Wedding Photography and Videography Forum

NEED ADVICE!

Okay, so my fiance and I had our engagement photos done back in September. I heard great things about the photographer we used, and all of her pictures that i had looked at were really great. Well, I booked her for our wedding before getting our engagement proofs back because I had emailed a few other good photographers in town but they were already booked.

Well, we got our engagement proofs back and they are not anything spectacular and I'm just not really impressed by them. I'm hoping that when they are edited they look better. But like I said, I already booked her for the wedding and paid the deposit (which was not cheap at all.) So that's a major sticking point for me because I obviously want our wedding photos to be special.

But what is making me nervous even more than that is that she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown that might put her out of the photography business. I am FB friends with both her personal and professional pages. She is a very free spirit from what I've gathered from our photoshoot and her facebook pages. She has talked about moving, but I've never chalked that up to anything more than wishful dreaming. But for the past month or so, she has been posting statuses that are just over-the-top and crazy (Some of my friends also have her as a FB friend and told me she never used to be this way.) However, this morning she posted a really long "apology" status on her personal and professional pages about all of these personal issues that seem to be intervening in her professional work and how her profession is taking away from time with her kids and just all of this other stuff. She didn't say anything about quitting her business, but I worry that she is going to go off the deep end and I'm going to be left without a photographer for my wedding.

I don't know what to do because I already paid the deposit and signed the contract. I won't get any of that money back if I choose to opt out. On the other hand, I worry that I'm not going to be able to find another photographer should something happen.

What would you do? Advice is much appreciated!

Re: NEED ADVICE!

  • Ask her if you can break the contract and get your deposit back. Be very understanding of her situation and play up the wanting to focus on family aspect. If she is going off the deep end it might include money issues and the deposit might not be there to get back.

    What does the contract say about coverage in the event she would be unable to photograph the wedding?

    Personally I would start looking and risk losing the deposit. This doesn't sound like a great situation. Normally I would suggest requesting a reshoot for free to make adjustments and see if you can get on the same page style-wise...but the personal issues make me that that won't help. It's VERY unprofessional for her to posting about such things on her business page and being friends with clients on her personal page. If you were her friend prior to signing, then you will find out while it's often best not to hire your fiends as vendors. Sorry GL! :)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • The pictures and your ring are the only things that last forever from your wedding day: you're never going to wear the dress again, the flowers die, the food spoils and the cake gets eaten. DO NOT take chances with your photos! Find someone reliable who's work you love.

    A big part of the photographer's job winds up being handling the stress of the day. They have to help the bride and groom corral the wedding party and family members for portraits, make sure they are in the right places at the right times, coordinate with the DJ and officiant, have the presence of mind to capture the shots you want, etc. It's a stressful job. You need someone who is on their game and ready for that pressure.
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