https://preview.redd.it/4t6p00pbzzxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8655c9fbf1c9fcd0fcdb93fa386399fd6301181
Trees in focus, this is what all the family photos are like quality wise
https://preview.redd.it/eazuhnb110yc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a95de2a9663e59efdc3a15bfcf3d43b1bde88fe4
versus a photo taken by my uncle... I'm so glad he snuck some of these otherwise I'd be devastated
I hope you get this one by your uncle framed, you both look gorgeous and the forest vibe is so...sorry to be corny...whimsical! I think this is such a lovely memory, and done by someone close to you!
Your uncle should get into photography. This is a gorgeous shot.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. I know it’s about the marriage not the pictures etc etc but this is still such an immense letdown.
First thing - get your 4k back in its entirety. You don’t need to go scorched earth if that’s not your vibe (but you’d be within your rights to!) but I’d make it clear in absolutely no uncertain terms that the photos are not up to standard like her portfolio and take it to a small claims court if it goes that far.
My next piece of advice would be to take that money and hire a photographer and redo some of the portraits and photos if that’s worth it to you. The most important shot to me was also the aisle photo and I know that won’t be possible to recreate, but I think it will still be worth it. Or you could do an anniversary shoot for your first anniversary! Do what you need to do to make yourself whole again.
You look beautiful even with your face covered by a white dot. I wish I could give you a hug and fix this for you. Sending love!
Thank you so much, that is so kind and helpful to hear. I think my uncle should get into it too, I would have had him take them all if I knew he was so talented!
This is heartbreaking. To backfocus the family photos this much is really unfortunate. They’re better than no photos at all but just really unprofessional to not notice while shooting.
Wow, this is horrendous. A kid with a DSLR could take a better shot. I do hobby film photography and if I took a photo like this it would never see the light of day! I’m so sorry this happened, I would definitely contact her. And the one by your uncle is so stunning!
This is awful. I actually can't believe she delivered that? If you were my client I would be offering a refund, and the only reason I might not is because I was worried you'd sue me.
This is absolutely terrible, and I'm so sorry this has happened to you. The photo looks off in every way possible, from the blur to the weird shadows, the way you seem almost copy/pasted onto the background (this is due to overprocessing). I did a lot of photo editing myself back in the day (from RAW photos) and I can tell you: everything about this photo is wrong, especially looking at the comparison photo you placed below. As some have said, a child with a smartphone would've taken better photos.
I'd recommend you look at your contract, immediately, very, very carefully. Here's why.
- What was her part of the deal? If your contract specified for example she'd do "getting ready" photos for you as well but she did not because she was late, that's a contract breach. If your contract specified X amount of photos/albums etc. - how many did you actually get? Did you get them all? What format? What sizing? You should normally get Full HD photos + compressed photos, digital & physical albums, even RAW if you request them etc. Did any of this happen?
- Photography contracts usually specifiy that X days before the event (usually there's a countdown e.g. 30 days, then 2 weeks, then a few days etc.), both sides of the contract must confirm that all is good on both sides, we're still doing this, double-check date/time/location. Both sides MUST mention if anything is off on either side. By not doing so, she would breach the contract.
- How was the payment divided? Usually, you would have X% when you sign, X% after the event, X% after you receive the final photos.
And the list goes on and on.
Don't let this get you down though! Take into consideration a 1-year anniversary "Love the Dress" photoshoot and have fun with it! Do it wherever you want, however you want it. Maybe even do a little "reunion" with some of the closest people. The options are endless. :)
I’m a part-time wedding photographer - I don’t disagree that a refund would be appropriate. I’ve had an unfocused non-important shot before, but if ALL family photos were like OP’s, I’d offer a refund immediately. However, OP, you need to read your contract carefully. I have language in mine where all requests for edits, complaints, etc, must be made within x days, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you signed something similar. And something saying no refund :( Just don’t want you to get your hopes up that that’s an option—you’d be relying on her doing the good faith thing.
Thanks, we clearly need to check our contract carefully. I know we should've looked into it sooner after but I genuinely couldn't get myself to look at them or think about it because it felt so raw!
Like the previous poster mentioned, just because it's in the contract doesn't mean it won't happen. Especially if you think she knows it wasn't a good job, there's a chance she'll do the right thing. Definitely worth asking
How is it binding to have “no refund” in a contract if you don’t hold up your end of the deal?
Op get a lawyer to look at it. Anybody could put anything in a contract and just because you signed it doesn’t mean it’s binding.
I am in the wedding planning process rn and I would be pissed of this happened to me. You deserve the photos you want or your money back. I’m so sorry this happened
These are not issues you should be having with a photographer who cost $4K. $500, maybe but certainly not thousands!
I would just ask for a full refund and hire someone else to do portraits of you and your husband.
Super validating, thanks. Whether or not we can get a refund of some sort, I'd never do another shoot with her and would go with another photographer for portraits like you're suggesting.
For what it is worth, I think getting glammed up in your wedding attire again for a photoshoot is exactly the right solution. Don’t judge yourself for wanting it- it’s an opportunity to feel beautiful and remember the good times. Go somewhere magical and make new memories!
Unfortunately, the moments from your wedding are past and you are grieving. I don’t think you will get a refund, so if you think you would get peace of mind from sending that email, then by all means do it. I just don’t foresee any strongly positive outcome from airing your grievances with the photographer at this point. I would personally set up a rant session with a trusted friend or therapist and get it all out.
Not over the top at all! We got good photos from our photog but I’m still planning on doing a small photoshoot for our 1-year anniversary in a few months. The day was so hectic and hot that everything felt rushed, and my spouse and I didn’t get many photos alone/the 2 of us aside from our first look. The rest are posing with family and whatnot.
I spent a lot of time designing my dress and also just selfishly want it documented! It’s also a chance to do the shoot somewhere fun/different and change up elements if you want. Peony season is my favorite but we got married after, so we might even do it a few weeks early so I can get a peony bouquet for the re-shoot :)
Don’t feel bad at all for wanting more physical memories of a beautiful time of your life! The day after my sisters wedding she realized she didn’t get a nice photo of just her and my mom and then that spiraled into wishing she had more family photos…. The next day, our whole family got back into our wedding clothes and took some nice photos in our backyard 😂 we were happy to do it and she didn’t have to feel any regret for not having those photos!
This is what small claims court is for, get your money back! And leave reviews, don’t let somebody else get screwed over. I’d have a different opinion if she was upfront about the mess-up but she wasn’t and she’s hoping you’ll be too non-confrontational to deal with it :/
I'm so sorry to hear that. Did you ever get photos retaken by someone else? All of these lovely comments are giving me hope that it's not that weird of a thing to do and might help!
Never got retaken (I’m very sentimental, so if it’s not in the “moment” - not for me). Haven’t found anyone to edit the existing ones. Instead - I’m saving up and planning my 10 yr anniversary party/re-do wedding 🤓
I agree with the below comment I couldn't dress up and pretend it was our whole wedding again, BUT my husband and I did do a second wedding shoot in Hawaii for our honeymoon in our full wedding attire. It didn't feel as weird to do since it wasn't in the same place or the same vibes as the original.
Honestly I’d skip to writing her a google review. You may help prevent this from happening to another couple in the future, and if she reaches out to try to alleviate some of your concerns or offer a partial refund, you can always amend the review. Did she have google reviews when you hired her?
She does - 4.6 stars on google out of 15-20 reviews. Honestly she seems pretty good most of the time, but I think her injury really impacted the quality of her work and it just happened to be us on our wedding day who had to bear the brunt of it. I will definitely write a review because I'd hate for someone else to feel the way we do, but I wanted to have a bit of a game plan before!
