Unhappy with my photographer vent

Nymeru

How long did you wait for your pro pictures?...because it's been over 4 months and my photographer still hasn't given us our picture cd.  We did get a link to a fully un-edited gallery of pictures, but nothing else.  Technically the contract says I have 6 months before I can do anything about the non-delivery, but I'm just wondering because I'm feeling a little pissy about it, and I want to make sure I'm not over-reacting.  It'd be one thing if this was wedding season, but it's not.  It'd be another thing if I knew the photographer was taking her time to make sure everything looked great before finalizing it, but considering how a large chunk of the pictures are obviously unedited (no, I'm not expecting to see myself thinner or prettier--just more like, lighting/shadows fixed, or the random finger over the lens removed), I don't see what the hold-up is.  It'd also maybe make me feel better if I had only paid a few hundred instead of a few thousand dollars for the pictures, but unfortunately, that is not the case.

I guess I'm just generally disgruntled about her.  She's apparently not the type to tell you, "Hey, that face you're making?  Yeah, how about you don't do that."  or "Your hair is fully messed up on one side, so let's fix it really fast."  Instead she just clicked away and acted like everything was fine.  I have so many pictures that would be great if she had just taken the time to, I don't know, maybe look at what was on the screen.  It's not like she didn't have a digital camera...  Also, the second "professional photographer" that I paid for ended up being her 16-year-old daughter, which she played off like it was no big deal...so there's that too.  If I had wanted pictures done by a teenager, I would have saved a lot of money and just hired a high school kid on my own.

I'm just feeling kind of sad because I had such high hopes for actually getting pictures I was happy with.  She came highly recommended, and I really liked her portfolios.  I guess my pictures are the type that she likes keep out of what she presents to other potential customers.

daria24

I had the full disc in less than a month. Granted he didn't do a huge amount of editing, just color corrections and softening less attractive things in the background. 4 months is definitely a long time, but there's nothing much you can do when your contract gives her 6 months. I'd be pissed about her teenage daughter being the second photographer too. But other than mentioning it in reviews I don't know how much more you can do. Unless you can prove you didn't get many photos from the 2nd photographer, or they were low-quality. Then you might be able to negotiate to get that portion of the fee removed.

huskypuppy14

I had all my pics 2 weeks after the wedding. 4 Months is crazy long in my opinion.  My wedding was almost 6 months ago, and it seems like so long. I don't think I would have signed a contract with that in it. Or I would have asked what the hold up would be.

Hopefully, you get your pics soon, but regardless I would write a bad review.

princessleia22

I had mine back in less than a week (CD, prints, canvas, and albums)... complete with touch-ups. My sister received hers about 6 weeks after her wedding. 

I agree with huskypuppy14, that I never would have signed a contract allowing 6 months to receive the photos.  I would think 1-2 months should be appropriate and probably wouldn't have signed anything allowing more than 3-4 months at most.  At this point, I would just continue to call and ask when you will receive them.  She may hurry up if you bug her enough. 

As far as the 16-year old, I'm not sure there is much you can do, unless her photos were sub-standard.  If her photos weren't up to the expected quality, I would definitely ask for partial refund or something like that.

And I'm a fan of giving honest reviews online.  Once you receive everything, definitely give an online review stating how long it took, your displeasure with the 2nd photog, and your happiness or unhappiness with the final photo quality.

LadyMillil

I've posted a bit about my photographer problems. Our contract said we would get the photos in 3 months. It was just over 7 months before the images were sent to me via DropBox and that was after we contacted the ministry of consumer affairs and the ministry followed up with the photographer threatening the maximum penalties for failure to fulfil the terms of our contract. 

If you signed a contract that gave the photographer 6 months to get the CD then I don't think there is anything you can do but check in to see how it's going. I'm in Canada so it might be different for you, but we had to wait an additional 30 days after the date given in the contract before we could pursue legal action against the photographer. DH contacted the ministry of consumer affairs and also some sort of small business bureau that would follow up with the photographer on our behalf. If nothing came of that we would have had to go to small claims court.

If the contract said the second shooter would be a professional or should have a certain skill level (photography college student, etc) then you should try to get a refund or discount because using her teenage daughter wasn't right. And definitely detail all of this in online reviews - the lack of direction, dissatisfaction with photos and the teenage daughter second shooter.

lc07

It sounds like you have a stronger stance on the "my pictures don't look like your portfolio" pictures than you do on turn-around time since she's still well within the turnaround time that the two of you agreed on. (The turn around time is ridiculous IMO but you agreed to it). I'd be pressing the issue about quality at this point.

RebeccaFlower

This is definitely a sucky situation. Since your contract says 6 months (which is absurd!), you're probably stuck. I had mine in my mailbox exactly one month after our wedding. I think anything more than three months is crazy. 

