I hate my wedding photos...

Knottie1460163304

Hello, I need advice! I was married about a month ago, and got my photos back this week. I'm so so disappointed in them.

1. I work in the photo and film business, and can see that the photographer spent very little time on post-production. They are basically straight from the camera.
2. In all of the photos, someone is making a funny face or blinking. I think she tried to make it seem emotional and spontaneous but photos of me and husband with our eyes closed or sticking our tongues out just isn't what I want to remember of my wedding day.
3. I asked the photographer repeatedly to visit the venue pre-wedding day, but she said she'd prefer to work spontaneously. On the day, however, she realized what a gorgeous house and huge gardens there were to work with. We didn't even get a picture on the giant wooden swing that I had put on my "must-have" list because she got lost looking for another spot she had liked.

None of my family or friends like any of the photos enough to post them on their own social media accounts. My own profile picture is one my friend took on their iPhone. 

What a massive waste of money and a disappointment!

Should I go back to her and ask her for some more shots?

Thank you for your advice!

charlotte989875

Knottie1460163304 said:

Hello, I need advice! I was married about a month ago, and got my photos back this week. I'm so so disappointed in them.

1. I work in the photo and film business, and can see that the photographer spent very little time on post-production. They are basically straight from the camera.
2. In all of the photos, someone is making a funny face or blinking. I think she tried to make it seem emotional and spontaneous but photos of me and husband with our eyes closed or sticking our tongues out just isn't what I want to remember of my wedding day.
3. I asked the photographer repeatedly to visit the venue pre-wedding day, but she said she'd prefer to work spontaneously. On the day, however, she realized what a gorgeous house and huge gardens there were to work with. We didn't even get a picture on the giant wooden swing that I had put on my "must-have" list because she got lost looking for another spot she had liked.

None of my family or friends like any of the photos enough to post them on their own social media accounts. My own profile picture is one my friend took on their iPhone. 

What a massive waste of money and a disappointment!

Should I go back to her and ask her for some more shots?

Thank you for your advice!

Are there any shots that you're happy with? Do all of them, really, have odd faces or expressions? If you're really unhappy ask her if there are other shots she didn't include that have more traditional or neutral faces; ones where you're just smiling. Maybe they exist, but maybe they don't. If they do, she may charge you for additional shots but it sounds like that would be worth it. 

Did you you pay for her to go out to the location early, and how far would that have been for her? If you paid for that and she didn't do it I would definitely talk to her about it, but if you just asked her to go scout a location without compensating her, it's not really something I would expect to be done in a normal photography package. 

thisismynickname2

First, did she meet the expectations of the contract? Many contracts say something like, for a 6 hour event you'll have 500-700 edited photos. 

Second, since you are in the biz and have a certain eye, can you politely compare the work you received to the work you admired in her portfolio? Can you request additional editing work, so long as it's within the bounds of your contract?