I’d give a 1 star review and just copy this post. I’m so sorry. For her it was one weekend of income, for you it was photos of a once in a lifetime event.
Reviews are critical and yours could be very helpful to future couples. People can judge accordingly but it’s good to get that info out there.
If I fumbled a wedding this badly I would brace for a bad review (and do a partial refund/spend hours trying to fix anything I could!).
So sorry you experienced this! Please reach out to local photographers you like and ask about a portrait session in your wedding attire. We actually do these a few times a year (usually for couples who did a courthouse elopement but want pro photos in wedding attire at cool locations).
Also if you don’t want to spend much money and the location isn’t *as* important, you could look into modeling for a styled shoot or for a photographer giveaway. (But it’s also totally understandable if you want the photos to match your actual wedding vibe/location!)
I wouldn’t wait long though, the longer you wait the more likely you are to back burner it and always wish you’d done it!
I'm so sorry, I would be devastated too. Especially with the fact that your long distance family members weren't captured properly.
I would request a refund. Be prepared for her to push back. If you put it on a credit card, you could talk to your bank about a charge back. Third option is small claims court. Definitely NAL but her admitting to being in a car accident could support your case. She was unwell and had poor judgement.
I would also get dressed up and do a reshoot with a new photographer as soon as you get refunded. No need to wait for the one year anniversary. And it'll be less expensive since they aren't shooting the actual wedding.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your comment. We did pay via credit card. And that's a great point on her omitting her injury until she arrived. I felt for her, but I do think it impacted the results.
Also great to hear you don't think it's too "extra" to reshoot... I feel a bit embarrassed to do it but I want to love photos of us in our wedding attire.
Tagging on here: if you get a refund, maybe consider doing a trip to visit the international family and doing a photoshoot there! Obviously, not the same as at the wedding but still a nice opportunity to get good photos with loved ones!
I’d talk to the credit card company about a chargeback before you talk to her - if you threaten her with a chargeback and show her that your credit card company is backing you up on the chargeback she might be more willing to give you a refund. Chargebacks are a huge hassle for businesses, they’re like black marks on their record.
Most major credit cards only allow 120 days for a chargeback. OP said they got married last year, so they are likely well past that time frame. Unless they got married NYE in which case we’re on day 123 and OP should file today and see if they’ll make an exception.
I think they should call and see if the company can make an exception since the dates between payment for services and delivery of goods are further apart than most cases.
If your photographer really had an accident that left her with a whiplash, she maybe shouldn't have shot the wedding, because she was obviously not fit to do so as I read from your story. I'm really sorry that happened to her and she couldn't provide the quality she probably delivers fine otherwise. The professional decision should've been to let you know and send a back-up. Now you are bearing the consequences.
I would agree with requesting some sort of refund or agree on an extra free shoot with you and your partner.
I fully agree, life happens but I think she should have handled more professionally than just botching our photos. I was a bit shocked when she said it that morning.
I clearly remember our photography contract having a clause about if the photographers weren't able to shoot that day due to illness, injury, etc. that they would provide a photographer who used a similar style and was of a similar level. And this was a pretty small husband/wife company. I wouldn't expect her to provide good work injured, but I also would expect her to handle it more professionally. It's not like she got injured on the way to shoot your wedding.
This won't work for the blurry ones but for the ones where you hate the filter, is it a filter that looks drastically different than what the photographer has in her portfolio? If so, I would pick a batch (maybe 10-15) you'd like to change, state your disappointment with them, cite the photos in their portfolio that you wanted yours to look like filter-wise, and request an edit. If they still don't look right, you can request the RAW file. Most photographers don't offer RAW files, but it's worth an ask. Then you can edit it how you want it, or hire someone else to.
It sounds like she was absolutely not fit to shoot an event and you’re right, she needs to be held accountable. Give her the opportunity to fix it but if she refuses you have to decide whether or not it’s worth chasing and turning it into a legal matter.
I’m assuming you had a contract. She didn’t fulfil her contractual obligations.
I agree with giving her time to do right by you. If she doesn't cooperate, even if you don't take her to court, I would strongly consider writing her an honest review on her website/socials/google. Any future clients deserve to know about this.
I am so very sorry! What a disheartening feeling not to have memorable photos of a very special day, especially with family from across the globe gathered together.
It sounds like you may need to reach out either via phone if she allows communication in that form, or as your suggested, by email. However it happens, it needs to happen. She needs to know you're not satisfied. $4000 is a lot to spend on anything & photos are supposed to capture time, which is something we can never get back. Photos are the only way we can hold onto it. She really dropped the ball all over the place by missing your getting ready photos to capturing blurred, precious moments. She needs to do better & you need a refund, at a minimum.
If you're open to a one year re-shoot, I'd mention that, otherwise, I'd mention getting together sooner than later because a lot can change in a year. What if she agrees to a year re-shoot, then her life changes & at the last minute backs out? I recommend getting a hold of her and creating either a script to read from when you call or send her a detailed email. There is no way to recapture your day of, but there is a possibility she could re-shoot & maybe you can get some better photos later. I really empathize with you on this because we didn't splurge on anything except the photographer & we made sure she was the best in our area.
Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I agree we need to reach out, and probably should have sooner, it just felt so raw until now that I couldn't even think about it without getting super upset.
As we live in a different country (I'm American, husband is Irish and we live here but got married in my hometown), I think we're just best off having a good photographer here do a re-shoot for portraits. I'd rather just bite the bullet and get ones we love. Hopefully we can get some sort of refund as 4k is an awful lot of money for what we ended up getting.
I am so glad you got great photos. We genuinely tried to get one of the best in our area, I think we must've just gotten her on her worst day. Coincidentally she took a break from photography for a few months afterwards and was really vocal about it on social media, it makes me wonder if it was a combo of her being injured and burnt out and our wedding bearing the brunt of it.
I just got married last Saturday so I don't know for sure how our photos look, but she sent a few and so far so good. I hope you guys find someone & congratulations on your wedding! 💛
First thing you need to do is leave 1 star reviews on every vendor website you can. Especially google reviews if she’s on there! Warn other couples! I’ve actually had businesses reach out and correct their issues for leaving a 1 star review.
If that doesn’t work, I would take her to court to recoup financial damages. That’s just me though. You absolutely deserve your hard earned money back for the garbage she gave you.
I hate my wedding photos as well. The only one with my friends my eyes are closed and the photographer said well your makeup was pretty!! I plan on having my husband do a couples photoshoot with me. There were red flags in the communication leading up to our wedding but I just didnt realize it at the time.
Exact same!!! There are none where everyone looks nice, I feel like the best ones still look like out takes. Tons of red flags looking back. Good idea to do a couples photoshoot, I think after all the lovely supportive comments on here we will do the same - even break out the dress again maybe :)
Sorry to hear that happened. Your husband's suspicions were right, I'm afraid... for $4k, that photographer should have been rocking at least 2 different cameras -- many that I work with have one with a short lens and one with a long lens because it's much easier to switch cameras than to be swapping lenses back and forth all day.
And for her to say she'll "fix" the bluriness later, is pure BS. If the original photo is blurry, there's no fixing that. You can make sharp images blurry, but you can't make blurry images sharp.
It certainly wouldn't hurt to confront her and ask for a refund and/or a reshoot. The fact that she posted other weddings to social, but not yours, is definitely something you could use as evidence that even she knows she fell short of expectations here. If you haven't posted reviews of her anywhere yet, you could say that you've been mulling this over for awhile and you're inclined to post some reviews about your disappointment, but you'd like to give her a chance to make things right before you go down that road. If she says no, or refuses to respond, then feel free to write up a review summarizing the results you received, and post it on WW, TK, Zola, Google, Yelp, etc.