There is a photographer in my area who is taking upward of 4-5 months for all her sessions and people are getting annoyed. She keeps posting on her business facebook that she's so busy (yet continues to book new sessions, when she's so behind in editing) and she had time to post selfies of herself/pictures of her taking pictures instead of posting sneak peeks. I give her a year until word really spreads. This kind of stuff really matters in the photography business.

novella1186

I agree with PP, 6 months is just ridiculous. My photogs promise a minimum of 400 edited photos and it takes a max of 6 weeks to get  them all. But if it's in your contract that 6 months is ok, there's not much you can do now. 

I would also be annoyed about the 16 yr old second shooter. That's kind of absurd. How did this lady come highly recommended? And snapping away when shit doesn't look good? Stupid. She sounds careless and lazy. I know several pro photographers and this would never fly with them. In fact, I used to model so I've worked with a lot of pro photographers. Again, this would never fly. I totally understand why you'd be upset at this point.

All you can do right now is email and let her know your concerns, as well as ask when your photos will be ready. As soon as you get those photos, if I were you I'd be posting a negative review on every site possible. I'm sorry you have to deal with this situation.

Nymeru

My contract doesn't say that she has 6 months to do the photos.  It says everything will be delivered in a "timely manner", but that I cannot pursue legal action unless over 6 months have elapsed.  Considering this chick posts EVERYTHING on facebook (which I didn't know until I had already signed the contract because I'm not a huge facebook user), I get to see the previews, selfies of her taking wedding pictures, and the pictures of the cds going in the mail to every client.  I watched her do that for everyone who was married before and after me.  They all got theirs within 6-8 weeks.  I naturally assumed the same would be true for me.  You know what they say about assuming though.

The topper on all of this though?  I'm her son's teacher.  I am feeling some serious love right now.

ETA: verbs do actually matter in sentences...

Blergbot

I got mine in almost exactly a month, which is pretty awsome. She sent us a usb with our photos as well, along with some of her favorite prints from the day.

lovesclimbing

I honestly want to know how a professional photographer can possibly put a finger over the lens?  That seems like it would be INSANELY hard to do.  I'm a journalist and I shoot with a DSLR.  I only have the standard kit lenses, 18-55 mm, that comes with it (so, a relatively small lenses), and I have never ever ever shot a photo with my finger in front of the lenses. I can not comprehend how a professional photographer could wind up with photos with her finger in front of them. I can't figure out how its physically possible to put your finger in front of your lenses while shooting.  That's assuming she is using a DSLR. 

ETA: I have also shot with a 50 mm prime lenses, a very small lens, and still have never gotten my finger in front.

kaitlynmichelle

My contract said 4 to 6 weeks for our photos. Our photographer went almost to 7 weeks but had mentioned before the wedding that between shooting quite a few weddings that month and moving into her new place, she might be behind. We got our online gallery just past 6 weeks and the USB shortly after. I had no issue with the delay since she was honest about it early on and sent me another sneak peek when I asked to tide us over.

novella1186

Nymeru said:

My contract doesn't say that she has 6 months to do the photos.  It says everything will be delivered in a "timely manner", but that I cannot pursue legal action unless over 6 months have elapsed.  Considering this chick posts EVERYTHING on facebook (which I didn't know until I had already signed the contract because I'm not a huge facebook user), I get to see the previews, selfies of her taking wedding pictures, and the pictures of the cds going in the mail to every client.  I watched her do that for everyone who was married before and after me.  They all got theirs within 6-8 weeks.  I naturally assumed the same would be true for me.  You know what they say about assuming though.

The topper on all of this though?  I'm her son's teacher.  I am feeling some serious love right now.

ETA: verbs do actually matter in sentences...

People who were married AFTER you are getting their photos, and you still haven't gotten yours?! K that would piss me off. Have you brought this to her attention? That's kind of bullshit. Like I said in my other post, I'd wait to get the photos and then write So. Many. Bad. Reviews. Everywhere. And if you do end up hitting that 6 month mark, I wouldn't hesitate to pursue legal action. This just sucks. I'm mad for you.

bellaluna290

We got married mid-May and I received my CD in early July. But, before that they had posted their blog of some wedding pictures.The night of our wedding, they posted two sneak peeks as well. We got married during  one of the peaks of wedding season and I feel like we received our photos in a good time frame.

I feel like she's taking her sweet time with you because you're her son's teacher. I would speak with her regarding why you haven't received your photos. Once you have your photos, I would write a detailed review, making sure to mention that your  second shooter was a teenager.

raissyrais

Oh my goodness, our contract with the photographer stipulates our DVD comes two weeks after the event and the album four weeks after the event. I can't imagine agreeing to 6 months! That's a crazy long time. But you did agree to it so either you wait until those 6 months are over or you give her a call to see where she's at with your photos.