Bruce "Best" Photography

HolmanFam

Hello all. Our wedding was in October of 2011 . . . . 8 months ago. I still, to this day, have not received all of our wedding photos. I have tried numerous times to contact the photographers and both Bruce and Amy Best. They refuse to contact me and finilize our contract. I am outraged and upset that I do not get to relive those moments of our wedding. We are not the only couple this has happened to.
If anyone has used, or are going to use, Bruce "Best" Photography, PLEASE CONTACT ME! I also urge you to go elsewhere for your special day. Any and all help would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

RailWayWife

Be sure to post this on your local board as well. Good luck and I hope you get your photos soon.

Shutterbug101108

Make sure if they're on wedding wire or any review service you leave feedback!  That sucks and I'm sorry to hear you're going through this:(

Brad and Jen

We are delivering this review more than a year after our wedding because we had to sue Bruce & Amy Best for failing to meet their contract terms.  I’m a Marine lieutenant colonel (sel) and have been a commanding officer, so my critique is not out of malice or without proper documentation.  To start, Bruce & Amy spent more time charming us than delivering on their services.  They promised us that both of them would photograph our wedding, but Amy left without notice before the ceremony.  She left in her place a 20-something year old guy who spent much of the wedding texting on his cell phone.   We had to ask Bruce and this guy to take key photos, even the DJ asked where the photographers were.  Following the wedding, Bruce & Amy did not provide our client viewing as contracted (which they acknowledged in an e-mail last fall), then went silent on us despite multiple e-mails & phone calls to close this issue out.  We contacted their registered agent (VCorp), who told us they had cut their contract with Bruce Best Photography for failing to pay them (VCorp was unable to contact them either).  We ultimately took Bruce & Amy to small claims court (a sheriff delivered the summons to them) and judgment was awarded in our favor after they failed to show.  Despite refusing to return our calls or e-mails, when an associate of ours contacted them inquiring about photography services, Bruce & Amy immediately returned their call and arranged a meeting.  We went to this meeting and presented them the court judgment in an effort to settle the claim, but Bruce & Amy refused to pay and left (this was captured on video).  I am sure Bruce or Amy will try to rebut this critique, or a 5-star reviewer will attempt to write this critique off.  Therefore, proof of our claims can be found by contacting VCorp and by looking at the Prince William County General District Court / Case Information / Civil Court under Amy Best.  There are at least three plaintiffs who received judgment against Bruce & Amy for a total of several thousand dollars.

StFish77

It was validating to see these posts.  I am a social worker, so you know I am certainly not writing out of malice, either.  In fact, I've really been giving Bruce and Amy the benefit of the doubt but now I see that others have been through a similar ordeal with them.  Our problems began right away when they told us they were too booked to take our engagement photos before our wedding and wanted to do them afterwards.  I pushed back and, to their credit, they did do them before our wedding.  Our next problem was very similar to the last couple's in that Amy did not show up to our wedding.  There was another woman in her place and Bruce told me that "Amy's been having really bad headaches and couldn't make it."  I had no reason not to believe him until I was alone with the other photographer at one point and made a comment about how it was great of her to jump in at the last minute and she said, "Oh, no, Bruce contacted me about this weeks ago."  If Amy was not planning on being at my wedding weeks ago, it would've been nice to know that ahead of time.  The other photographer was pleasant enough, but she duplicated all of the photos that Bruce took except with much less quality.  There are many, many, many guests at our wedding who we don't have a single picture of.  We had been sold on the idea of two photographers, believing that one would be taking pictures of the dance floor and the other would be getting everyone else.  That was not the case.  There is hardly a picture of my mom, who, as the mother of the bride should have had her picture taken at some point during the evening.  Our problems continued... we did not get our photos in the time frame promised to us.  It took many, many emails until we finally got them in about twice the amount of time as promised.  We were told during this time that our photos had been sent and hadn't we received them?  Then we were told that Amy was ill, and that was part of the delay.  After finally receiving them, my husband and I went through all the pictures and pulled out our favorites to put on the website that was part of our contract.  Well, we did that and then never heard anything.  After many emails and unreturned phone calls Amy said that the website was down and asked if we wanted to be refunded the money for that portion of the contract.  We answered that we woud like that money back and haven't heard from her since.  I have emailed her multiple times but have received no response.  We filed a complaint with the BBB and we understand that they did not respond to them, either.  Pretty soon we will need to go to small claims court like the previous couple.  Also like the other couple, I had a friend contact them about photographing her wedding and they responded immediately.  Interesting that they can respond to her and not me.  It's terrible that our wonderful day has been marred by this negative experience.  

sman82

I have been checking this page periodically, after a horrible experience with BBP.  Our wedding in May 2012 was similar to other experiences here...Bruce Best Photography sent a replacement photographer to shoot our wedding, claiming a "health emergency" but there's evidence from other reviews they had another wedding booked on the same day and Amy probably left ours to go to that other booking, even though we paid and contracted for two.