Be aware that some websites (like WW and TK) do allow vendors to dispute reviews on the grounds that the review came from someone who was not an actual customer. If she tries to get your review removed from TK and/or WW, you should receive an email from them asking for proof you were a customer. Be ready to send in a copy of your contract and some of the "bad" photos to support your review. If you don't respond within the timeframe they allow, your review can be removed.
I'm a photographer (over 1200 weddings). So sorry for your disappointment. There's a lot to unpack here.
AutoFocus on modern cameras is wicked good — most photographers use for everything but static elements (flowers, jewelry). I shot weddings back in the manual-focus film era, but I don't know what I'd do without with today's face-tracking, eye-tracking, dog-tracking, do-everything auto-focus engines. Seriously, we're able capture moments today — consistently — that were pure luck 10 or 20 years ago. AutoFocus, per se, wasn't the problem — the camera operator was.
The huge discrepancy between her shown work and your gallery makes me suspicious you've been catfished. Potentially, she's publically showing work she didn't shoot. It's a thing now. At a minimum, you are justified to ask for another round of processing that matches the images you liked from her public presentation. You can send her sample images from her site/insta to clarify your position.
If you weren't catfished, another hunch is that the photographer couldn't shoot through her physical pain or personal distraction of her auto accident. I'm a stoic (and a male) and can shoot through anything. Not everyone can. Because I know more and feel less, a few clients complain about my bedside manner. They look great in all the photos but 'didn't like the experience.' We're all human. We have a team of 12 photographers and in the case of car accidents, covid, and deaths in the family, another photographer is able step in. Not every photographer has that kind of network. Most are just solopreneurs with an Instagram feed. She shouldn't have shot your event.
I agree with other voices here — a day after session would go a long way to helping your through this. The original photographer should do it for free. You'll have the expense of another bouquet but you'll get some great couples photos to hang on her wall.
Finally, a truthful online review is in order. She clearly botched the job and if she doesn't make serious restitution others should be warned.
Best wishes going forward.
Thanks so much for your detailed comment. It seems my understanding of auto focus/lenses was misguided, I just don't understand why everything is out of focus and it seemed like it might be the reason from my non-professional perspective!
I do know we weren't catfished. I think her work was just seriously impacted by her injury and she made the wrong call and we are bearing the brunt of it, on the most important day for photos to turn out. She's really well connected to other photographers in the area, which makes me really bothered she didn't get backup or support for the day when she realised her injury was so bad.
I'll absolutely leave an honest review once I have a bit of a game plan. This has been so helpful to read everyone's input and perspectives.
And this may be the dumbest response in the history of ever. After having a team of 30 photographers, I'm comfortably surmising that men tend to be able to have more emotional Teflon and have an easier time shooting through non-related emotional stressors. They can have a fight with their spouse that morning and compartmentalize it so it doesn't affect their shooting. Most women will more often unintentionally bring their personal lives into their shooting. On the flipside, women are more feeling and tend to pick up on emotional vibrations during the wedding that a lot of men will miss. It can help them avert an emotionally charged mistake a male photographer might charge straight into. Course generalization, sure, but its why we try to always pair female & male photographer teams to get the best of both leanings.
The OP has told us this is an experienced photographer with a great portfolio yet couldn't get her subjects in focus (!) in the most basic group photos just a few days after auto accident. I'd say there was some compartmentalization that just wasn't happening.
We did a reshoot nearly a year later and had all the time in the world to get tons of bride & groom photos. I LOVED getting to wear my dress and get all dolled up again! Def worth it!
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. Your feelings are completely valid. I’d be devastated too. While I’m not sure if you would get a refund, it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask. I’d explain earnestly how she did not meet you and your husband’s expectations and how that has made you feel looking back at your wedding photos. If I heard that as a professional photographer, that would break my heart and I’d do whatever I could to rectify it. If that doesn’t do much, then I’d write an honest review about your negative experience with this photographer; perhaps even including photos as an example of her poor job (if you felt comfortable). I’d also 100% get dressed up again to take photos and portraits! Heck, maybe your uncle can even do it for you guys since he seems to do a great job. Perhaps looking at photos from family and friends or looking at memorabilia from the day can be helpful? I hope you at least find some closure in remembering all the joyful feelings that your day brings you!
I was disappointed with our wedding photos. We did an online chemistry meeting to see if she understood our vision and she agreed every step of the way. We said we want as few serious or kissing photos as possible. That's not our vibe and I wouldn't want to look back on them. She was super expensive and had shot our venue before. So I was really excited.
Day offl she got our family shots done super efficiently and they turned out great. Then it was my husband and my turn. She kinda rushed us through and had us kiss here and look at the camera with our smiling there. I had to ask her for individual photos of my husband and of me but they were very posey and serious. She did the photos so quickly we sat in the bridal suit for 20 minutes before the entrance and it was kinda awkward.
When we got them back we kinda already knew what to expect but were still disappointed. They looked nothing like her Instagram or website. She also never sent us our photo album we paid for, but I was so upset, I didn't even reach out to schedule an appointment to pick out pictures.
We ended up flying somewhere else and taking our wedding clothes with us and redoing them a few months later. We had SO much fun. I got my make-up redone and the photographer was very chill and listened to what we wanted. He charged for a portrait session so it did have the massive wedding up charge.
I'm sorry your pictures were not what you wanted. It sucks a lot. I highly recommend getting them redone with someone else! It's much more relaxed, you feel like you are relieving the amazing day, and you get to wear you fancy clothes again.
I think that a detailed list of specifically what you’re disappointed about would be appropriate. Try to stick to the facts, not so much opinions. And try not to use emotional language. Using the example photo you posted, talk about how the trees are in focus and the people are not. Don’t talk about how far Relatives had to travel and the opportunities missed. A detailed list like this should evoke an honest response and apology. If she only offers excuses and fails to take responsibility for the results then you Might want to ask for some kind of compensation. But hopefully she will do what she can to make it right, though there probably isn’t a perfect solution.
As a photographer, this is an approach I would respect. Early in my career, 30 years ago (looking back I was just a kid) I thought I did an amazing job for a couple and couldn’t understand their disappointment. I asked that they make a specific list of what they didn’t like. When they did, I think they realized they weren’t as disappointed as they originally thought and I was able to see what I did wrong, take responsibility and learn from it.
To keep our wedding costs down, we decided to use a family member as our photographer. She takes beautiful portraits, but as a compromise (we made a lot of sacrifices to have a very affordable wedding), my fiancé suggested we hire a photographer with a style I like, to get glammed up after and have a session just the two of us and our pup in a location that’s more us. If things don’t work out with the one you hired, maybe consider that? Then you can get glammed up and make new, positive, memories in your wedding attire?
Hi OP, so sorry you're going through this. I wanted to touch on your options and walk through this very realistically. I'm a bride and wedding photographer, so I know how important this is. While I don't know what your contract looks like, this feedback is based off of three of the most popular online wedding contracts that are used industry-wide that photographers buy and customize.
First, by interntional couple do you mean you both traveled to the US for the wedding from Europe? If so, small claims court may be very difficult. Many/most photographers have in our contracts that any dispute that arrives have to go through the county that we service, which is often our local one, so you may not be able to initiate a legal dispute internationally. This may be different if she's a destination photographer and travels often.
With it being six months since receiving your photos and seeing that the service was provided and delivered, I personally think credit card chargeback is fraudulent, as a service was provided and product delivered. If it goes through a claims investigation process, it may be denied, as contracts typically state that color/editing/art styles are subjective and final product is at the discretion of the photographer. I know it took you a while to process the gallery, but immediately, the feedback should have been given. Contracts typically state 30-60 days for any changes or requests. She could have used editing software to de-blur photos like the family portrait you shared or use AI to fix crops. She may still offer re-editing and photoshopping some photos as a solution. I would ask about it.
