Just Engaged and Proposals

Issues with The Photographer

My fiancé and I had our photography done over Memorial Day weekend. It cost us well over 600 dollars after paying for her travel and food for the day, plus "printing rights". Well here we are almost 10 weeks later, still no pictures. We got one, but nothing else. Everytime we've asked it's been excuse after excuse. Photoshop broke, she was on vacation etc. She's done shoots after ours that are already posted. I'm at a loss of what to do. She's a good kid, but this fiasco is just really putting me off of keeping her for the wedding. I think she wants too much for that too. :/ Help?

Re: Issues with The Photographer

  • What did your contract say about when you should receive the photos?

  • She never even issued us a contract.

    I think we're going to have to go through paypal/small claims court to get it all back at this point. I'm going to send her one last warning, I do freelance photography, I can edit the pix myself.

  • She never even issued us a contract.

    I think we're going to have to go through paypal/small claims court to get it all back at this point. I'm going to send her one last warning, I do freelance photography, I can edit the pix myself.

    Did YOU request a contract? 

     

    The contract is there to protect both sides of the deal... as you are finding out. You should always have a written contract, even when dealing with friends or family, because you never know what will happen. You generally think of the vendor being in charge of issuing contracts, but that's because they generally don't get paid until work is complete and they have the higher risk of doing all the work then having client skip on paying them.  But, if you already paid her, then you have the bigger risk of losing on the deal and should have definitely push for a written contract even if she didn't bring it up. 

     

    If she isn't able to give you a straight answer, you may need to pursue it and take her to small claims court.  But, I certainly wouldn't trust her to do wedding photos if she has already been this flaky on the engagement photos.  I think you need to call her and stress that you need to have the photos by ___ date or you will be forced to pursue legal action.  Then follow the call up with an e-mail to her, again stating all of the delays so far and that you must receive the photos (in print & digital form) by _____ date or you will pursue legal action to recover damages.  I would request in the e-mail that she respond via e-mail if that date is acceptable or when she will deliver the photos to you.

     

    To make it even better, also send a letter stating such to her via certified mail. I've found that a letter sent certified mail and threatening legal action (if there is a valid reason for legal action) usually gets results.  The only reason to send anything certified is to be able to legally prove that they received it, so it shows that you are serious about taking it to the next step and are working on collecting evidence for your case.  Usually that gets people moving without having to actually take any legal action.  But if she doesn't respond and comply, having the certified letter can be beneficial in civil court. But, even then, the letter holds no real legal value, since it is sent after the fact and is not actually a contract signed by both parties.   If she responds to your written e-mail, stating that she will have them by a particular date or agreeing to your date, that may hold a little weight in court.  

    image 

  • Definitely try to get a written answer, an e-mail, all of that helps. As far as using her for your wedding, make sure to sign a contract. 
  • I'd think twice before using her for wedding. If you can trust her for engagement pics--a small task for a small price--can you trust her to come through when she has more of your money in her hands? Get with a reputable photographer who runs it like a real business so you don't have to stress. It took me two months to get my photos, the photographer estimated it would be closer to one month, but with some flux because it's peak wedding season. She was in touch the whole way though, so I knew they were coming and got sneak peaks as they were being edited.
  • Unless they are booked up every other day, 10 weeks seems like a long time to be waiting for engagement photos. If it's taking this long with all of these excuses, I can't imagine how long it would be to get your wedding photos back. Ugh, that's horrible and you don't want to have that stress before or after the wedding wondering if or when you'll get your wedding photos. If you decide to use her for your wedding, defiantly get a contract signed and make sure all details are outlined but if she's giving you hassles already, it seems it would be best to stay away from them for the wedding.

    Best of luck! :)
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards