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Stay away from Bella Photography

ginabean82ginabean82 member
Knottie Warrior 100 Comments Combo Breaker
in New Jersey
Hey guys, I just wanted to pass along some info.  If you are looking for a photographer please stay away from Bella Photography in NYC.  My cousin got married a year ago and had a horrible experience with them.  They showed up 2 hrs late and didn't get any pics of her at her home getting ready.  Also when they got their album back the retouching was awful.  Every page had at least one photo that was blurry and they refused to redo it for them. 
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Re: Stay away from Bella Photography

  • KarKarnjKarKarnj member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    This isn't the first negative feedback about them. I'm amazed that people still hire them. I guess no one knows how to google them to find anything out. It's ashame. I'm glad I hired who I hired I feel very comfortable.
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  • goaliegirlgoaliegirl member
    Eighth Anniversary 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I have never seen them get any good reviews on this board.    I am surprised people even still use them with all the negative reviews they get.
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Maybe they're not highly regarded on this board, but remember, not everyone who gets married posts on this board. And many people planning a wedding will listen to friends who used Bella Pictures over strangers on a message board who pan Bella Pictures. It's just the way it is.

    Back when I was looking for photographers, a couple I was chatting with at a party told me to check out Bella - they said they did a great job at their wedding.

    I never saw their photos - maybe they were great, or maybe the couple didn't have high standards. But photography matters to me, and I want to know who will be working at our wedding when I book - not a few days before the wedding.

    I'm sure a lot of good photographers work for Bella ... but lots of crappy ones do as well. If you're on a budget or don't care about having the bestest wedding photos ever, I suppose Bella is better than Lamar or The Pros. But you should definitely avoid them if you care about photography.

    Oh, Denis Reggie (who I believe is considered the father of wedding photojournalism) sold out to Bella - they have a service called "The Denis Reggie Experience," which claims that he handpicks the photographers and personally reviews the albums.  But the packages (which start at $5,500) cost about the same as a good independent photographer, if not more.

    Read more about this questionable venture here: http://theperfectpose.com/2010/10/bella-pictures-and-denis-reggie/
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  • KristinathebrideKristinathebride member
    Ninth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Weren't they also just bought by the same company which owns Walmart and Sears Photography?
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  • goaliegirlgoaliegirl member
    Eighth Anniversary 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_stay-away-bella-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:ea59a4d2-0160-44f8-b5a7-c2e1bb0c929cPost:e81a3e2a-a4de-4238-a188-31434a98ab61">Re: Stay away from Bella Pictures</a>:
    [QUOTE]Maybe they're not highly regarded on this board, but remember, not everyone who gets married posts on this board. Back when I was looking for photographers, a couple I was chatting with at a party told me to check out Bella Pictures - they said they did a great job at their wedding. I never saw their photos - maybe they were great, or maybe the couple didn't have high standards. But photography matters to me, and I want to know who will be working at our wedding when I book - not a few days before the wedding. I'm sure a lot of good photographers work for Bella ... but lots of crappy ones do as well. If you're on a budget or don't care about having the bestest wedding photos ever, I suppose Bella is better than Lamar or The Pros. But you should definitely avoid them if you care about photography. Oh, Denis Reggie (who I believe is considered the father of wedding photojournalism) sold out to Bella - they have a service called "The Denis Reggie Experience," which claims that he handpicks the photographers and personally reviews the albums.  But the packages (which start at $5,500) cost about the same as a good independent photographer, if not more. Read more about this questionable venture here: <a href="http://theperfectpose.com/2010/10/bella-pictures-and-denis-reggie/" rel='nofollow'>http://theperfectpose.com/2010/10/bella-pictures-and-denis-reggie/</a>
    Posted by 37 Butter Knives[/QUOTE]

    If people do their homework before booking, they will find LOTS of negative reviews about Bella.   Not only from this board but other boards with wedding reviews and the Better Business Bureau.   When I was looking at photographers, I looked into them, and found it very difficult to find any great reviews for them.   Other than the fact that you don't know who your photographer is until the wedding, they get terrible reviews all over the place for customer service.
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_stay-away-bella-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:ea59a4d2-0160-44f8-b5a7-c2e1bb0c929cPost:e75b3f44-e572-4d35-9e6e-f106e582cdd0">Re: Stay away from Bella Photography</a>:
    [QUOTE]Weren't they also just bought by the same company which owns Walmart and Sears Photography?
    Posted by Kristinathebride[/QUOTE]
    Yeppers! <a rel="nofollow" href="http://theperfectpose.com/2011/01/bella-pictures-sold-to-wal-mart/">http://theperfectpose.com/2011/01/bella-pictures-sold-to-wal-mart/</a>

    [QUOTE] If people do their homework before booking, they will find LOTS of negative reviews about Bella.   Not only from this board but other boards with wedding reviews and the Better Business Bureau.
    Posted by goaliegirl[/QUOTE]
    Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it doesn't matter if a company has multiple negative reviews on message boards, or WeddingWire reviews, or the BBB - if their friends were happy, then that's all the endorsement they need to book with a crappy vendor. After all, they think, maybe all those negative reviews were planted by rival vendors...

    Really, I think personal referrals are why companies like Bella stay in business despite having no business being in business.

    I prefer second opinions, and most of us here do as well. But we're a savvy crowd. :)
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  • ginabean82ginabean82 member
    Knottie Warrior 100 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
     Yea I dont understand why people (including my cousin) dont do research before meeting/booking their vendors.  I'm at the beginning stages of planning my wedding and I'm doing as much research as I can.  For me, photography is one of the most important things of a wedding so I am going to make sure I chose one that is best for me. 
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  • GolfChick78GolfChick78 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    As silly as this sounds, I think a lot of people just can tell good photos from bad ones.  I had a friend use ThePros about two years ago.  She LOVES her album, but the photos are barely average, the album design is poor, and the quality of the album itself isn't much better.  But she doesn't see it and I'm certainly not going to tell her.  And she paid nearly $3k!
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  • USER876USER876
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Photography is subjective.  Most people like anything that is better than what they can do themself.  I am on another forum and 90% of the engagement pictures posted are really really bad, yet everyone raves about them.....I don't get it.

    "You don't miss what you never see in the first place"


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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I had heard bad things about them as well from my friend who had researched them when she got married last year.. and the fact you can't meet your photographer until the wedding is ridiculous. Why in the world would anybody be ok with that? They kept emailing me and leaving me voicemails, saying I won something, etc, and I finally had to tell them to stop. Enough is enough. I obviously don't want to use you.
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Doesn't Bella buy David's Bridal customers' contact information?

    I found this post from a photographer who briefly shot for Bella Pictures. The post - and the thread - is really telling, and I think it should be posted every time someone asks about Bella here.

    http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=405506

    (And yes, many couples would be ecstatic with the "before" images.)

    Bella touts itself as "photojournalism," and I'll buy that. As many of us have learned, "photojournalism" or "documentary" refers more to the photographer's approach to taking pictures, and not necessarily the finished product; a photo taken for a newspaper won't have vintage tints or satellite dishes Photoshopped out, because image manipulation goes against the definition of journalism.

    Bella's bare-bones post-processing is closer to what journalism really is than what most wedding photojournalists do. But it's not done out of integrity.
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  • agallucioagallucio member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Are they located in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ? Last summer my friend used a photographer that was so horrible and I think it was them but I am not sure.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_stay-away-bella-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:ea59a4d2-0160-44f8-b5a7-c2e1bb0c929cPost:560f8e46-5d58-479e-8f60-da133b81bfe2">Re: Bella</a>:
    [QUOTE]Doesn't Bella buy David's Bridal customers' contact information? I found this post from a photographer who briefly shot for Bella Pictures. The post - and the thread - is really telling, and I think it should be posted every time someone asks about Bella here. <a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=405506" rel='nofollow'>http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=405506</a> (And yes, many couples would be ecstatic with the "before" images.) Bella touts itself as "photojournalism," and I'll buy that. As many of us have learned, "photojournalism" or "documentary" refers more to the photographer's approach to taking pictures, and not necessarily the finished product; a photo taken for a newspaper won't have vintage tints or satellite dishes Photoshopped out, because image manipulation goes against the definition of journalism. Bella's bare-bones post-processing is closer to what journalism really is than what most wedding photojournalists do. But it's not done out of integrity.
    Posted by 37 Butter Knives[/QUOTE]
    The probably do buy names from David's Bridal.. which is a whole separate issue. I went to David's Bridal and a day later I was getting tons of phone calls and emails from vendors. I didn't know David's Bridal was going to give my contact information to people. It was extremely annoying that my phone kept ringing constantly, and my mailbox was over flowing with spam. Real nice.
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  • parkrecnyparkrecny
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I completely agree.  We had a TERRIBLE Bella Pictures experience!  I reported to Better Business Bureau so at least it's on their record for a few years.  We hired Bella for photo & video for $4000+, for a 6-hour wedding.  Keep in mind, our entire wedding ceremony/cocktail/dinner took place in one corner of a 2-story wedding hall with both stairs and elevator.  However, despite multiple initial assurances of several hours or raw footage, our final raw footage was only 2 hours with no explanation or apology as to what the videographer was doing for the other 4 hours.  In retrospect, my wife and I commented that we didn't see him much but figured he was trying to be discreet.  After several back-and-forths, with long waits on their part, and speaking to supervisors, in the end they refunded only $240, said they thought the raw footage looked great, and then had the nerve to ask us when we would like to get started with the photo album (of course at additional cost).  They said that 2 hours was standard, although when I called and spoke to a supervisor in sales at Bella, he said typical raw footage for 6-hour event was about 4 hours; several other videography companies listed in NY Mag said 3 hours or more.  Furthermore, there were moments that were definitely videotaped (including specific conversations with family) that did not appear in the raw footage without any explanation.
    Other than this, it was the typical polite, prompt, enthusiastic service before signing contract; after signing, they were very impersonal, hard to get information, delayed callbacks, etc.  Photographer said he wasn't allowed to meet with us prior to wedding (we offered to go to him).  When I tried to speak with him on the phone about the day of the wedding, he showed little if any interest and acted like he was doing me a big favor.  He also was the worst dressed at the wedding, wearing wrinkled worn black shirt and pants.  We weren't able to communicate with the videographer at all--the photographer coordinates with the videographer.  When we got the video, it was out of sequence so they had to send it again.  Their website to order pictures is less sophisticated than CVS.com, and all the pictures came out dark so they had to be resent as well.
    We completely regret picking Bella.  Find a more personable vendor, so that you can have a sit down with the photographer and videographer if you'd like.
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  • Knottie01689769Knottie01689769 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Clearly this company is not liked but its too late for us at this point. :-(
    Does anyone know names of the photographers that were bad? We were "assigned" with Alan Abley.....
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Did you look at his website? This is what I found:

    http://www.eurovisionimages.com/weddings/

    I don't want to make you feel bad, but this guy's work looks TERRIBLE ... worse than I expected from Bella! If you're not happy with his work, can you request another photographer?
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  • Knottie01689769Knottie01689769 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I found that too and called to ask for another photographer and he said he needs a reason other then I don't like his pics!! Bc the assignment team works very hard to match the photographer to client. Those pictures are completely 80's!! I can't get my money back either!
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    That's horrible. :( You didn't tell them you wanted traditional-style photography, did you? Can't you tell them that you chose Bella because you wanted modern and photojournalism - which is what they promise on their site - and this guy clearly doesn't do that? I know Bella does use mediocre photographers, but I'm really shocked they approved this one (he's much worse than mediocre) ... you might be able to get them on false advertising. Then again, maybe he's the only local photographer who books via Bella? I know photographers complain about BP because they get a very small cut and are restricted in their aperture settings. Good luck!
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  • butterfli927butterfli927
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_stay-away-bella-photography?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:ea59a4d2-0160-44f8-b5a7-c2e1bb0c929cPost:3cfe53e4-dff3-4080-b032-6258b768530c">Re: Stay away from Bella Photography</a>:
    [QUOTE]Clearly this company is not liked but its too late for us at this point. :-( Does anyone know names of the photographers that were bad? We were "assigned" with Alan Abley.....
    Posted by maryallisonb[/QUOTE]

    OMG! I was assigned Alan too! I looked at his portfolio and thought "Eh" and then tried to research the heck out of him. Well, not much info on Mr. Abley. NO reviews from other brides despite Bella's claim that he's done +1000 weddings. His website as the other poster mentioned is EXTREMELY unprofessional and very dated. And the biggest turn-off was an article I came across from three years ago when another Bella-like company named Celebrations went belly up screwing over their clients and photographers. NOT something I want to be reading about my future photographer. Called up Bella immediately and mentioned all of the above and that I am strongly against using him. I was told that this was "a shocker" and that they'd never had complaints about Alan before and how wonderful he is. They insisted on sending me some more of his work which was a little  better but still... doesn't seem like a good fit for us. Plan on speaking with them more on Monday about re-assigning him AND my videographer <font size="2">Adam Kopelman (<a href="http://www.akweddingvideo.com/">http://www.akweddingvideo.com/</a></font>) whose footage is SO raw that it looks like it was done with an old family camcorder. BTW, here's the article about the court case Alan was involved in a few years ago (<a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/judge_delays_decision_on_plan.html">http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/judge_delays_decision_on_plan.html</a>). Insist on a new photographer and tell them you know for a fact that other people have complained about him. Good luck honey and if they get you someone good pass me the name too if you wouldn't mind - <a href="mailto:vfallenxangelv@yahoo.com">vfallenxangelv@yahoo.com</a>.
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  • 37 Butter Knives37 Butter Knives member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    It doesn't look like he did anything wrong with Celebration - he was just one of the photographers who didn't get paid by them. Photographers who work for these outfits are basically independent contractors and have nothing to do with management ... so, companies like these rip off couples AND photographers.

    You would think this experience would have kept him from associating with a similar company with an identical business model, but it looks like agencies like Celebration and Bella are the only way he gets work. I can't imagine that even the most photographically clueless couple would book him directly!
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  • jliner26jliner26 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    butterfli927,

    I am sorry you don't like the quality of my footage.  The reason you might think the video looks "SO raw" is because it is highly compressed so it will play smoothly on all PCs and internet connections.  The video that is actually delivered to clients on DVD is of much higher quality.  

    I would also like to add that I have recently purchased brand new Sony HD video cameras which will be used on all my shoots moving forward.  

    I wish you and your fiance all the best on your upcoming wedding.

    -Adam Kopelman
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