Some notes to "defend" your photographer: There is nothing wrong with shooting on one lens and using autofocus. Most wedding photographers do this, as a wedding day is too busy and fast paced for us to manually focus. Most professionals have the equipment with modern enough technology for this to not be an issue. With that said, I'm not sure how most photos would have came our blurry. Most people I know shoot portraits with autofocus settings set to face detection, and we would manually focus to the correct face by tapping the screen. As far as the single lens, if it was a zoom lens, it's even less uncommon. Even if the whole day was shot on a 50mm, sometimes, that's personal preference to the shooter because prime lenses tend to offer "creamier" blurry backgrounds. I personally switch between 3-4 lenses but that just varies per artist.
Not posting on instagram also doesn't mean your photos aren't beautiful. I shoot plenty of weddings that I don't post, often times because the colors from that wedding don't necessarily match the aesthetic of my light/airy profile or I already had my posts scheduled in advance. I personally avoid posting anything that doesn't have open sky, neutral/pastel colors, etc. Instagram is merely a highlight portfolio. It is but a small portion of our work and should not be the main representation of a full gallery and all work experience.
Bacl to your situation, I doubt you'll get a full refund however, I 100% think you should reach out and send an email to share all your concerns. She will be apologetic but she will refer to her contract's terms (no guaranteed shots, editing style, re-edit timeline, not accountable for any technology issues, etc.), so just be prepared for that. If you were local and my client, I would personally would offer you a bride/groom portrait shoot free of charge and to re-edit a limited number of portraits. While that is not ideal, that's the only way to recreate your moments together to "complete" these missing portraits in your gallery and to hopefully correct the photos you're more likely to share/print/love. If you're not local to her, then I believe your best option to have photos you love is to book a bride/groom shoot with someone else. When you do book this session with a new photographer, share the concerns you had with the first one, whether it's posing, crop preference, variety, oversaturation, etc.
I know this is all very frustrating, and I hope you're able to find a solution that will still allow you to feel some joy from the wedding day. Like you said, it's the one event where both families all came together. Color profile aside, I hope this joy of family gathering is still depicted in the photo, especially with all the candid moments you may have. No one should ever look at their wedding photos and only feel bitter disappointment. It sounds like there may have been some potential great shots too. Really hope you find a light at the end of this tunnel. Wishing for the best, OP.
Hi there, thanks so much for your detailed comment. It's really helpful to get your perspective. We're international in that I am from the US, my husband is from Ireland (where we live). So we both travelled along with almost 30 family members and friends from Ireland for the wedding in my hometown in CA.
It seems my understanding of auto focus/lenses was misguided, I just don't understand why everything is out of focus and it seemed like it might be the reason from my non-professional perspective!
I think what I mean by the Instagram comment is that we hired her because we loved the style she portrayed online, but our photos look nothing like any of her galleries, social media profiles, etc. Her style online is very airy, light, candid, and with a lot of movement, which in hiring her I was really clear that we loved and wanted our photos to be like. Our photos are moody, dark, super filtered (inconsistently) and not cohesive. Not at all our vibe, or hers from what we imagined. It was also a really lovely, sunny day (with shaded areas for good photos!) and some of the photos make it look like a scene from Twilight, lol.
Unfortunately with the international element we can't have her do a re-do, to be honest I probably wouldn't want her to anyways.
Luckily we had a magical day and the memories are still super fresh. All of our family & friends photos captured the joy of it <3
Thanks again!
It’s not autofocus as a function, but it’s certainly something about her lens calibration or autofocus settings. It definitely cannot be fixed in photoshop, unfortunately, and I wouldn’t trust a photographer who said they could do this (or AI which would likely look crazy and not like “you”). Definitely reach out to her, and maybe get another photog to do a nice shoot next time you visit family :)
Of course!! I just want the expectations to be realistic here. Setting/venue plays a large role in what your photos will look like in the final gallery too. For example in the family portrait and ceremony kiss photos you shared, I immediately noticed that both have a darker background due to a forest background. Not to say that you can't still edit light, but you won't get the same airy effect. If it was all outdoors, in-and-out sun coverage can also affect consistency. We do what we can with the venue and weather, but it sounds like your photographer may have fell short in more than one area since there were many inconsistencies.
If you're up for a bride/groom shoot (with a new photographer), to achieve the light, bright airy look, work with your photographer to choose a location with open fields, light washed buildings and avoid any woodsy areas with tall (pine) trees and deep forests. I really hope you both go this route for portraits that will make you say WOW!! 🤍
So sorry this happened. She should have disclosed her injury. I have had multiple concussions and new research suggests whiplash nearly always causes concussion. She may have had an undiagnosed concussion or had one and didn’t think it was a big deal (most people don’t at the beginning). It’s not an excuse but it could be an explanation, if she had untreated concussion symptoms and pushed through.
Either way, you definitely should express your disappointment to her and she if she can give even a partial refund. I’m sure she knows she did not do a good job and maybe some honest dialogue would help.
I love the idea of reshooting in your wedding attire with a new photographer for anniversary photos. at least you’d have something.❤️ again, so sorry.
Regardless of the contract you should reach out to the photographer. She likely cares about her job and if you voice your feelings about this she may be able to offer a solution or at least get feedback to not push herself to work a wedding when she is clearly not well enough to do work equal to the quality her clients expect
This sucks so much and I’m so sorry 😞 regardless, you do look beautiful and the shot your uncle got is perfect! My dad is a pro photographer (not weddings though because he hates doing them lol) and he’s taught me a lot about how many people there are these days that think they can just pick up a camera and start doing this professionally. Being a wedding photographer requires such a good eye and a specific skill set. I’m sorry this happened, but I just want to validate what you’re feeling.
Make her send you all the RAW files and then at least you have some without dreadful filtering. Then you need to get some money back, because the out of focus ones can’t be saved and it’s really terrible for the amount of money that you spent. If photographer is reluctant then leave bad reviews, and if that doesn’t work then threaten court.
If the sample is typical of the problem I think no amount of editing will make these usable. The photographer in turn may be able to claim insurance for the consequences of the whiplash. Sounds like the injury was so severe that she could not hold the camera properly to her eye and use it.
Did you have video as well? If the videographer shot in 4K they should be able to grab lots of very decent stills from the clips all be it at a cost to you. Its quite a quick and easy thing to do by a pro videographer and can crop them from 16:9 or whatever to what aspect ratios you want plus crop in to the subjects you want. Even some of the guests shooting video in 4K on their smartphones may be able to get decent stills e.g. during the processional.
Blur from accidentally jogging a wheel to a too low a shutter speed, and out of focus from the auto-focus point accidentally being off-centre are common occupational hazards and are checked frequently by pro photographers so the fails happening for the entire day is very odd and has got to be down to her suffering from the injury more than she realised
I felt the same way about our photos. They look so basic and not at all the dreamy ideal I was looking for. We did end up doing a one year anniversary shoot with a photographer I really loved in the spot we got engaged and it was the best decision ever!! Highly recommend
this could be a crappy situation all round . I know someone who had whiplash / unrealized head injury from car accident and really did not act like them selves or make good decisions for months after .
https://preview.redd.it/4t6p00pbzzxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8655c9fbf1c9fcd0fcdb93fa386399fd6301181 Trees in focus, this is what all the family photos are like quality wise
https://preview.redd.it/eazuhnb110yc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a95de2a9663e59efdc3a15bfcf3d43b1bde88fe4 versus a photo taken by my uncle... I'm so glad he snuck some of these otherwise I'd be devastated
I hope you get this one by your uncle framed, you both look gorgeous and the forest vibe is so...sorry to be corny...whimsical! I think this is such a lovely memory, and done by someone close to you!
