lack of photos. We're disappointed with her service on the day...

She arrived 50 minutes late.

She didn't bring her business partner as the second photographer, instead turned up with her son who's studying photography at uni.

She didn't do a dry run from the venue (where I left from) to the church, even though she worked for months just down the road. As I was leaving for the church she put her head through the car window asking where the church was.. even the driver was gobsmacked! BUT then she said she had left some of her photography equipment in my room, so I had to wait another 10 minutes for her to have a key cut at reception and go all the way through a fairly large hotel to retrieve them.

Due to her son's inexperience, he walks in front of the videographer and appears four times doing this on my dvd (apparently he did it more but it's been possible to edit this in places).

She knew that our wedding was going to be featured in a local wedding magazine. The magazine wanted detailed shots which we couldn't supply so my hubby had to recreate them in our living room.

She also knew that the church we married in wanted to use our wedding to help promote it as they only have about two weddings per year. The only photos we have are mainly fairly close up shots of us and nothing that the church could use to help them.

I told her on the day that the venue wanted some photos of the room as they also wanted to use shots to help with their advertising (I went to town with the decor). She has not supplied one single shot.

Before yesterday the last time I heard from her was October, she sent an email wanting me to choose my albums online and organize my four wedding albums, a calendar and dvd slideshow all via email. I replied and said that I thought it would be quite difficult to do and would rather wait until we could meet in person - that was the end of her communication to me until yesterday!

Sorry for the ramble, just wanted to put you in the picture as I've this email from hell to reply to! xx

Hi Misty

That's awful - I really feel for you! It's bad that she got one thing wrong, let along all of that :(

Have you replied to her email as yet? Is she a member of any photographic society? They can often step in if there's a dispute. If she is then there's probably a logo on her website.

Ali x

Hi Ali,

Just looked on her website and can't see any logos.

I've not replied to the horrible and vile email yet, just trying to get my head around what to put xx

That all sounds a little more serious than not having as many photos as you hoped for.

I would have a talk with either your councils trading standards department or consumer advice groups in your area, they may be able to help you come to a sensible & amicable conclusion without having to think about legal avenues.

I would also show them all e-mails between you both, including the last one you have received.

There are too many 'cowboys/cowgirls(?) in wedding photography at the moment, as a lot of people see it as an easy way to make money, unfortunately, when these people can't deliver what they've promised it gives all of us a bad name.

Good luck, I hope everything sorts itself out.

Andrew

Thanks again Andrew for your input.

We have been in contact with Trading Standards for the last two maybe three months. It was them who advised me to send the recorded delivery letter. We have done everything possible to avoid legal action but when I spoke to them after receiving the email from her yesterday, they informed me that it looked like court action was inevitable. BUT the problem we have is that she is no longer in the country which will make legal papers etc more difficult to be delivered to her.

They also said I should reply to the email, I just don't know what to put as she was so nasty and vile x

double posting

This is so very sad to hear. Unfortunately thare are unscrupulous people who take advantage of brides and grooms. I myself had a terrible experience with Caroline Castigliano and I am glad, that I acted quickly enough and after 4 months of nerve wracking legal wrangle (in addition to all the wedding planning stress), my bank refunded money for the wedding dress as a good will, seeing the evidence and that the CC staff continued lying to us. I owe a lot to a couple of lovely dress makers who provided professional opinion on the dress, all of them were just shaking heads in disbelief to be honest. So I was able to sort out another dress very close to the wedding. The experience was shocking and terrible, I would not wish this to my worst enemy and to date I do not understand how the ladies at Berner's street store sleep at night. But anyways, I feel if you are not getting anywhere with this photographer (who moved abroad) you might just give up at some point as you would not want to tarnish the wedding experience with a bad photographer's job including its aftermath. 

Some things are just not worth it and cost a lot of energy and stress to deal with. (which some companies count on, sadly!)

I know a few couples who had bad experience such as yourselves and it really helped them to have another photo shoot (post wedding, some of them even wearing their wedding attire "Rock the dress/Rock the frock" shoot to help them forget about a nasty experience they just had. 

I do wish you a best of luck for the rest of your married life and I hope you will be able to put this behind soon. 

Hi

I agree with you and i found it was tragedy.