Found my photographer through someone I know. He is a semi professional photogrpaher, has a large client base and several years of experience. His work is amazing, but there is one hiccup...he has been lacking professionalism. I contacted him this summer and he was incredibly helpful with questions, developed a reasonable contract and was very courteous with correspondance. The other problem with the photographer is he is a college student, which is making him very hard to get a hold of now that the school year has restarted.
My biggest problem with him is getting him to stick to his promises regarding timelines. I had to contact him several times to set up engagement pictures. Finally when he saw my messages he was more than accomodating and squeezed us in on a very busy weekend he had weddings both friday and saturday. He told me the pictures would be ready for an online sneak peek in one week and our DVD would arrive in about a month. It is almost three weeks and he still hasn't posted our sneak peeks...
I have messaged him once at about 2.5 weeks since the shoot. I was very nice and told him how excited I was getting as he posted a few other sets of pictures and was wondering what the ETA was. He responded three days later saying he has been really busy with school and has had weddings every weekend.
I completely understand him being busy and I know I took a chance with the college student as my photographer, but does that mean he shouldn't be professional? I feel strongly about meeting my goals and promises. If he couldnt' get them done in the time he said, I would have been fine with him simply giving me a heads up. I get where he is coming from, but not sure how to approach this with our wedding pictures this summer. I want him to know my expectations. How do I talk to him about this?