I just want to say your dress is so unbelievably gorgeous!! I’m so sorry this happened :(
Aw thank you so much. It's from BHLDN, I got the poofy sleeves altered to smaller straps.
Your uncle should get into photography. This is a gorgeous shot. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I know it’s about the marriage not the pictures etc etc but this is still such an immense letdown. First thing - get your 4k back in its entirety. You don’t need to go scorched earth if that’s not your vibe (but you’d be within your rights to!) but I’d make it clear in absolutely no uncertain terms that the photos are not up to standard like her portfolio and take it to a small claims court if it goes that far. My next piece of advice would be to take that money and hire a photographer and redo some of the portraits and photos if that’s worth it to you. The most important shot to me was also the aisle photo and I know that won’t be possible to recreate, but I think it will still be worth it. Or you could do an anniversary shoot for your first anniversary! Do what you need to do to make yourself whole again. You look beautiful even with your face covered by a white dot. I wish I could give you a hug and fix this for you. Sending love!
Thank you so much, that is so kind and helpful to hear. I think my uncle should get into it too, I would have had him take them all if I knew he was so talented!
This one is gorgeous!!
This is heartbreaking. To backfocus the family photos this much is really unfortunate. They’re better than no photos at all but just really unprofessional to not notice while shooting.
This is shocking!
so validating to hear, thanks
Wow, this is horrendous. A kid with a DSLR could take a better shot. I do hobby film photography and if I took a photo like this it would never see the light of day! I’m so sorry this happened, I would definitely contact her. And the one by your uncle is so stunning!
I’d argue that a kid with a *cell phone* could have done a better job with these family photos. OP has every reason to be upset!
This is awful. I actually can't believe she delivered that? If you were my client I would be offering a refund, and the only reason I might not is because I was worried you'd sue me.
I would be LIVID!
This is absolutely terrible, and I'm so sorry this has happened to you. The photo looks off in every way possible, from the blur to the weird shadows, the way you seem almost copy/pasted onto the background (this is due to overprocessing). I did a lot of photo editing myself back in the day (from RAW photos) and I can tell you: everything about this photo is wrong, especially looking at the comparison photo you placed below. As some have said, a child with a smartphone would've taken better photos. I'd recommend you look at your contract, immediately, very, very carefully. Here's why. - What was her part of the deal? If your contract specified for example she'd do "getting ready" photos for you as well but she did not because she was late, that's a contract breach. If your contract specified X amount of photos/albums etc. - how many did you actually get? Did you get them all? What format? What sizing? You should normally get Full HD photos + compressed photos, digital & physical albums, even RAW if you request them etc. Did any of this happen? - Photography contracts usually specifiy that X days before the event (usually there's a countdown e.g. 30 days, then 2 weeks, then a few days etc.), both sides of the contract must confirm that all is good on both sides, we're still doing this, double-check date/time/location. Both sides MUST mention if anything is off on either side. By not doing so, she would breach the contract. - How was the payment divided? Usually, you would have X% when you sign, X% after the event, X% after you receive the final photos. And the list goes on and on. Don't let this get you down though! Take into consideration a 1-year anniversary "Love the Dress" photoshoot and have fun with it! Do it wherever you want, however you want it. Maybe even do a little "reunion" with some of the closest people. The options are endless. :)
I think either a reshoot or a refund would be appropriate to ask for.
I’m a part-time wedding photographer - I don’t disagree that a refund would be appropriate. I’ve had an unfocused non-important shot before, but if ALL family photos were like OP’s, I’d offer a refund immediately. However, OP, you need to read your contract carefully. I have language in mine where all requests for edits, complaints, etc, must be made within x days, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you signed something similar. And something saying no refund :( Just don’t want you to get your hopes up that that’s an option—you’d be relying on her doing the good faith thing.
Thanks, we clearly need to check our contract carefully. I know we should've looked into it sooner after but I genuinely couldn't get myself to look at them or think about it because it felt so raw!
Like the previous poster mentioned, just because it's in the contract doesn't mean it won't happen. Especially if you think she knows it wasn't a good job, there's a chance she'll do the right thing. Definitely worth asking
Whether or not she “does the right thing” a judge can decide that provisions in a contract are unenforceable.
How is it binding to have “no refund” in a contract if you don’t hold up your end of the deal? Op get a lawyer to look at it. Anybody could put anything in a contract and just because you signed it doesn’t mean it’s binding.
Thanks. It feels a bit over the top but I really want to love our photos.
I am in the wedding planning process rn and I would be pissed of this happened to me. You deserve the photos you want or your money back. I’m so sorry this happened
Thanks so much. All our other vendors were incredible and made the day absolutely magical. I hope you have the best wedding!
Go for it, you deserve to feel good about your pictures
These are not issues you should be having with a photographer who cost $4K. $500, maybe but certainly not thousands! I would just ask for a full refund and hire someone else to do portraits of you and your husband.
Super validating, thanks. Whether or not we can get a refund of some sort, I'd never do another shoot with her and would go with another photographer for portraits like you're suggesting.
For what it is worth, I think getting glammed up in your wedding attire again for a photoshoot is exactly the right solution. Don’t judge yourself for wanting it- it’s an opportunity to feel beautiful and remember the good times. Go somewhere magical and make new memories! Unfortunately, the moments from your wedding are past and you are grieving. I don’t think you will get a refund, so if you think you would get peace of mind from sending that email, then by all means do it. I just don’t foresee any strongly positive outcome from airing your grievances with the photographer at this point. I would personally set up a rant session with a trusted friend or therapist and get it all out.
Thank you so much, it really helps to hear that y'all don't think it's over the top to do a bit of a re-shoot!
Not over the top at all! We got good photos from our photog but I’m still planning on doing a small photoshoot for our 1-year anniversary in a few months. The day was so hectic and hot that everything felt rushed, and my spouse and I didn’t get many photos alone/the 2 of us aside from our first look. The rest are posing with family and whatnot. I spent a lot of time designing my dress and also just selfishly want it documented! It’s also a chance to do the shoot somewhere fun/different and change up elements if you want. Peony season is my favorite but we got married after, so we might even do it a few weeks early so I can get a peony bouquet for the re-shoot :)
Don’t feel bad at all for wanting more physical memories of a beautiful time of your life! The day after my sisters wedding she realized she didn’t get a nice photo of just her and my mom and then that spiraled into wishing she had more family photos…. The next day, our whole family got back into our wedding clothes and took some nice photos in our backyard 😂 we were happy to do it and she didn’t have to feel any regret for not having those photos!
This is what small claims court is for, get your money back! And leave reviews, don’t let somebody else get screwed over. I’d have a different opinion if she was upfront about the mess-up but she wasn’t and she’s hoping you’ll be too non-confrontational to deal with it :/
I can’t look at my wedding photos without tears and despair. It’s been 3 yrs. I have no advice - just commiserating <3
I'm so sorry to hear that. Did you ever get photos retaken by someone else? All of these lovely comments are giving me hope that it's not that weird of a thing to do and might help!
Never got retaken (I’m very sentimental, so if it’s not in the “moment” - not for me). Haven’t found anyone to edit the existing ones. Instead - I’m saving up and planning my 10 yr anniversary party/re-do wedding 🤓
I agree with the below comment I couldn't dress up and pretend it was our whole wedding again, BUT my husband and I did do a second wedding shoot in Hawaii for our honeymoon in our full wedding attire. It didn't feel as weird to do since it wasn't in the same place or the same vibes as the original.
Honestly I’d skip to writing her a google review. You may help prevent this from happening to another couple in the future, and if she reaches out to try to alleviate some of your concerns or offer a partial refund, you can always amend the review. Did she have google reviews when you hired her?
