Hi Brides- this is my first time posting after months of lurking so if I put this in the wrong place I apologize but I really need some advice.
It was really important to my fiance and I to use the same photographer for our engagement session and wedding day. We met a photographer with 30+ years of experience and great online reviews at a bridal show. They actually won "Best of" on TK in our area. We looked through tons of their pictures and were very happy. They were definitely more expensive than other photographers but photography is important to us and we figured paying a premium for experience isn't a terrible thing to do.
Our engagement shoot was in a historic park and our photographer (who is scheduled to be one of our photographers on our wedding day) was really nice and easy going. It did seem like she had an eye for good shots and was very positive about the frames she was getting. We were a little surprised that we wrapped up in about an hour but we were very excited all the same. Then the waiting started. Originally we were told that is would take less than a week for the photos to be uploaded. After 10 days we checked in, they definitely were not thrilled to hear from us but said they were hard at work photo shopping and editing and we would have them by the end of the day. 4 days later, they finally sent us the link.
To say we were disappointed by the photos would be an understatement. Out of the 140 they sent over, we like about 25 but if you combine the same picture with different filters/black and white it basically comes down to about 12. I don't see any photo shop at all (I know you shouldn't be able to see it but I work in publishing so I know what to look for) so even in the "good" pictures we have fly aways, crows feet, etc. Our photographer did take several of the better shots and presented them in different filters and saturations but that was about it.
I might be okay with 12 or 25 pictures, but I am really concerned about the reasons the rest of them aren't usable. Basically, I think our photographer was good at finding nice shots but didn't pay much notice to how my fiance and I looked in them. For example, I was wearing a dress and a belt and in 10+ of our pictures where we are sitting my dress is bloused over my belt (like a gut if you don't look closely). I have no idea why she didn't just tell me to stand up and smooth it out but all of those pictures are unusable. In another series, she has us perched on a rock and we look uncomfortable and a little scared (super tense bodies and watery smiles). Finally, she actually included a picture where my eyes are closed! I don't know who has use for pictures like that of themselves but I basically think it is a waste. After looking at hundreds of engagement session on Facebook and the photographer's own website, we were expecting more.
So, my question to you lovely ladies is what to do. Part of me wants to walk away from our deposit and find someone else. Another part of me thinks that is unreasonable and I should find a way to work with these people. Everyone else seems to love them and everyone has a bad day. Do you think someone with that much experience would be willing to take constructive criticism? If so, how should I got about it? I feel really silly saying that I want to look attractive in my pictures and may lose it if they tell me that that is just the way we look. Am I making too big of a deal about engagement pictures? I care way more about our wedding being shot beautifully than our engagement shoot, but I feel as though this is a sign of things to come. Does anyone have any advice?