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Am I being a bridezilla?

keh65keh65 member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Wedding Photography and Videography Forum
Okay so I went ahead and booked a wedding photographer that my family has used for family portraits in the past (3 years ago). Her main area is wedding and boudoir photography, so I just thought it was an easy choice since we know her. However, I scheduled graduation photos with her which I took on Monday, and I was less than pleased with the experience. The poses didn't seem natural to me, and I have a large piece of hair sticking out in every photo. I know that a photographer is not a hairdresser, but I just feel like they should have an eye for things like that. My other complaint is that I never signed anything that said she could post my pictures to Facebook without my approval, but my grad photos appeared this morning. I just think that the client should get the first look at the photos before they are posted anywhere. 

My engagement session is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, but she said she can't let me know what time until two days beforehand due to lighting (is this normal?) This kind of bothers me because I had wanted to schedule hair and makeup for an appropriate time. She also has not given me an exact location, which I just asked for. I know that my retainer fee is non-refundable, but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should jump ship before I spend anything else… I have reviewed the contract and it doesn't seem to be binding at this point aside from the non-refundable deposit. 

Do you guys think that my criticisms of this photographer are fair? I don't want to cause problems or hurt feelings, but I just want my engagement and wedding photos to be the absolute best they can be. 
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Re: Am I being a bridezilla?

  • Knottie51972556Knottie51972556 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    Hey!
    I completely agree with you. I feel that you should have a great and fun experience while taking your engagement and wedding photos. You already have enough to worry about and enough to worry about. I also don't like the fact this photographer doesn't ask permission regarding publishing personal picture online. If you don't feel comfortable now you should definitely do something about it and make things easier for you more now than ever. 
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  • emmyg65emmyg65 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    No, that's not normal. It would be okay if she scheduled you for the golden hour, but you can find that online so there's no reason to wait to tell you, and she should be experienced enough to be flexible if the lighting is not ideal. If you're not feeling comfortable, eat the retainer and move on.
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  • lvshelleyjmlvshelleyjm member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    I think you need to cancel the appointment. I'm sorry, but an experienced photographer can tell you way beforehand on what time the photoshoot is going to be. If she is saying, she can't tell you exact time until two days before, that usually means, she has other clients on priority list and she thinks she can just easily push you around. Or, maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?

    But, I do think you should be looking for a new photographer. 
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  • Lowell14Lowell14 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    lvshelleyjm said:
    I think you need to cancel the appointment. I'm sorry, but an experienced photographer can tell you way beforehand on what time the photoshoot is going to be. If she is saying, she can't tell you exact time until two days before, that usually means, she has other clients on priority list and she thinks she can just easily push you around. Or, maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?

    But, I do think you should be looking for a new photographer. 

    I agree that the photographer should know the location and time. For our engagement shoot, we decided a location and time a month before. The day of, It rained. Guess what? our photos still happened because our photographer was able to adapt to the situation. Same with our wedding photos.

    regarding posting pictures; I know that the photographer holds the copyright BUT I feel the client should always get first view AND decide if they want their photos made public. Our photographer has a website and a FB page but would never put up anything if we haven't given permission.

    I think a new photographer may be in order. Good luck!


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  • lunardaydreaminglunardaydreaming member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    No that doesn't sound normal. I would also be upset if I had hair sticking out in every photo. As a photographer myself, not a hairdresser, I would find that to be in my area of attention to ensure there was nothing glaringly obvious as that. In fact on my engagement session day, it was incredibly windy, and my photographer made sure we shot into the wind so my hair wasn't blowing in front of my face, and arranged it when necessary! Your photographer should be able to tell you when the golden hour is, more than two days in advance if that's indeed what she's shooting for (yes, pun intended, ha).
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