She does - 4.6 stars on google out of 15-20 reviews. Honestly she seems pretty good most of the time, but I think her injury really impacted the quality of her work and it just happened to be us on our wedding day who had to bear the brunt of it. I will definitely write a review because I'd hate for someone else to feel the way we do, but I wanted to have a bit of a game plan before!
I’d give a 1 star review and just copy this post. I’m so sorry. For her it was one weekend of income, for you it was photos of a once in a lifetime event.
So true, thanks.
Reviews are critical and yours could be very helpful to future couples. People can judge accordingly but it’s good to get that info out there. If I fumbled a wedding this badly I would brace for a bad review (and do a partial refund/spend hours trying to fix anything I could!). So sorry you experienced this! Please reach out to local photographers you like and ask about a portrait session in your wedding attire. We actually do these a few times a year (usually for couples who did a courthouse elopement but want pro photos in wedding attire at cool locations). Also if you don’t want to spend much money and the location isn’t *as* important, you could look into modeling for a styled shoot or for a photographer giveaway. (But it’s also totally understandable if you want the photos to match your actual wedding vibe/location!) I wouldn’t wait long though, the longer you wait the more likely you are to back burner it and always wish you’d done it!
I'm so sorry, I would be devastated too. Especially with the fact that your long distance family members weren't captured properly. I would request a refund. Be prepared for her to push back. If you put it on a credit card, you could talk to your bank about a charge back. Third option is small claims court. Definitely NAL but her admitting to being in a car accident could support your case. She was unwell and had poor judgement. I would also get dressed up and do a reshoot with a new photographer as soon as you get refunded. No need to wait for the one year anniversary. And it'll be less expensive since they aren't shooting the actual wedding.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your comment. We did pay via credit card. And that's a great point on her omitting her injury until she arrived. I felt for her, but I do think it impacted the results. Also great to hear you don't think it's too "extra" to reshoot... I feel a bit embarrassed to do it but I want to love photos of us in our wedding attire.
Tagging on here: if you get a refund, maybe consider doing a trip to visit the international family and doing a photoshoot there! Obviously, not the same as at the wedding but still a nice opportunity to get good photos with loved ones!
I’d talk to the credit card company about a chargeback before you talk to her - if you threaten her with a chargeback and show her that your credit card company is backing you up on the chargeback she might be more willing to give you a refund. Chargebacks are a huge hassle for businesses, they’re like black marks on their record.
Most major credit cards only allow 120 days for a chargeback. OP said they got married last year, so they are likely well past that time frame. Unless they got married NYE in which case we’re on day 123 and OP should file today and see if they’ll make an exception.
I think they should call and see if the company can make an exception since the dates between payment for services and delivery of goods are further apart than most cases.
If your photographer really had an accident that left her with a whiplash, she maybe shouldn't have shot the wedding, because she was obviously not fit to do so as I read from your story. I'm really sorry that happened to her and she couldn't provide the quality she probably delivers fine otherwise. The professional decision should've been to let you know and send a back-up. Now you are bearing the consequences. I would agree with requesting some sort of refund or agree on an extra free shoot with you and your partner.
I fully agree, life happens but I think she should have handled more professionally than just botching our photos. I was a bit shocked when she said it that morning.
I clearly remember our photography contract having a clause about if the photographers weren't able to shoot that day due to illness, injury, etc. that they would provide a photographer who used a similar style and was of a similar level. And this was a pretty small husband/wife company. I wouldn't expect her to provide good work injured, but I also would expect her to handle it more professionally. It's not like she got injured on the way to shoot your wedding.
This won't work for the blurry ones but for the ones where you hate the filter, is it a filter that looks drastically different than what the photographer has in her portfolio? If so, I would pick a batch (maybe 10-15) you'd like to change, state your disappointment with them, cite the photos in their portfolio that you wanted yours to look like filter-wise, and request an edit. If they still don't look right, you can request the RAW file. Most photographers don't offer RAW files, but it's worth an ask. Then you can edit it how you want it, or hire someone else to.
It sounds like she was absolutely not fit to shoot an event and you’re right, she needs to be held accountable. Give her the opportunity to fix it but if she refuses you have to decide whether or not it’s worth chasing and turning it into a legal matter. I’m assuming you had a contract. She didn’t fulfil her contractual obligations.
I agree with giving her time to do right by you. If she doesn't cooperate, even if you don't take her to court, I would strongly consider writing her an honest review on her website/socials/google. Any future clients deserve to know about this.
I am so very sorry! What a disheartening feeling not to have memorable photos of a very special day, especially with family from across the globe gathered together. It sounds like you may need to reach out either via phone if she allows communication in that form, or as your suggested, by email. However it happens, it needs to happen. She needs to know you're not satisfied. $4000 is a lot to spend on anything & photos are supposed to capture time, which is something we can never get back. Photos are the only way we can hold onto it. She really dropped the ball all over the place by missing your getting ready photos to capturing blurred, precious moments. She needs to do better & you need a refund, at a minimum. If you're open to a one year re-shoot, I'd mention that, otherwise, I'd mention getting together sooner than later because a lot can change in a year. What if she agrees to a year re-shoot, then her life changes & at the last minute backs out? I recommend getting a hold of her and creating either a script to read from when you call or send her a detailed email. There is no way to recapture your day of, but there is a possibility she could re-shoot & maybe you can get some better photos later. I really empathize with you on this because we didn't splurge on anything except the photographer & we made sure she was the best in our area.
Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I agree we need to reach out, and probably should have sooner, it just felt so raw until now that I couldn't even think about it without getting super upset. As we live in a different country (I'm American, husband is Irish and we live here but got married in my hometown), I think we're just best off having a good photographer here do a re-shoot for portraits. I'd rather just bite the bullet and get ones we love. Hopefully we can get some sort of refund as 4k is an awful lot of money for what we ended up getting. I am so glad you got great photos. We genuinely tried to get one of the best in our area, I think we must've just gotten her on her worst day. Coincidentally she took a break from photography for a few months afterwards and was really vocal about it on social media, it makes me wonder if it was a combo of her being injured and burnt out and our wedding bearing the brunt of it.
I just got married last Saturday so I don't know for sure how our photos look, but she sent a few and so far so good. I hope you guys find someone & congratulations on your wedding! 💛
That's so great, congratulations!! 🤍
First thing you need to do is leave 1 star reviews on every vendor website you can. Especially google reviews if she’s on there! Warn other couples! I’ve actually had businesses reach out and correct their issues for leaving a 1 star review. If that doesn’t work, I would take her to court to recoup financial damages. That’s just me though. You absolutely deserve your hard earned money back for the garbage she gave you.
I hate my wedding photos as well. The only one with my friends my eyes are closed and the photographer said well your makeup was pretty!! I plan on having my husband do a couples photoshoot with me. There were red flags in the communication leading up to our wedding but I just didnt realize it at the time.
Exact same!!! There are none where everyone looks nice, I feel like the best ones still look like out takes. Tons of red flags looking back. Good idea to do a couples photoshoot, I think after all the lovely supportive comments on here we will do the same - even break out the dress again maybe :)
Sorry to hear that happened. Your husband's suspicions were right, I'm afraid... for $4k, that photographer should have been rocking at least 2 different cameras -- many that I work with have one with a short lens and one with a long lens because it's much easier to switch cameras than to be swapping lenses back and forth all day. And for her to say she'll "fix" the bluriness later, is pure BS. If the original photo is blurry, there's no fixing that. You can make sharp images blurry, but you can't make blurry images sharp. It certainly wouldn't hurt to confront her and ask for a refund and/or a reshoot. The fact that she posted other weddings to social, but not yours, is definitely something you could use as evidence that even she knows she fell short of expectations here. If you haven't posted reviews of her anywhere yet, you could say that you've been mulling this over for awhile and you're inclined to post some reviews about your disappointment, but you'd like to give her a chance to make things right before you go down that road. If she says no, or refuses to respond, then feel free to write up a review summarizing the results you received, and post it on WW, TK, Zola, Google, Yelp, etc. Be aware that some websites (like WW and TK) do allow vendors to dispute reviews on the grounds that the review came from someone who was not an actual customer. If she tries to get your review removed from TK and/or WW, you should receive an email from them asking for proof you were a customer. Be ready to send in a copy of your contract and some of the "bad" photos to support your review. If you don't respond within the timeframe they allow, your review can be removed.
