Please help!!!!

vmilesic

So, I'm having a problem. We did our engagement pictures session, which was free, but then if we want the pictures, we have to pay for them. Which is fine. I ordered pictures and asked the photographer to give me the files as well because I would like to create a guestbook/photobook in shutterfly or mypublisher and he is not willing to give them. If I want all of the pictures on CD he will charge me $20 per file, which is approximately $2,000 for the CD with engagement photos. Am I asking for too much or am I not understanding this whole process. I know that he wants to capitalize on me, but $20 per file??? So frustrated.. just want to choke him ))

1104*Celsius

Whoa, $20 per file as in, per photo? Per digital photo? What the heck does he charge for proofs or prints? Did you sign a contract? If so, what does that contract say about this, or does it address it in any way shape or form? You need to revisit what your contract says, and if you have a contract with this vendor for your wedding photos, make sure you are comfortable with whatever is stated there, or you are going to be dealing with this same frustration if you want those pictures digitally. If you're not comfortable with your contract, you may need to find a new photographer if you cannot come to a mutually agreed upon decision.Good luck!  

NillaWafer10

For $2,000 you can have a new shoot for 8 hours and all of the proofs!  That's insane.  I would tell him/her that you would rather go to a whole new photog instead of buying them for $20 a pic!  That is insane!  Especially since you already paid for his service to take the photos!

mnido1

Did you pay a deposit? I agree with previous post, you could find a new photographer for less. I had a free engagement shoot and we never discussed whether we would get those pics or have to buy them, our photographer provided them to us without anything ever being said. I think that is bad business and you shouldn't have a photographer you want to choke photograph your wedding.

sms274

Oh wow! I agree with everyone else. If you can, try to find someone else for your photos. The photographers I went with offer their engagement photos on cd for free and wedding images for $300 - that's hi-res with all rights to reproduce. I know engagement photo sessions ala carte can be relatively inexpensive (in comparison to wedding day) so if you do have a signed contract with him for the wedding that would be costly to get out of I would look into just bringing in someone for your engagement photos - especially if having these images are important to you to have access to digitally. You may also want to weigh the cost of terminating your contract with the end cost of getting your photos of your wedding day produced by him. You could wind up saving money in the end with his ridiculous fees.

lcarp203

If you dont mind me asking... what company did you use?  I am in the process of finding a photographer and would like to avoid this company!  Thanks for your help!

Silverlegacyga

I never had this problem. I used Jesska Lynn Photography and I received all photos on a CD and they were retouched for under $300. If your interested you can check her out at jessaklynn.blogspot.com. Shes honest and reliable and quick to respond to requests.

vmilesic

Thanks ladies! I am not able to cancel the contract since we already paid for the service. We are getting married on 11/14. I asked him for the file, maybe I should ask differently and refer to it as a digital picture? Another problem is that English is his secondary language, so there is a language barrier.. I think he wants to avoid giving me the files because he thinks that I would reprint the photos and not order from him. He charges $6 for 4 x 6 photos. I've bought $110 worth of photos already. I am waiting for him to develop my pictures to see if he will email me the digitial photos. I hope I didn't miss any questions.. I just read all of the posts at work.Thank you so much for your support!

vmilesic

Also, I just read our contract and it doesn't mention anything about engagement photos. There is this clause: Photo Materials: A CD or DVD proof containing photo file images to preview can be printed on your own computer, however, quality computer and or commercial photo printing is not guaranteeed by ******. A Photo Files will be ready to downoald and Online Proof to the Newlyweds within 4-weeks or more after the agreed upon event date. The CD PROOF shall become the property of the Newlyweds and can be used for ordering on-line prints. Custom enlargements and event album packages can be purchased at any time by contacting. ... I want to make sure I'm understand this.. will we have CDs that we can reprint from our computer? Thank you again!

sms274

Those images will most likely be low resolution images to prevent you from printing them other places, which will be fine for posting to the internet, etc. They will simply be proofs of your photo (if I am correct) though so may or may not be touched up at all. Maybe instead of asking for the files ask for a cd proof of the engagement photos?

Gogalina

I'm so sorry to hear that! We paid $500 for our engagement session in Cancun, which included 2 edited DVDs worth of pics, 1 DVD slideshow, a 3 hour shoot & the photogs traveled for more than 4 hours to take our pics. I thought this was pricey, but we were willing to pay so much because they shot our friends' wedding & are one of the best photogs in Cancun. First, I wouldn't be scared to breach the contract because photogs aren't attorneys (they're not really biz saavy if you haven't noticed, lol) & they usually don't hire an attorney to draft their contracts. This results in poorly written contracts with vague terms that can be argued many different ways. Point being, you can wiggle your way out of them. Second, if you did breach, it's unlikely that the photog would pursue an action against you. It just costs too much time/money to hire an attorney. If the photog isn't 110% sure you'll win, you probably won't sue. Because you already submitted your deposite, breaching doesn't sound like an option for you. I would sit the photog down nicely & explain that his contract lacks terms (engagement session) & even when it does include terms, those are extremely vague. Tell him that the engagement session is not even mentioned so ask him where he's coming up with these figures??? Technically, there wasn't an "agreement" on the engagement session because if $20 per digital file was not in the contract, you didn't agree to paying that. He risked not getting a penny because he didn't specify in the contract. His leverage over you is that he's holding the digital files hostage so you have to play his game. Even so, you've already paid $110 into your engagement photos. Explain that you bit the bullet that time & you're not going to do it for your wedding photos again. Take the contract & read it over with him line by line. If anything is fuzzy, tell him to explain what he means. If you agree with his explanations jot them down in the margins & have him initial/date the changes. If you disagree with his explanations, tell him why. Most likely, his contract doesn't provide the same explanation he just gave you otherwise you never would have signed the contract in the first place. If he's being tempermental explain to him that you didn't appreciate how your engagement session panned out, but you're trying to salvage the "relationship" to ensure your wedding day will go smoothly & that it won't be a nightmare post wedding. Mention that you come from a huge community & that you know dozens of people getting engaged (this is true). Ask him whether he's willing to lose all of these referrals, which could potentially put $1000s in his pocket, over him trying to make an extra $110 off of your for the engagement session (probably a little more for your wedding because you'll have more photos). Bottom line, he probably thought, & thinks, you're going to order all of these digital files from your engagement session, & wedding. Tell him he's wrong. Tell him the $110 worth of digital files was all you could afford for the engagement session & you're positive you won't have much more than that to dish out for the wedding. Really, is this idiot willing to lose a customer with the prospect of making an extra $220 off of you? Phrase it like that. Good luck!

Gogalina

Please excuse any typos above, I'm responding on my cell. Thanks!

NillaWafer10

I know this is really going to suck, but I think I would cut my losses with him.  I would keep his service, since you paid for it, but I would hire a second photographer.  I am using Memories Through Time as my second photog.  She charges $100 and hour, 3 hour minimum, and you get all of the photos.  Every single one, in high res.  You can't redo your wedding to get better (or more) photos. For me, it was well worth the investment to hire Amanda.memoriesthrutime.com/Please, please, please post the name of the photographer.  I know you don't want to hurt his business, but we would all appreciate being able to avoid a bad contract.

vmilesic

Here are our engagement photos and you can find the photographer information on there. Please let me know what you think. I hope that the pics are worth all of the mess I'm going through. First page is not my fav.. but the rest I think are pretty good. Thanks!P.S. I'll give you guys an update over the weekend. Thank you for all of the support.http://photoorder.amazingeventvendors.com/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=10011