Main reason I am posting is due to all BBP's complaints and legal troubles, they have rebranded themselves under the name Gannon Stein Studios, http://gannonstein.com/, but its still the same people.  The have rap sheets a mile long in Prince William County district court (civil under BBP name and criminal under Amy Best) and circuit court (circuit case under her maiden name Fike for embezzlement).  All of this is public record, check it out!

They think they can just create a new identity and continue victimizing unsuspecting people.  They just created a website under this new name Gannon Stein in August 2012, and all their previous info (website, facebook, profile on The Knot, etc are all gone under the BBP name.).  It's unthinkable people could act this way.  They never delivered on any of the contracted services to our satisfaction or terms on the contract and offered to refund the difference between the 1 and 2 photogs package, but of course we never saw a single dime.  These people have to be stopped!

Spread the word to boycott Gannon Stein Studios, http://gannonstein.com/

vballn13

I hate to admit that I am relieved to see that others have had such a similar experience to mine, yet am saddened to see that even some of you have had it worse than me. Our wedding was Oct. 9, 2010. We hire Bruced and Amy to shoot our wedding, and we were excited about it. I was so impressed with their energy, and Bruce's artistic eye. Right after our engagement shoot, 3 days before the wedding, they told us they would not be able to shoot our wedding due to his daughter competing in a softball tournament. We were a little skeptical with this, but they promised us a free photo booth, 2 "wonderful" photographers, wedding photo favors for our guests, a framed photo with guest signatures, and 3 professional wedding albums. First clue something was wrong: my gracious mother in law, who was paying for the photography, was charged a random $1000 on her credit card. It took many phone calls, lots of excuses from Amy and 3 weeks for the money to be refunded to her! We chalked it up to an honest mistake, but know better now. Hindsight is certainly 20/20. The photographers who shot our wedding were mediocre at best. They did not take the obvious wedding pictures and were so boring and awful to work with. Certainly not the vibrant Bruce and Amy we had paid for. It took many months for me to get all my wedding pictures. Excuse after excuse was made-everything from lost in the mail to Bruce has brain cancer. I'm doubting the man has Brain Cancer since they have since started working under the name of Gannon and Aimee Stein. Regardless, I was patient, too patient with getting the photos. We live in another state, and my mother in law lives right down the street from their old office in Occoquan. After many emails and phone calls were left unanswered, she left them a note asking to call her so we could get all of our photos and noted their unprofessionalism. This sent Amy over the edge, but finally did get her to call me back. She claimed that she never promised us albums (LIE) and said my mother in law was harassing her (LIE) and she would try again to send the photos. I miraculously got them after that interaction, guess the postal service decided to deliver them this time. I was so horrified by the whole situation that I couldn't even look at my photos. There were thousands of pictures, all out of order and they were not anywhere near the quality of pictures that we paid for. It was heartbreaking. Still, no albums and reading all these other posts, I know it's something I never will get. Partly my fault, because I refused to want to speak with them after all the mess. I have finally been able to put my own album together, and randomly googled them this weekend to see if they were still working. Wow, finding what I found has lifted the huge burden I have had since our wedding. After reading all these posts, and doing much poking around on the Prince William County District Court website, it seems that Amy had a probation violation on her embezzlement felony conviction 8 days before our wedding. Softball tournaments don't just pop up, I know, I played for years. However, court dates and possible jail time does. Don't use this company. Don't use Gannon Stein Photographers either. Same people, same game.  

Scashman21

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_photos-video_bruce-best-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:30Discussion:d4faec2e-5050-452e-8cae-59ae3f1430f1Post:2f08d222-27b5-4320-b3e9-18198770c6c3">Re: Bruce "Best" Photography</a>:
[QUOTE]We are delivering this review more than a year after our wedding because we had to sue Bruce & Amy Best for failing to meet their contract terms.   I’m a Marine lieutenant colonel (sel) and have been a commanding officer, so my critique is not out of malice or without proper documentation.   To start, Bruce & Amy spent more time charming us than delivering on their services.   They promised us that both of them would photograph our wedding, but Amy left without notice before the ceremony.   She left in her place a 20-something year old guy who spent much of the wedding texting on his cell phone.    We had to ask Bruce and this guy to take key photos, even the DJ asked where the photographers were.   Following the wedding, Bruce & Amy did not provide our client viewing as contracted (which they acknowledged in an e-mail last fall), then went silent on us despite multiple e-mails & phone calls to close this issue out.   We contacted their registered agent (VCorp), who told us they had cut their contract with Bruce Best Photography for failing to pay them (VCorp was unable to contact them either).   We ultimately took Bruce & Amy to small claims court (a sheriff delivered the summons to them) and judgment was awarded in our favor after they failed to show.   Despite refusing to return our calls or e-mails, when an associate of ours contacted them inquiring about photography services, Bruce & Amy immediately returned their call and arranged a meeting.   We went to this meeting and presented them the court judgment in an effort to settle the claim, but Bruce & Amy refused to pay and left (this was captured on video).   I am sure Bruce or Amy will try to rebut this critique, or a 5-star reviewer will attempt to write this critique off.   Therefore, proof of our claims can be found by contacting VCorp and by looking at the Prince William County General District Court / Case Information / Civil Court under Amy Best.   There are at least three plaintiffs who received judgment against Bruce & Amy for a total of several thousand dollars.
Posted by Brad and Jen[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Unfortunatley I am at the same point of sueing Bruce Best Photography ...these warnings did not surface in the start...</div><div>If you have any advice or informaton you can pass I would be very greatful.