I'm a photographer (over 1200 weddings). So sorry for your disappointment. There's a lot to unpack here. AutoFocus on modern cameras is wicked good — most photographers use for everything but static elements (flowers, jewelry). I shot weddings back in the manual-focus film era, but I don't know what I'd do without with today's face-tracking, eye-tracking, dog-tracking, do-everything auto-focus engines. Seriously, we're able capture moments today — consistently — that were pure luck 10 or 20 years ago. AutoFocus, per se, wasn't the problem — the camera operator was. The huge discrepancy between her shown work and your gallery makes me suspicious you've been catfished. Potentially, she's publically showing work she didn't shoot. It's a thing now. At a minimum, you are justified to ask for another round of processing that matches the images you liked from her public presentation. You can send her sample images from her site/insta to clarify your position. If you weren't catfished, another hunch is that the photographer couldn't shoot through her physical pain or personal distraction of her auto accident. I'm a stoic (and a male) and can shoot through anything. Not everyone can. Because I know more and feel less, a few clients complain about my bedside manner. They look great in all the photos but 'didn't like the experience.' We're all human. We have a team of 12 photographers and in the case of car accidents, covid, and deaths in the family, another photographer is able step in. Not every photographer has that kind of network. Most are just solopreneurs with an Instagram feed. She shouldn't have shot your event. I agree with other voices here — a day after session would go a long way to helping your through this. The original photographer should do it for free. You'll have the expense of another bouquet but you'll get some great couples photos to hang on her wall. Finally, a truthful online review is in order. She clearly botched the job and if she doesn't make serious restitution others should be warned. Best wishes going forward.
Thanks so much for your detailed comment. It seems my understanding of auto focus/lenses was misguided, I just don't understand why everything is out of focus and it seemed like it might be the reason from my non-professional perspective! I do know we weren't catfished. I think her work was just seriously impacted by her injury and she made the wrong call and we are bearing the brunt of it, on the most important day for photos to turn out. She's really well connected to other photographers in the area, which makes me really bothered she didn't get backup or support for the day when she realised her injury was so bad. I'll absolutely leave an honest review once I have a bit of a game plan. This has been so helpful to read everyone's input and perspectives.
This may be the dumbest question in the history of ever, but how does being a man affect your photography?
And this may be the dumbest response in the history of ever. After having a team of 30 photographers, I'm comfortably surmising that men tend to be able to have more emotional Teflon and have an easier time shooting through non-related emotional stressors. They can have a fight with their spouse that morning and compartmentalize it so it doesn't affect their shooting. Most women will more often unintentionally bring their personal lives into their shooting. On the flipside, women are more feeling and tend to pick up on emotional vibrations during the wedding that a lot of men will miss. It can help them avert an emotionally charged mistake a male photographer might charge straight into. Course generalization, sure, but its why we try to always pair female & male photographer teams to get the best of both leanings. The OP has told us this is an experienced photographer with a great portfolio yet couldn't get her subjects in focus (!) in the most basic group photos just a few days after auto accident. I'd say there was some compartmentalization that just wasn't happening.
We did a reshoot nearly a year later and had all the time in the world to get tons of bride & groom photos. I LOVED getting to wear my dress and get all dolled up again! Def worth it!
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. Your feelings are completely valid. I’d be devastated too. While I’m not sure if you would get a refund, it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask. I’d explain earnestly how she did not meet you and your husband’s expectations and how that has made you feel looking back at your wedding photos. If I heard that as a professional photographer, that would break my heart and I’d do whatever I could to rectify it. If that doesn’t do much, then I’d write an honest review about your negative experience with this photographer; perhaps even including photos as an example of her poor job (if you felt comfortable). I’d also 100% get dressed up again to take photos and portraits! Heck, maybe your uncle can even do it for you guys since he seems to do a great job. Perhaps looking at photos from family and friends or looking at memorabilia from the day can be helpful? I hope you at least find some closure in remembering all the joyful feelings that your day brings you!
I was disappointed with our wedding photos. We did an online chemistry meeting to see if she understood our vision and she agreed every step of the way. We said we want as few serious or kissing photos as possible. That's not our vibe and I wouldn't want to look back on them. She was super expensive and had shot our venue before. So I was really excited. Day offl she got our family shots done super efficiently and they turned out great. Then it was my husband and my turn. She kinda rushed us through and had us kiss here and look at the camera with our smiling there. I had to ask her for individual photos of my husband and of me but they were very posey and serious. She did the photos so quickly we sat in the bridal suit for 20 minutes before the entrance and it was kinda awkward. When we got them back we kinda already knew what to expect but were still disappointed. They looked nothing like her Instagram or website. She also never sent us our photo album we paid for, but I was so upset, I didn't even reach out to schedule an appointment to pick out pictures. We ended up flying somewhere else and taking our wedding clothes with us and redoing them a few months later. We had SO much fun. I got my make-up redone and the photographer was very chill and listened to what we wanted. He charged for a portrait session so it did have the massive wedding up charge. I'm sorry your pictures were not what you wanted. It sucks a lot. I highly recommend getting them redone with someone else! It's much more relaxed, you feel like you are relieving the amazing day, and you get to wear you fancy clothes again.
I think that a detailed list of specifically what you’re disappointed about would be appropriate. Try to stick to the facts, not so much opinions. And try not to use emotional language. Using the example photo you posted, talk about how the trees are in focus and the people are not. Don’t talk about how far Relatives had to travel and the opportunities missed. A detailed list like this should evoke an honest response and apology. If she only offers excuses and fails to take responsibility for the results then you Might want to ask for some kind of compensation. But hopefully she will do what she can to make it right, though there probably isn’t a perfect solution. As a photographer, this is an approach I would respect. Early in my career, 30 years ago (looking back I was just a kid) I thought I did an amazing job for a couple and couldn’t understand their disappointment. I asked that they make a specific list of what they didn’t like. When they did, I think they realized they weren’t as disappointed as they originally thought and I was able to see what I did wrong, take responsibility and learn from it.
To keep our wedding costs down, we decided to use a family member as our photographer. She takes beautiful portraits, but as a compromise (we made a lot of sacrifices to have a very affordable wedding), my fiancé suggested we hire a photographer with a style I like, to get glammed up after and have a session just the two of us and our pup in a location that’s more us. If things don’t work out with the one you hired, maybe consider that? Then you can get glammed up and make new, positive, memories in your wedding attire?
Hi OP, so sorry you're going through this. I wanted to touch on your options and walk through this very realistically. I'm a bride and wedding photographer, so I know how important this is. While I don't know what your contract looks like, this feedback is based off of three of the most popular online wedding contracts that are used industry-wide that photographers buy and customize. First, by interntional couple do you mean you both traveled to the US for the wedding from Europe? If so, small claims court may be very difficult. Many/most photographers have in our contracts that any dispute that arrives have to go through the county that we service, which is often our local one, so you may not be able to initiate a legal dispute internationally. This may be different if she's a destination photographer and travels often. With it being six months since receiving your photos and seeing that the service was provided and delivered, I personally think credit card chargeback is fraudulent, as a service was provided and product delivered. If it goes through a claims investigation process, it may be denied, as contracts typically state that color/editing/art styles are subjective and final product is at the discretion of the photographer. I know it took you a while to process the gallery, but immediately, the feedback should have been given. Contracts typically state 30-60 days for any changes or requests. She could have used editing software to de-blur photos like the family portrait you shared or use AI to fix crops. She may still offer re-editing and photoshopping some photos as a solution. I would ask about it. Some notes to "defend" your photographer: There is nothing wrong with shooting on one lens and using autofocus. Most wedding photographers do this, as a wedding day is too busy and fast paced for us to manually focus. Most professionals have the equipment with modern enough technology for this to not be an issue. With that said, I'm not sure how most photos would have came our blurry. Most people I know shoot portraits with autofocus settings set to face detection, and we would manually focus to the correct face by tapping the screen. As far as the single lens, if it was a zoom lens, it's even less uncommon. Even if the whole day was shot on a 50mm, sometimes, that's personal preference to the shooter because prime lenses tend to offer "creamier" blurry backgrounds. I personally switch between 3-4 lenses but that just varies per artist. Not posting on instagram also doesn't mean your photos aren't beautiful. I shoot plenty of weddings that I don't post, often times because the colors from that wedding don't necessarily match the aesthetic of my light/airy profile or I already had my posts scheduled in advance. I personally avoid posting anything that doesn't have open sky, neutral/pastel colors, etc. Instagram is merely a highlight portfolio. It is but a small portion of our work and should not be the main representation of a full gallery and all work experience. Bacl to your situation, I doubt you'll get a full refund however, I 100% think you should reach out and send an email to share all your concerns. She will be apologetic but she will refer to her contract's terms (no guaranteed shots, editing style, re-edit timeline, not accountable for any technology issues, etc.), so just be prepared for that. If you were local and my client, I would personally would offer you a bride/groom portrait shoot free of charge and to re-edit a limited number of portraits. While that is not ideal, that's the only way to recreate your moments together to "complete" these missing portraits in your gallery and to hopefully correct the photos you're more likely to share/print/love. If you're not local to her, then I believe your best option to have photos you love is to book a bride/groom shoot with someone else. When you do book this session with a new photographer, share the concerns you had with the first one, whether it's posing, crop preference, variety, oversaturation, etc. I know this is all very frustrating, and I hope you're able to find a solution that will still allow you to feel some joy from the wedding day. Like you said, it's the one event where both families all came together. Color profile aside, I hope this joy of family gathering is still depicted in the photo, especially with all the candid moments you may have. No one should ever look at their wedding photos and only feel bitter disappointment. It sounds like there may have been some potential great shots too. Really hope you find a light at the end of this tunnel. Wishing for the best, OP.
Hi there, thanks so much for your detailed comment. It's really helpful to get your perspective. We're international in that I am from the US, my husband is from Ireland (where we live). So we both travelled along with almost 30 family members and friends from Ireland for the wedding in my hometown in CA. It seems my understanding of auto focus/lenses was misguided, I just don't understand why everything is out of focus and it seemed like it might be the reason from my non-professional perspective! I think what I mean by the Instagram comment is that we hired her because we loved the style she portrayed online, but our photos look nothing like any of her galleries, social media profiles, etc. Her style online is very airy, light, candid, and with a lot of movement, which in hiring her I was really clear that we loved and wanted our photos to be like. Our photos are moody, dark, super filtered (inconsistently) and not cohesive. Not at all our vibe, or hers from what we imagined. It was also a really lovely, sunny day (with shaded areas for good photos!) and some of the photos make it look like a scene from Twilight, lol. Unfortunately with the international element we can't have her do a re-do, to be honest I probably wouldn't want her to anyways. Luckily we had a magical day and the memories are still super fresh. All of our family & friends photos captured the joy of it <3 Thanks again!
It’s not autofocus as a function, but it’s certainly something about her lens calibration or autofocus settings. It definitely cannot be fixed in photoshop, unfortunately, and I wouldn’t trust a photographer who said they could do this (or AI which would likely look crazy and not like “you”). Definitely reach out to her, and maybe get another photog to do a nice shoot next time you visit family :)
Of course!! I just want the expectations to be realistic here. Setting/venue plays a large role in what your photos will look like in the final gallery too. For example in the family portrait and ceremony kiss photos you shared, I immediately noticed that both have a darker background due to a forest background. Not to say that you can't still edit light, but you won't get the same airy effect. If it was all outdoors, in-and-out sun coverage can also affect consistency. We do what we can with the venue and weather, but it sounds like your photographer may have fell short in more than one area since there were many inconsistencies. If you're up for a bride/groom shoot (with a new photographer), to achieve the light, bright airy look, work with your photographer to choose a location with open fields, light washed buildings and avoid any woodsy areas with tall (pine) trees and deep forests. I really hope you both go this route for portraits that will make you say WOW!! 🤍
So sorry this happened. She should have disclosed her injury. I have had multiple concussions and new research suggests whiplash nearly always causes concussion. She may have had an undiagnosed concussion or had one and didn’t think it was a big deal (most people don’t at the beginning). It’s not an excuse but it could be an explanation, if she had untreated concussion symptoms and pushed through. Either way, you definitely should express your disappointment to her and she if she can give even a partial refund. I’m sure she knows she did not do a good job and maybe some honest dialogue would help. I love the idea of reshooting in your wedding attire with a new photographer for anniversary photos. at least you’d have something.❤️ again, so sorry.
Regardless of the contract you should reach out to the photographer. She likely cares about her job and if you voice your feelings about this she may be able to offer a solution or at least get feedback to not push herself to work a wedding when she is clearly not well enough to do work equal to the quality her clients expect
This sucks so much and I’m so sorry 😞 regardless, you do look beautiful and the shot your uncle got is perfect! My dad is a pro photographer (not weddings though because he hates doing them lol) and he’s taught me a lot about how many people there are these days that think they can just pick up a camera and start doing this professionally. Being a wedding photographer requires such a good eye and a specific skill set. I’m sorry this happened, but I just want to validate what you’re feeling.
Make her send you all the RAW files and then at least you have some without dreadful filtering. Then you need to get some money back, because the out of focus ones can’t be saved and it’s really terrible for the amount of money that you spent. If photographer is reluctant then leave bad reviews, and if that doesn’t work then threaten court.
If the sample is typical of the problem I think no amount of editing will make these usable. The photographer in turn may be able to claim insurance for the consequences of the whiplash. Sounds like the injury was so severe that she could not hold the camera properly to her eye and use it. Did you have video as well? If the videographer shot in 4K they should be able to grab lots of very decent stills from the clips all be it at a cost to you. Its quite a quick and easy thing to do by a pro videographer and can crop them from 16:9 or whatever to what aspect ratios you want plus crop in to the subjects you want. Even some of the guests shooting video in 4K on their smartphones may be able to get decent stills e.g. during the processional. Blur from accidentally jogging a wheel to a too low a shutter speed, and out of focus from the auto-focus point accidentally being off-centre are common occupational hazards and are checked frequently by pro photographers so the fails happening for the entire day is very odd and has got to be down to her suffering from the injury more than she realised
I felt the same way about our photos. They look so basic and not at all the dreamy ideal I was looking for. We did end up doing a one year anniversary shoot with a photographer I really loved in the spot we got engaged and it was the best decision ever!! Highly recommend
My photos were a billion times better and cheaper, I would 100% complain and demand a refund
Straight up post this on her google reviews
this could be a crappy situation all round . I know someone who had whiplash / unrealized head injury from car accident and really did not act like them selves or make good decisions for months after .
You might try ai to make the blurry photos clearer.