</div>

Scashman21

I need to know about the small claims court process and how you actually found their address...did anyone recieve their money

Brad and Jen

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_photos-video_bruce-best-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:30Discussion:d4faec2e-5050-452e-8cae-59ae3f1430f1Post:6f1725f7-dcb9-4b71-8869-a6eb1aafb915">Re: Bruce "Best" Photography</a>:
[QUOTE]I need to know about the small claims court process and how you actually found their address...did anyone recieve their money
Posted by Scashman21[/QUOTE]

Sorry for the delayed reply, we don't really use this website since we've done everything we can to adjudicate our case with Bruce and Amy.  Go to the PW County General District Court website for info on the small claims process, the desk clerk's phone number is also available if you want to speak with somebody.  The desk clerk should have Bruce and Amy's address or you can try the White Pages (485 <span class="street-address">Harbor Side St, Apt 910 </span><span class="locality">Woodbridge</span>, <span class="region">VA</span> <span class="postal-code">22191-5460).  As for settlement, we were told by the small claims judge that recouping our money is extremely difficult and with adept criminals like Bruce and Amy, the headache isn't worth it.  We decided it's more important to post our reviews on as many wedding websites as possible in order to warn couples about Bruce and Amy.  </span>

StillMsW

Amy (Bruce’s wife who handles the business end) replied to my initial email immediately. We met them, loved them and I felt confident in hiring them. Amy pushed for an engagement session and threw it in for free. We did the session at our home since I felt the pictures would be more us plus there are woods that would offer more traditional shots. They said they liked the idea. At the end of the shoot Amy asked if there were any more shots we wanted and we did a few more. We included our dog and they were fine working with him. Bruce gave some direction but not as much as expected. We went over pictures I wanted to recreate for wedding and they were helpful and threw in a third photographer for free.
 
Three weeks later I got a CD but I couldn’t see the images. I don’t blame them for this; technology can suck. I asked Amy if I sent her a flash drive if she could put the images on there and she agreed. Amy said she sent it but a week later I still didn’t have it. I told Amy and she said she bought another one and said it would be in the mail that day. Five days later - nothing. She said she was delayed with holiday stuff. Later she said she couldn’t put the images on the flash; she would put another CD in the mail. I asked why they couldn’t get the images on the flash now but they could before. Amy gave me an excuse about technology. When I got the 2nd CD it didn’t work but they included a flash drive with 472 images – most terrible, some OK, about 20 good. Some of the problems could have been prevented, like one series my fiance’s face is hidden by a shadow because of where the sun was - something a professional should have been able to deal with or Amy’s arm in a few shots.
 
After this I terminated our contract. The stress just to get my photos was too much, especially since I hated most of them. There was a back and forth in emails where I was criticized for shots in our home and was told her arm wasn’t in every frame. Overall everything was fine…until it wasn’t.

Elizabeth San Pedro

Same issues here.  They are con-artist!!!

Scashman21

Were you able to get your money back ?! Following engagement photos we severed our contract due to over charges on our credit card...similar scenario of non-response. 

I did find out where Bruce Best works on Ft. Belvoir and the HR Office contact to fax information for verification of employment, enabling one to garnish wages for unpaid settlements.

Please let me know if this would help anyone out.

proudMrsG

Ugh! Reading threads like this makes me feel blessed about my wedding photographer. I am sorry you ladies have to go through all this. It definitely leaves a bitter taste from a wonderful day. I hope everyone gets their money back AND their pictures. 

lovebirds1222

My husband and I got married May 2012 and used BBP.  We had many similar issues as some of you.  They also charged my mom an extra $1000 on her credit card which she was lucky to get back.  Very early the morning of our wedding I received an email that Bruce was in the hospital for a heart attack, but there were replacements on the way.  I felt so bad for them (but looking back now, I'm not sure that was even true).  We were some of the lucky ones who ended up getting AMAZING replacements.  Lisa and Ali were some of the best photographers I have seen, and the pictures were amazing.  They were very fun to work with.  I feel so blessed now having heard that others had bad replacements.  However, when I tried to get my pictures over the summer there was an issue.  Lisa informed me that Amy and Bruce still hadn't paid her for the work she had done at our wedding.  I felt bad as she even did beautiful slideshow for free.  She went above and beyond for us after not being paid by these con artists.  I was promised 3 free albums by Amy because she "felt bad" that she missed our wedding.  I was trying to contact her still a year later to get the albums, and that is when I started reading these posts.  So now I realize that I will not be getting my albums, however, I do not want Amy and Bruce to get away with our money after only doing engagement photos.  Does anyone have any information on how to get in touch with them now?  I tried the website for Gannon Stein, but it no longer exists (shocker!).  I really hope this does not happen to anyone again.  They are awful people!